Finds that with teacher scaffolding (modeling, explicit instruction, feedback, and the creation of contexts for sharing), first graders can write thoughtful, personal, and extended responses to books in their literature-response journals. Discusses teacher and peer scaffolding, and literacy development. Describes in detail the children's…

Explores the considerable benefits of reading poetry, why poetry is often neglected, and some of the ways the author brings poetry and children together, making poetry an integral part of the curriculum. Offers a list of recommended poetry volumes, as well as a list of recommended professional reading/supporting poetry-instruction in the…

Relates the author's difficulties adapting as he moved from a computer-equipped writing classroom to a traditional classroom, finding himself unable to adapt in a single semester. Notes how the relationship to the teacher became primary in the traditional classroom, whereas in the computer-equipped classroom the focus was on the task and on groups…

Argues that writing teachers should specifically teach student researchers to become skillful and discerning readers of Web sites. Maintains students need to manage the diverse and largely unfiltered content of the Web. Suggests supplementing the evaluative criteria traditionally applied to print sources with new strategies for making sense of…

Describes how the authors collaborated on a teacher research project in three elementary school classrooms (first, second, and third grade) as a means of documenting teaching and learning in "Wholistic" classrooms. Offers a skill sketch of the data collected in each classroom, documenting exactly which skills were receiving attention and practice…

Considers four changes being introduced into the educational marketplace by corporate and virtual instruction. Argues that business communication programs need to develop their own knowledge infrastructure so that content can be delivered on demand and so that students have choice in how the material is delivered (real-time, online, and virtual…

Describes a fifth grade teacher's eight-week unit of study on fiction. Notes that fiction had been a part of the teacher's reading workshop but was absent from her writing workshop. Discusses immersion and exploration, characterization, developing plot, and drafting and revision. (RS)

Presents material from two first-year teachers' case writings and discussions about teaching writing which resulted in a "linguistic event," an opportunity to construct new knowledge about teaching. Claims the teachers were able to reflect on concerns in depth, validate each other's practice, and explore the value of talking and writing…

Gives an account in journal format of the author's experiences teaching writing and literature at a missionary school in Nigeria. Describes difficulties and conflicts of beliefs encountered over a period of time with her colleagues. Presents a poem from one of her teaching assistants and discusses reactions and meanings involved in the different…

Research evidence is reviewed to show that transcription and working memory processes constrain the development of composition skills in students with and without learning disabilities and that in turn other processes constrain the development of transcription and working memory skills. Interventions for transcription are discussed. (Author/CR)

Proposes an instructional progression that goes from writing to speaking in learning English as a Second Language. Specific focus is on writing to improve speaking, games for writing to speaking, free writes from personal experiences, creating a scene, autobiographies, and argumentation. (Author/VWL)

Examines how the role of questions in literacy instruction has always been strong, whether requiring answers involving rote memory or the activation of higher level critical thinking processes. Presents a six-step strategy for questioning followed by a field-tested group of fifth graders' responses to each step. (SC)

Describes Literacy and Technology Hands On, a program of literacy instruction for young people with Down syndrome who have recently left school, which uses a combination of technology and more traditional methods to continue these students' literacy instruction into young adulthood. Discusses the program's rationale, aims, features, theoretical…

Describes a new children's television series on PBS that was developed to teach literacy by emphasizing reading and writing. Topics include the multimedia approach; and curriculum priorities, including showing benefits of access to print materials, the value of learning to read and write, and introducing new vocabulary words. (LRW)

Demonstrates the usefulness of ability grouping in a "media, writing, and information gathering" course to improve students' writing skills. Notes students improved to the point where the gap in skills between ability groups was eliminated. Finds objective tests of mechanical skills did not predict students' writing ability. Suggests writing…