Discusses how writing and reading came together in response journals for first graders, motivating a variety of reactions to literature and showing that even young children have a range of responses to literature that they can express through writing. (SR)

Reports on a survey of college freshmen concerning how their high school teachers prepared them or could have prepared them better for college writing expectations. Reviews results that suggest that those students who wrote the least scored the lowest in college placement exams. (TB)

Reports on a research project for which an American literature high school class was observed every day for a semester. Presents a framework for understanding teacher responses to student writing, consisting of five orientations toward that writing: interpretive, social, cognitive/emotive, evaluative, and pedagogical. (TB)

Describes a study of how portfolios are used in grade seven with particular attention to three conversations between a professional writer and students who use portfolios. Argues that portfolios must not be static compilations of work but rather ever-evolving organic creations. (TB)

Describes a four-part writing project that requires students to write about family memories and recent history, literature and folklore of their family heritage, migration patterns that brought their people to the United States, and their reflections on all of these areas. Shows how the project involves research, computer skills, and cooperation…

Contains annotated bibliographic entries for 93 dissertations, books, and articles published, for the most part, between January and June, 1995. Divides entries under the following headings: Historical Studies; Language (English as a Second Language, Family Literacy, Language and Learning, Language Interrelationships); Literature (Censorship,…

Determines the impact of modeling the process approach to writing and assisting student teachers in planning and implementing writing activities on student teachers' attitudes toward writing. Shows how formal instruction in process writing and successful experiences with writing positively affected student teachers' attitudes toward writing. (RS)

Describes the year-long first phase of a research project by a group of teachers who made their own writing an object of inquiry to gain experience in reading and writing workshops. Describes how the experience helped them see the power of writing for themselves, and led to a better understanding of how to teach writing in their classrooms. (SR)

Comparison of 20 essays written by English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) beginners with prose of skilled writers suggests four constraints on information packaging are needed to facilitate identification of macrostructure. Results suggests that fragmentation in beginners' prose may be overcome if learners are made aware of the notion of…

This article provides an overview of how an emergent literacy perspective may serve as a framework for better understanding the reading and writing behaviors of young children with learning disabilities. Specific intervention techniques are given to help teachers provide rich, meaningful emergent literacy opportunities in the classroom. (Contains…

Explores the effects of a high-stakes, direct writing test on three teachers and their students. Suggests that an emphasis on test preparation diminished the likelihood of the teachers' engaging in reflective practice that is sensitive to the needs of individual students, and that the high-stakes assessment process discounted the validity of…

Proposes a model for writing program administrators to use to assess the effectiveness of composition programs. Argues the need to consider local conditions, evaluate the internal coherence of programs, and consider the external relevance of programs. Describes how using this model led the Writing Center at Northern Arizona University to make…

Presents a project to develop emergent literacy awareness and increase success with reading and writing through the America Reads program. Suggests the value of early experience and interaction with print in children's reading and writing development. Finds that approaches in which systematic code instruction is included alongside meaning…

Focuses on the impact of cooperative writing response groups and self-evaluation on the learners, other faculty, and the institution (a university in Argentina). Argues that cooperative writing response groups and self-evaluation are worth pursuing in constrained educational environments because of how beneficial the approach was perceived to be…

Presents annotations of 37 selected recent research in the teaching of English and related fields. Addresses bilingual/foreign language education, discourse processes, literacy, professional development, reading, teaching and learning of literature, teaching and learning of writing, and technology and literacy. Notes that most of the studies…