A study at a small southwestern suburban school examined specific process variables which occurred as children were taught composition skills using word processing, word processing with voice synthesis, and no word processing. Subjects were 45 second grade students, who were divided into three groups on the basis of scores on a reading…

Examining high school language arts experiences, a study surveyed 2,687 randomly selected students from 18 colleges in 14 Midwestern states who had taken the American College Testing (ACT) tests in high school. Responses were received from 558 students (a 21% response rate), with a high ratio of generally academically superior and non-minority…

A teacher of writing in English as a second language shares techniques and exercises that have inspired students to revise the rhetoric, vocabulary, and grammar of their own writing. They include: having students write about an unfamiliar classmate and having the classmate check the description for accuracy; distributing a model essay (Bertrand…

Ten papers on women's studies are provided, based on three workshops at Rhode Island College on May 20, 1986, September 27, 1986, and May 19, 1987. They include: "Reconceiving the Curriculum To Integrate Women" (Joan Rollins); "Models for Institutional Change" (Marilyn R. Schuster and Susan R. Van Dyne); "Western Women's Studies: Feminist but…

As an extension of a two-year longitudinal study involving various aspects of children's writing, a study examined the function of children's oral language during creative writing sessions in typical classroom settings. Using ethnographic style techniques, researchers conducted 46 writing episode observations of seven fifth graders in the spring…

Scholars from varied disciplines--first language (L1) acquisition, second language (L2) acquisition, composition research, and cognitive psychology--have found a high level of permeability in their search for more effective classroom models of writing instruction. Among the most influential work in this area has been Stephen Krashen's theory of L2…

Although teachers are often told to use literature as models for students' writing, they are rarely provided with specific suggestions on how, when, and why to use literature, or trade books, in their curriculum. Yet there are many situations in which the use of literature can be helpful to the novice writer. With pre-kindergarten or kindergarten…

To examine the effects of word processing on basic writers, a pilot study compared two classes of basic writers (40 students)--one class using word processors and one class using handwriting--at Glenville State College in West Virginia. At the beginning of the semester, students from both sections wrote one explanatory essay and one persuasive…

Before undertaking a computer-assisted composition class, several factors should be considered. First, there will be demands on the instructor to replan the entire course to include the effective use of computers; to teach fundamental word-processing skills in addition to writing skills; to develop enough knowledge of hardware and software to…

Intended for elementary school teachers, this article deals with reading readiness, handwriting, listening skills, and linguistics in the elementary school. The reading readiness section discusses utilizing pictures in teaching, using real objects in teaching, making picture dictionaries, placing labels on objects, developing experience charts,…

Developed by teachers and project staff members, this guide is designed to provide the opportunity for the practice and extension of basic skills in reading, writing, and language arts and to increase student and faculty knowledge of creative writing as an art. The strategies in the guide supply teachers with alternatives from which to select…

There have been minimal investigations into the related processes of learning to read and to write and there is a real need for research to study reading and writing together in the beginning stages of literacy instruction. To determine an instructional approach for this integration, the effect on language arts achievement of dialogue journal…

A step-by-step process links listening, note-taking, composing, and revising in order to make a college level music writing assignment a more instructive and fulfilling exercise. In order to help them focus on the music, students are given a chart in which they divide the piece of music they are listening to into events, and then match these…

A study examined the revisions made in expressive and persuasive compositions by 14 good and 14 average writers in grades 5, 7, and 11 to determine if grade- or ability-related differences occurred in the quality and kinds of revisions made and if revisions differed for the two types of compositions. Students wrote compositions one day and revised…

Developmental writing students pose particular problems for composition instruction because of their pragmatic orientation and because they come from and live in an oral, nonliterate culture. The writing instructor must create writing situations that make real-world demands and bring about real-world consequences, and assign topics that students…