Working from both literary and composition theory, this book argues that American composition theory and pedagogy of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is founded on the Platonic view that invention is a solitary act in which the individual, drawing upon innate knowledge and mental structures, searches for the truth, using introspective self…

A series of studies was conducted to explore three trends that have emerged from sentence combining research: (1) students with lower abilities in sentence combining and reading comprehension tend to register higher gains in both areas as a result of sentence combining instruction; (2) the broader the range of any student's sentence combining…

Acknowledging that reasoning ability has been identified by the College Board as one of the six basic academic competencies, this guide is intended to help secondary school language arts teachers integrate critical thinking skills into their curriculum. The guide is divided into the following sections: (1) test-taking skills (summary of college…

A study was conducted to explore first grade students' conceptions of reading and writing, and how those conceptions may be associated with and influenced by the type of reading instruction they receive. The study was conducted in three separate classrooms, each based upon theoretically different models of literacy learning: (1) a content-centered…

The eight articles in this focused journal issue are concerned with integrating reading, writing, and thinking, with varying attention to other language processes such as listening and speaking. The titles and authors of the articles are (1) "Does What You Read Influence How You Write?" by Dennis Adams; (2) "Dictation: Building…

A case study of a young boy's learning to read and write from the beginnings of literacy at age 5 up to age 11, after reading and writing have converged, is the focus of this book. The first part of the book, a description of his learning to write, discusses invented spelling, research about other young spellers and writers, the shift toward…

Designed to reveal some of the strengths and weaknesses of microtechnology in the language arts, this book suggests how and where microcomputers might have applications or implications in the language arts curriculum. The first chapter of the book discusses practical problems facing language arts teachers in developing classroom computer programs,…

Because students often produce writing that incorporates few or no outside sources of information, or is incorrectly documented, library skill instruction should be a part of the basic curriculum in college. Students need this instruction most at the beginning of their higher educational career, for these skills will be necessary throughout and…

A brief overview of the development of Polish education since the Second World War precedes a discussion of preschool education in Poland. The education of very young children is viewed seriously in Poland and has become a socially approved part of the system of education. Discussion focuses on the structure of preschool education, financing, and…

Based on emergent literacy research, two components of reading and writing--the morning message and the writing process--were developed in a laboratory school kindergarten by teacher-researcher collaboration and later disseminated to both public and private schools through a project conducted for the Kamehameha Schools, a private school in…

Offered to groups that wish to review and improve educational programs, this booklet reprints by special permission the "Standards for Basic Skills Writing Programs" developed by the National Council of Teachers of English and "Standards for an Effective Oral Communication Program" prepared by the American…

In writing instruction, emphasis should be placed on developing a sense of a community, focusing on the social or collaborative view of writing. This view contends that writing is taught best as collaborative learning, with the classroom providing a social context in which students come together to develop their writing skills. In the…

Observing the teaching of revision from the teacher's perspective, a study conducted case studies of three eighth grade language arts teachers who taught writing by a process approach, but who used different instructional techniques, comparing what each teacher believed and said about the revision stage with how she actually taught the process.…

Process writing, a student-centered approach to literacy, can be implemented to meet the academic needs of second language learners at the high school level. A discussion of this approach begins with a description of the profoundly hearing impaired as limited-English-proficient (LEP) students, and then examines the interrelationship of three…

The papers in this document were prepared by representatives of seven innovative teacher staff development projects in Northern Virginia. They describe networks of inservice and staff development activities which were originally designed and implemented in the schools. The following papers are included: (1) "TESA: Teacher Expectations and Student…