Firsthand classroom observations on the use of computers in instruction reveal some excellent uses of the computer, particularly with reading and writing instruction. Yet there are many schools in which most children are denied access to computers. The children most likely to be using computers are those who attend suburban or small city schools…

Materials were gathered in a first and second grade informal, family-grouped classroom over 45 days of two school years to provide an interpretive framework for looking at writing in context. Participant observation was used in order to see the classroom community from a member's perspective while at the same time making explicit those features…

In integrating word processors into the structure of a freshman writing class, the instructor has two alternatives: to teach the course specifically as a word processing course, or to offer a word processing option to students on a volunteer basis, either in substitution for some other activity or as extra credit. The first method is good if one…

Despite a growing trend to split the two areas, literature belongs in the composition class. In responding to literature, students can trace their own developing thought. They acquire, through literary discourse, a tool of discovery. This tool closely resembles expressive discourse, the mode, as James Kinneavy suggests in "A Theory of…

A study investigated how eighth grade students used a microcomputer-based word processing system for composing. Five students, with a range of writing skills, used the technology across 10 class sessions. Data were gathered through interviews with the students about their models for composing, experiences that influenced their writing development,…

Although writing today generally is perceived as process, college English departments are still deeply rooted in the concept of writing as product. Hiring depends upon product in terms of letters of inquiry, vitae, and credentials; retention, promotion, and merit raises rest on product in the form of publications, grants, awards, and teacher…

The book contains 10 papers concerning programming for adolescents with behavioral disorders. Papers have the following titles and authors: "What You See Is Not Always What You Get" (Richard Neel); "Implications of the Relationship between Observational and Rating Scale Data for the Assessment of Behavioral Disorders" (Russell Skiba and Patrick…

A study investigated the types of writing assignments commonly found in undergraduate natural sciences and engineering courses. The study was used as a basis for the development of composition courses for limited-English-speaking students in these fields, the most popular fields of study among foreign students. Eighty take-home assignments given…

Focusing on high school writing centers, this collection of essays discusses a variety of issues associated with the writing center, including the process of securing the principal's support, setting goals, working out physical arrangements, training tutors and professional staff, fostering student participation, and record keeping. Essays and…

This collection of papers, from a conference on reading and writing connections held at the University of Illinois in October 1986, reflects the value of demonstrating connections between reading instruction and writing. The book shows practitioners how writing can be blended with reading instruction and how writing activities can be used not just…

Focusing on how textbooks and ideology influence and reflect literacy instruction, this book examines literacy as defined in the public elementary schools of British Columbia, Canada. Chapters include: (1) "Approaches to the Study of Literacy and Curriculum"; (2) "The Text in Historical Context: The Debate over Schooling and…

This report describes the PlayWrite Program, which was developed in the Montville Township School District, New Jersey, to encourage children in grades K-6 to write. The primary objectives of the program are to increase students' motivation to write; to improve their writing skills through the process of brainstorming, composing, revising, and…

The first of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for seventh grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The second of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for eighth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The third of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for ninth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the guide…