The development of effective skills and basic competencies in written English for Ute students in a reservation public school system and adult Ute learners seeking high school equivalency certificates is discussed. The focus of analysis is on assessing the Ute students' assumptions about written language and their use of those assumptions when…

A study examined whether assigning students to write analytically in response to video texts can lead to students becoming more critical viewers of television. A 30-second television commercial was shown to a freshman composition class with limited visual literacy training and to a class without such media literacy training. Students in both…

This pamphlet examines the Writing-to-Learn project of the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), a writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) program. The WAC theory is first discussed in terms of three primary approaches to linguistic behavior as reflected in three predominant attitudes toward composition theory in use today: the traditional, the…

This document presents a curriculum (based on the author's own experiences listening to music) that aims to get children to become aware of themselves by having them write down their thoughts and feelings (their "contemplations") after listening to music or in response to famous quotations. The document discusses how the curriculum was…

Parents can help their children master the skills needed to become good writers. While preschool pupils, in most cases, cannot do their own writing, the parents can: ask their children for ideas to include in letters to friends or relatives; write down, and then read back, ideas dictated by the child; read interesting library books to their…

This booklet contains a collection of essays that were written by teenage mothers participating in a writing project in the Rochester City School District and who share their feelings about themselves and their pregnancies. Their writings deal with parenthood at an early age and all of the repercussions that follow such a choice. The booklet also…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of high school reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at the California's new English-language arts assessment. The second section presents the scoring guide for…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of elementary school reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at the changes which make up the new English-language arts assessment. The second section presents the…

Reorganized and revised, the second edition of this book provides the latest theoretical and practical materials that instructors across the disciplines will need to help students build strong writing skills. It offers suggestions about how to develop effective writing assignments; and it evaluates various methods of assessing student writing,…

Written by middle school, high school, and college writing teachers, the 30 lesson plans collected in this book represent a mix of computer-based units for teaching writing. They cover many types of writing from journalism to literary essays, fiction, and poetry, and many aspects of the writing process, from brainstorming for ideas to prewriting…

This lesson asks 12th grade students to imagine that they are special assistants to the Undersecretary of Commerce for a foreign country who must answer a letter from a U.S. company planning to move its manufacturing operations overseas. The lesson also asks them to design a business brochure that will convince the company to come to their…

In this lesson plan, students (grades 11-12) examine photographs of the Nubian environment and the Nubian people. Students critically examine artifacts of ancient Nubia and write a two page essay outlining the Nubian environment, describing the Nubia people, and explaining how they adapted physically, materially, politically, and intellectually to…

A U.S. frontier theme park is opening in your (the student's) home town. The featured adventure rides will be forms of transportation used in the late 1700s to early 1800s to journey west across the Appalachian mountains. Each ride represents an historically accurate time and place. The students need maps identifying where the mode of…

Intended for both beginning teachers and experienced teachers, this book offers a detailed plan for organizing a successful writing classroom. The book presents teachers with many new approaches for interacting with students and their writing. Following a foreword by Russ M. Burkhardt and an introduction chapters in the book are: (1) The Ten-Day…

This collection of 45 lesson plans contributed by English language arts scholars and practitioners provides activities that have been tested and proven effective with all levels of learners in middle school and high school classrooms. The activities in the collection advocate using unconventional strategies, competitive games, art and multimedia,…