Examines long-term effects of two types of practice task on low-proficiency English-as-a-foreign-language writing. Two classes of freshmen at a Japanese women's college were assigned homework tasks based on picture stories. Results showed that low-proficiency students can improve their writing proficiency more by writing out picture stories than…

Studies the early childhood classroom as a setting for the continuing development of communication, cognition, and social skills for language minority students. Because the integration of language and content is best done through the use of children's literature, weekly literary selections motivate student interest and stimulate oral and written…

Maintains that 40% of 13-year-old students and 16% of 18-year-old students have not acquired intermediate reading skills. Asserts that teachers must strengthen students' motivation if they are to help them improve literacy skills. Recommends classroom activities and reading materials on this topic. (CFR)

Examines the role of journal-keeping in the middle-school language curriculum. Suggests that continued writing leads to fluency in writing and reading, but students must be allowed space to practice this process. Using journals and associated activities provide students the space they need so they can actually begin to enjoy the writing process.…

Describes Internet use for electronic mail projects in elementary education. Discusses typing directly versus composing offline, and the effect of electronic letter-writing activities on improving grammar, spelling, social studies, science, and mathematics skills. (AEF)

Effects of a summary skills learning strategy on the comprehension of science text were examined with five elementary-age urban minority students with learning disabilities participating in a summer remedial program. The strategy produced clear improvement in comprehension which was associated with similar improvements in the completeness of the…

Describes the design and use of SCORE (Sales and Customer Service Occupational Readiness Education), courseware developed by AT&T to provide midliterate adult customer service representatives with computer-assisted instruction. Topics addressed include job simulations; skills in reading, writing, math, problem solving, and critical thinking;…

Examines the differences in the effectiveness of whole language and traditional instruction in end-of-the-year reading, writing, and spelling achievement for children with varying levels of incoming phonemic awareness, reading, and writing ability. Finds that neither program was more likely to close gaps between children high or low in these…

Describes a method of developing teacher-written cases with effective commentaries, noting the need for collaborative exchanges among teachers, scholars, and researchers. Traces the development of four sample cases, proposes four stages in case evolution, and frames a discussion of what was learned about collaborative case writing within the…

A study of Southeast Asian-American immigrants showed that English writing skills for mainstreamed students were the same at the eighth-, tenth-, and twelfth-grade levels and were the same as nonnative university students. Results suggest that age on arrival was a more important factor than number of years in United States and grade at entry. (21…

Shows how United States history can be used for stimulating imaginative writing assignments about civic and cultural heritage. Shares how asking for revisions of first drafts developed students' writing skills. Shares one example of a student's writing. (MG)

Describes a variety of writing activities and community service projects designed to develop middle school students' civic identity and pride in being citizens of the state of Kentucky. Includes teaching ideas and a project evaluation. (PRA)

Presents the case study of an African-American woman returning to a basic skills program in an inner-city community college, examining in particular a writing conference with the task of transforming telling of an experience into writing about it. (SLD)

Describes the use of secret student/student dialog exchange journals with English-as-a-Foreign-Language students at Tamkang University in Taiwan. This activity helps develop students' fluency and expressive language and increases their awareness of an audience. (Author/VWL)

A decade-long research program is described that has focused on the development of the functional writing systems and its connections during the development with the aural/oral language and reading systems in school-age children. Applications of this research to assessment and educational intervention for specific writing disabilities are…