This paper discusses the use of American Sign Language (ASL) in an English-as-a-Second-Language approach to teaching reading and writing skills to deaf students. The paper poses and answers the following theoretical and practical questions: (1) What is the nature of first language reading? (2) What is the nature of second language reading? (3)…

Cognitively-based writing instruction for educationally disadvantaged students is examined, focusing on epistemic writing. The object of epistemic writing is to inquire into a particular topic and to familiarize/persuade the reader with the fruits of the investigation. In reviewing the distinctions between novice and expert writers, two models of…

When evaluating the work of congenitally deaf students whose native language is spatial and semiotic, composition teachers must avoid being what Marjorie Siegel calls "verbocentric," since congenitally deaf students are, in effect, learning to write in a language completely foreign to them in structure, syntax, and grammar. The…

In a series of conferences provided for faculty and support staff in several community colleges in the New York City metropolitan area, presentations were made on instructing college students with learning disabilities. Summaries of 15 of these presentations are offered, with the following titles and presenters: "Applying Learning…

An intermediate level unit on biography writing focuses on the use of reference skills to help students learn the organizational steps in writing a report about a person's life. Activities include notetaking, citing sources, outlining, writing complete sentences, and writing paragraphs, including introductory and summary paragraphs. The sessions…

Although the results of minimum competency tests need to be interpreted with caution, data on the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) for 1980-82 clearly indicate the inadequate results of remedial programs for minority students in Texas. Secondary analysis of the data shows that overall performance on exit level math and reading tests…

A family history project which introduces students to the study of the family in connection with the immigration period in American history is described. The six-week project, an annual activity in Balboa Middle School (California) United States history classes, consists of four parts: (1) family history charts (family trees); (2) family…

A study examined the transition from dependent writing (dictation) to independent writing for 40 first grade students. Specifically, the study investigated (1) how, in terms of common quantitative language units (mean words per t-unit, mean number of dependent clauses, words per maze, mean number of dependent clauses per t-unit, and length in…

For several years an interdisciplinary course called "Healing and the Arts" has been offered to undergraduates and medical students in a BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Its stated purpose is to give students a theoretical and practical understanding of how the arts can be a healing force in people's lives.…

Most of the criticism of Australian schools focuses on students' skills in literacy and numeracy. This study assessed levels of student achievement in Victoria's primary and secondary schools in 1988 in some key areas of literacy and numeracy. This report maps the performances of students in Years 5 and 9 on scales of development in mathematics,…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) measures 16 basic skills objectives as mandated by legislation enacted in 1978. The BSAP Reading and Mathematics Tests were administered April 17 through 21, 1989. The tests for grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 consisted of 6 multiple-choice questions for each of the 11 objectives in reading and…

The MAT-6 Writing Test (The Psychological Corporation, 1986) was administered to Oklahoma students in grades 7 and 10 in February 1989, in compliance with state law. The inception, implementation procedures, assessment instruments, and results of the Writing Assessment Component of the Oklahoma School Testing Program are described. District-level…

The effectiveness of the "read-comp" technique in assessing writing ability and the usefulness of a rubric and procedure devised for scoring read-comp samples and essays were evaluated. Subjects were 100 freshman students enrolled in general and remedial English classes in a 6-week summer session at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.…

The Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW) offered by Carnegie Mellon University (Pennsylvania) is designed for students who want careers as document designers in industry and government, where they will plan, write, and evaluate computer manuals and on-line documentation, training and instructional materials, technical reports, and a wide…

A study examined the effects of using a microcomputer for writing on the composing processes and attitudes toward writing of three non-native college students. The subjects were a Korean, an Egyptian, and a Pole, former students of remedial writing in English as a second language (ESL). The data used included multiple drafts from a previous…