This workbook is designed as an introduction to the "Editor in Chief" series, which reinforces the rules of written English. In this workbook, student first review the rules of grammar and mechanics using multiple-choice questions; then the students learn to apply these rules in context by editing stories in a variety of formats. This "Beginning"…

The Teacher Rating of Oral Language and Literacy (TROLL) is an instrument that measures skills identified as critical in the New Standards for Speaking and Listening. In 5 to 10 minutes and without prior training, teachers can assess an individual child's current standing with respect to skills that research has identified as critical for literary…

Learn how to use literature to teach students the six traits that characterize effective writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. This practical text gives the reader a variety of ideas and strategies for developing and integrating the traits into students? writing, bibliographies of recommended…

Grammar, historically, has been taught in a manner that leaves young learners wondering why they need to learn it. The problem has been partly that teachers have not been provided the insights needed to move the teaching of language conventions and grammar from the position of "textbook exercise" to that of "tools of the trade"…

The writing program described in this lesson plan asks students to look closely at their writing, marking speaking parts, and then to return to the beginning to find any places where the "characters clash." During the one 50-minute lesson, students will: explore paragraphing conventions for dialogue; examine their own writing closely…

The purpose of this study was to obtain information from deans of American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business accredited colleges of business and from human resource managers from the 200 largest companies in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. A questionnaire containing 49 selected business communication competencies was developed and mailed to…

Extensive research in the area of vocabulary development revealed a very limited amount of information on elaboration for writing. Only one article was found that substantiated the need to connect vocabulary with elaborative writing. This topical bibliography and commentary summarizes the findings in that article. The bibliography/ commentary…

This document includes a booklet and presentation guide. The booklet contains the anchor papers used to score the 2001 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) in writing, grade 7. Anchor papers are concrete examples that illustrate the intent of the scoring guides. The papers in the booklet exemplify the full range of score points…

Without a simple, defined structure for good writing it can be difficult for an individual to be confident of his or her writing ability. The Six-Trait Writing Method, developed by Spandel and Stiggins in 1990 at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NRWEL), outlines how teachers could teach students "specific criteria for…

This paper profiles the Academic Writing Center at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, which, although influenced by writing centers in American universities, is less dependent on tutorials. The university writing center has only three academicians for 13,000 students, and most of their time is spent teaching how-to-do-it workshops and classes…

One educator's interdisciplinary interests in literature, film, and culture studies led him to the establishment of "Film Study," an upper school English course in which students develop a sense of "film literacy" through detailed "reading" of visual images; in addition, students evolve a working critical vocabulary…

Written for those who have never written for a professional journal and for those who have had initial success in getting published, this fastback includes basic information about preparing a manuscript, suggestions that will help with acceptance by a journal, and a framework to design a writing program to help published writers achieve their…

This article details a project for teaching elementary school students to understand and accept multicultural differences. This task is made easier by involving actual international visitors. Students need a considerable amount of background information before an international visitor comes to class. In preparing for a visitor, students can…

The workplace is continually changing to keep up with new technology, improvements in products and services and the growing demands of customers. To meet the challenge of this changing environment, employers need to make greater demands on the skills of their employees to remain competitive. Basic skills are the essential building blocks which…

Discusses a unit in which students rewrite Ray Bradbury's short stories into short plays, emphasizing the importance of dialog. (RB)