This fact sheet discusses the importance of literacy for individuals who are deaf-blind, the social functions of reading and writing, and conditions necessary for the development of literacy. Strategies for promoting literacy among this population are described and include: (1) invite children and adults who are deaf-blind to observe as you use…

In 1995, a 5-year collaborative research and development project began examining conditions and practices in Kentucky schools that are linked most strongly with improvement in a school's writing score on the statewide portfolio assessment. An examination of over 1,200 schools with complete writing portfolio scores for 1992-96 identified 42 schools…

The issues of how and when to teach young children to read and write are sufficiently important and controversial that two professional organizations International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), collaborated on a position statement, based on what is currently known from empirical…

Writing samples from third grade classrooms in one site of the National Head Start/Public School Transition Demonstration Project were examined using a process scoring scheme providing holistic, text-level, and sentence-level writing scores. The children in the Demonstration third grade classrooms (both Transition study and non-study children)…

Researchers believe that writing, and the writing process, are integral parts of any grade level curriculum. Since Writer's Workshop is an essential part of this process, an examination of the effects of first graders' participation in Writer's Workshop was studied to determine whether or not this enabled them to become more confident writers, and…

If an instructor teaches in a rhetoric and composition program, one of the most important ways to teach discourse study as a resistance to discourse theory is by tracing the fundamental founding dichotomies of discourse theory through the history of rhetorical theory, examining how assumptions of the legitimacy of such founding dichotomies has…

This research project began as a quest to investigate more effective ways of addressing the needs of Developmental Reading and Writing students by using non-traditional pedagogies. (By non-traditional pedagogies, the paper means an escape from the traditional model in higher education of addressing reading and writing as two separate content…

Discussing a teacher's effort to improve the research techniques of her secondary students, this paper outlines the implementation of controlled research projects. It suggests using many small projects to develop researching techniques, rather than one large "end-of-the-semester" project. The paper gives 8 different topic options for these "micro…

Elementary teachers have a significant responsibility to foster children's abilities to read and write; today they are also encouraged to incorporate technology in their classrooms. This article reports results from an ethnographic study that examined the inquiry and process writing approaches a fourth-grade teacher used in a classroom where…

The ideas collected in this 18th book of "Ideas Plus" come from two sources: ideas submitted at an Idea Exchange session at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention or spring conference; and contributions by readers of "Classroom Notes Plus" and "Ideas Plus." Some of the teaching practices…

This spring 1998 issue of Renaissance Administrator features the following articles: (1) "Servant Leadership and Higher Education--What is Leadership?" (Richard E. Hasselbach); (2) "Teaching Writing in the 90's--Carnivorous Printers and Dying Grandmothers" (Helen Ruggieri); (3) Assignment--Journal Writing" (Lynn Muscato); and (4) "A Business…

Details three case studies that were part of an analysis of the on-the-job writing requirements of over 30 vocational students. (AEA)

Discusses five areas in which chemistry/engineering majors encounter difficulties in technical writing. These include literature searching, plagiarism, organization, synthesis, and rewriting. Also discusses role of technical faculty in helping students solve their writing problems. (JN)

Describes a method for conducting a sophomore organic chemistry laboratory which included integrating projects with a writing task involving peer group interaction. Also includes background/theory, chemistry tasks, writing tasks, and evaluation. Included in appendices are an analytic worksheet and grading scale. (JN)

Techniques for teaching writing should emphasize revision and editing, practice in sentence-combining, and exposing students to fine prose. To encourage good writing in all subjects, teachers should be trained to read students' essays holistically, paying attention to style as well as content. (PP)