Bringing together information elementary school teachers need to make balanced literacy instruction a reality, this book presents more than 90 short articles designed to be read in a brief period of time and suitable for use in after-school workshops. It presents ideas and instructional approaches teachers have found most valuable and effective in…

This book, part of the Whole Language Umbrella Series, offers a critical reexamination of "inquiry" and "whole language" as tools for rethinking literacy, schooling, and humanistic citizenship in the complexities of today's multicultural world. The essays in the book explore the political implications of literacy theories and…

This action research project describes a program to increase the basic writing ability and improve the attitude of sixth grade students. The targeted classroom was located in a unit district 45 miles northwest of a large metropolitan area. The district's population consists of a large amount of minority students and low-income families. Evidence…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the efficacy of a referential communication task for teaching written language skills to elementary school-aged children with learning disabilities. Participants included five dyads, each consisting of one child with a learning disability and one child with typical language…

Based on the idea that instruction should drive technology, and not vice versa, this book shares ideas, options, and opportunities for using technology in the classroom. Vignettes and examples of classroom uses of technology are presented throughout the book to highlight concepts and help teachers support literacy goals. The essays in the book…

This annotated bibliography is intended to help teachers of composition improve writing quality of entering college students. The main body of the report is preceded by a brief summary of sources for faculty interested in examining the causes attributed to the decline in college students' writing skills, including: "National Assessment and the…

This paper addresses the lack of evaluative resources for computer-assisted reading and writing instruction (CARWI). It begins by discussing the benefits, drawbacks, and effectiveness of computer-based instruction. It then describes types of CARWI packages, including: (1) writing process software; (2) electronic handbooks; (3) interactive…

Project WATCH! (Writing Across the Curriculum Hawks!) was the 1999-2000 schoolwide action research project at the A.D. Henderson University School grades K-8. The study question, "How can teachers build schoolwide capacity to support improved student writing across the curriculum?", examined whole-school collaboration where all teachers understand…

This book makes clear the connection between classroom writing and everyday writing by identifying common reader-centered writing features fundamental to both genres. It uses a building metaphor, a unique method that views writing as the putting together of ideas piece by piece to form a coherent structure. This process-oriented approach helps…

This book presents strategies for teaching the personal narrative, feature article, how-to article, and persuasive letter, and for teaching fiction and reflective thinking and writing. It includes definitions, lesson plans, originals for transparencies and photocopies, and sample student writing. The first four sections are: Teaching the Personal…

"Computers and the Teaching of Composition," a graduate course for community college writing teachers taught at San Francisco State University, has two related objectives: to improve writing instruction and to teach writing teachers how computer-mediated writing tools and strategies can help provide students with powerful resources for…

This report describes a program for motivating primary students to improve their writing skills. The targeted population consists of first and second grade students located in a large urban area. The need for improving writing skills is evidenced by classroom teacher observations, class participation, writing assessments, and student journals.…

Noting that many after-school programs are exploring ways to help children develop strong literacy skills, this paper is designed to help program providers think about ways to support literacy development, clarify the types of services various staff are qualified to provide, and offer ideas about strategies to best meet the needs of children and…

Developed at Roosevelt Elementary School in Long Beach Unified School District (California), this CD-ROM presents Children Teaching Children (CTC), a literacy project intended to assist students to read, write, and publish their original work. It is part of the Program Improvement Initiative, an educational reform effort initiated by the…

This study describes a program designed to improve students' writing skills in order to improve academic achievement. The targeted population consists of third and fifth grade elementary students in two separate communities ranging from low to middle class, located in two midwestern suburbs of a large city. Evidence for the existence of the…