Describes the use of student-developed rubrics, conferencing, and reflective journaling to improve writing skills in a third-grade classroom. A rubric--a written tool used to authentically assess a piece of work--lists criteria for the work and includes a system for evaluating each criteria. Rubrics enabled the students to evaluate their own work…

Describes the modeling of effective teaching and learning strategies (choosing a topic, finding and using information, timelines, journals, interventions, questions for peer editing, and conferencing questions) during an inquiry-based, student-centered "I-Search" unit taught by a high school library media specialist and an English teacher.…

Examines current writing and communication standards in 52 top-ranked undergraduate business schools, including kinds of requirements in effect, number of courses involved, the institutional home of these courses (business school or liberal arts department), and major skills stressed. (SR)

Describes an extracurricular writing program launched in a Chinese university for English-as-a-Foreign-Language students. Particular emphasis is on "English corner," the most popular activity. (Author/VWL)

Reports the results of research conducted with Grade 5 French-immersion students to determine whether peer comments made during writing conferences were integrated into the writer's final draft, and, if so, how these comments improved the quality of writing. (Author/VWL)

Outlines instructional principles upon which classroom practices in a fourth grade and in a kindergarten class are based that contribute to students' success, love of literacy, and emerging biliteracy. Discusses creating a socioculturally supportive learning environment that (1) affirms the cultural and linguistic resources of all students; (2)…

Discusses the whole literacy curriculum, which encompasses ownership, the writing process, reading comprehension, language and vocabulary knowledge, word reading and spelling strategies, voluntary reading. Outcomes of a five-year implementation effort in Hawaii indicate curriculum can improve literacy achievement of students of diverse…

Used classroom observations and in-depth interviews to study first-grade teachers nominated as outstanding or typical in ability to help students develop literacy skills. Characteristics of teachers whose students demonstrated highest achievement included (1) coherent and thorough integration of skills with high-quality reading/writing…

Describes strategies to help students learn how to evaluate their own work using portfolio assessment, a gradual process that enables students to think reflectively about their work. The paper discusses what is involved in teaching students to understand the terms and participate in the process. (SM)

As graduate enrollment in English falls, largely due to program reduction, many college and university English departments are recruiting freshman composition instructors from other fields. Although they may be skilled writers, many receive little or no formal training in how to teach writing. Issues concerning the unionization of teaching…

This article describes a 9-week writing workshop in a fourth grade classroom. The workshop was based on a process-writing model, graphic organizers, and ongoing assessment using a six-trait writing assessment rubric. Although both high and low scoring groups made significant progress, the low group made the most progress. (Contains 13 references.)…

Reports on how language and gender issues have been integrated into the discussion of letter writing, speech making and writing, and the long essay in an advanced English composition course at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The teaching was done with the main goal of enhancing students' writing skills, while also making them…

Examines the effectiveness of two writing-to-learn formats in helping developmental students master biological information and in decreasing writing anxiety. Objective measures showed a small but significant decrease in writing anxiety over the quarter, unrelated to writing format. Writing format also had little effect on content knowledge, based…

Examined the effect of differential feedback (corrections, commentaries), and a combination of the two) on the journal writing accuracy of minority- and majority-language students being educated in the same classrooms. Journal writing samples were collected from 112 fifth grade students over 4 months. Outcomes of the study are discussed in light…

Describes the challenges of including 22 students with wide-ranging abilities into one third grade classroom, focusing on class projects and units; support systems for special needs students; math, reading, and writing activities; use of multiple intelligences; and the benefits inclusion (e.g., having two adults in the room, role models for…