A writing program was developed and implemented, using available technology, to increase the quality and the quantity of written communication of three heterogeneously grouped classes of fifth graders. The students learned to use the word processor, Magic Slate II, for process writing assignments. A modem, Supra Modem 2400, and Proterm software…

A discussion of the use of dialogue journals in second language instruction integrates research and personal teaching experience in an analysis of the technique's benefits and challenges. The first chapter reviews what dialogue journals are and how they differ from other teaching strategies. Their use in different adult education contexts are also…

Two issues of this listing (August and September 1990) contain reviews of courseware for kindergarten through grade 12. Entries are classified by subject or application: communication skills, which include instruction in reading and writing; mathematics; microcomputer programing; science; social studies; and utilities (desktop publishing…

Prepared by teachers for teachers, this practical classroom guide offers a process of monitoring language development and planning for development within a whole language framework, supported by a compendium of appropriate practice to be drawn on when needed. The guide (1) emphasizes the interdependence of reading, writing, talking, and listening;…

A study investigated the relative effects of using computers and writing by hand on secondary students' quality or quantity of writing, and on their attitudes toward writing. Subjects were 40 eighth-grade students in an Anglo-Chinese school in Hong Kong, with some experience in writing brief compositions. The word processing program used was…

The purpose of this booklet is to disseminate theoretical ideas and practical strategies concerning whole language so that learning for children and practice for teaching may be enlightened and improved. Chapters include: "Whole Language Learning" (William McCarthy and Alicia Sutton); "Planning the Program and Organizing the Classroom" (Marilyn…

The paper describes the Writing to Read instructional system and its implementation in five Albuquerque (New Mexico) public schools with kindergarten, first grade, and special education students. The Writing to Read System is a multisensory, multimedia literacy program and involves five types of materials: a computer-based instructional program;…

In a cooperative task, American Indian elementary students produced bilingual natural history dictionaries using a Macintosh computer. Students in grades 3 through 8 attended weekly, multi-graded bilingual classes in Hupa/English or Yurok/English, held at two public school field sites for training elementary teaching-credential candidates. Teams…

Based on eight months of observation in Japanese classrooms, this book describes a Japanese technique of writing instruction, called "seikatsu tsuzurikata" (life experience composition), and shows how it can be successfully incorporated into American classrooms. A foreword by Kenneth S. Goodman focuses on the technique's importance both…

A study examined (1) a nine-year-old girl's view of writing, (2) the factors contributing to the construction of that view, (3) her parents' and teacher's views, and (4) the relationship among these various views. Both samples of writing and an interview schedule were used to elicit writing views from each of the participants concerning their…

Intended for practitioners involved in working with groups in basic education, this book provides some ideas on suitable approaches. An introduction addresses where group work takes place and why a group approach is used. A discussion of starting points covers first meetings, planning and preparing, and teaching aids. A description of a group…

In an effort to reduce student writing apprehension, an informal, in-class study was conducted in a lower-level college writing course at an Alabama university. The 16 students in this course took a Writing Apprehension Test (WAT--pretest) on the first day of class. Throughout the course, all writing was based on student experiences and came from…

A technique for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) that requires students to write relatively simple English in large volume has been successful in developing both language skills and self-confidence. Students rewrite stories to reflect situations and conditions different from those in the original telling; for example, by changing the…

The articles in this journal issue present a variety of teaching methods to enhance writing instruction. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Writing for Real World Audiences in the Classroom?" (James P. Beck); (2) "Copycatting: Learning to Write by Imitating" (Mary Ann Stemper); (3) "The…

Developed as a model for teachers faced with the task of assigning research papers to students who are still apprentice writers, this two-part paper explores the possibilities of written response that reside both in the dialogic interplay of ideas in utopian texts and in the criticism of utopian texts. The first part examines some ideas contained…