Determining the appropriate amount and type of teacher and student input is a complex curriculum and instructional challenge for writing teachers. This paper describes a teacher-researcher's experiences while teaching a fifth-grade class and studying a developing writer's workshop approach to writing instruction. She investigated: (1) how students…

Describing the numerous changes that have occurred in language arts instruction within the past few years, this book explains these changes, as well as modern concepts, materials, and instructional techniques to assist language arts teachers. The books describes several innovative approaches to instruction, such as how to teach phonics and…

Published by the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges, this journal is designed to provide a medium for sharing concepts, methods, and findings relevant to the classroom, and an open forum for the discussion and review of problems. Volume XIX consists of the fall 1993 and spring 1994 issues, providing the following articles: (1) "FOCUS: Ohio…

A joint enterprise by Sanford Public Schools of Sanford, Maine, and five partners established and operated a program of literacy, math, and reasoning/problem-solving skills instruction and support services at five work sites. The business partners were Sprague Electric Company; The Baker Company; Jagger Brothers, Inc.; Greenwood Center; and…

Insights into successful collaborative writing interactions were derived from an analysis of the discourse of three ninth-grade coauthoring triads (groups of three students)--a model group, a typical group, and a problem group. The writing task was an argumentative essay. Students received instruction in collaborative writing through teacher…

A study described the 1989-90 Chapter 1 Reading Skills Center program, and assessed the effectiveness of its implementation. The program provides supplementary, individualized instruction in reading and writing to Chapter 1-eligible students in New York City nonpublic schools. During 1989-90, the program served 284 students in grades 4 through 8…

It is argued that a reformulation of reading and writing in the elementary grades can integrate the following three buzzwords of American education: (1) students at-risk for school failure; (2) the whole-language movement; and (3) restructuring. Critical literacy can serve as the centerpiece for empowering teachers and administrators as…

The continuation of an earlier study examined to what extent students change in their use of evaluative criteria in writing between the fifth and sixth grade. Twenty-five students were interviewed in fifth and sixth grade. In the fifth grade, all students were taught writing by the same teacher who emphasized student choice of topic, recursive…

This bibliographic essay and research review investigates four areas: (1) the characteristics of elementary writing instruction prior to the 80s; (2) the factors which changed writing instruction in the 80s; (3) the characteristics of elementary writing instruction in the 80s: and (4) the place of elementary and pre/in-service textbooks in the…

A tenth anniversary issue of the biannual journal of the Language Institute of Japan contains articles on teaching the four language skills, reading, and writing, speaking, listening, as well as cultural training. The articles include: "Rod City: Context and Focus for Student-Generated Language" (Robert Ruud); "Prediction as a…

The first volume of a three-volume study on the relationship between writing research and instruction, this report is divided into three sections covering discussions among researchers, practitioners, and instructional experts; studies of writing research; and instructional applications. The first section describes a series of five…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet provides a framework for successful inservice education in communication skills. The first section addresses the question of why teachers need inservice in oral and written communication by pointing to the lack of…

This article reports the results of a study with 70 senior undergraduate biological science majors enrolled in a required course on "Writing and Speaking in the Biological Sciences". Students enrolled in this course were expected to develop oral scientific presentations of their research projects that exemplified the norms of speaking in…

To understand the nature of talk in small group writing workshops, including the way talk changes over time and the use students make of such talk, a study analyzed the conversations of 17 inexperienced college writers as they composed and revised self-selected pieces during a one-semester composition course. A student from the course who did not…

To evaluate the approach to improving instruction espoused by the National Writing Project (NWP), this research report examines the assumptions, practices, and impacts of the NWP program to train teachers to teach writing. Following a brief description of the NWP model and its underlying assumptions, the report compares the goals, strategies, and…