A computerized content analysis of the "theory input" for a basic speech course was conducted. The questions to be answered were (1) What does the inexperienced basic speech student hold as a conceptual perspective of the "speech to inform" prior to his being subjected to a college speech class? and (2) How does that…

Three expressive writing tasks from the 1974 national assessment of writing are summarized and discussed in this report. Results indicated that for a majority of students, first-draft expressive writing is unstructured and lacking in coherence. The tendency to integrate feelings and to organize them in coherent expressions develops between the…

Presents reading/writing units based on story grammar techniques and intended for students in grades one through six. (FL)

Presents elementary school children's poetry about a variety of scientific topics. Indicates that children make no false dichotomy between science and poetry. (JK)

Discusses nine orthodoxies, including the idea that spelling, grammar, and punctuation are unimportant, that decrease teacher effectiveness. (DF)

A project in creative writing and literacy was developed and implemented for people experiencing mental health difficulties. The project was a jointly organized activity between Dearne Valley College and Doncaster MIND in England. (MIND is a network of mental health associations in England and Wales.) The college counselor acted as the supervisor…

This collection of writings is the culmination of students' study in the Worker Education Program's (WEP) workplace literacy classes. The WEP is a joint labor/management project of the Service Employees International Union Local 285 and unionized health care employers in Massachusetts that offers a range of education, job training, and career…

Since her Certificates in General Education for Adults class had not achieved the required competencies at writing for self-expression, a teacher felt it would be an appropriate genre for her to model. She drafted, edited, and completed the text on a large-screen computer. When trying to decide whether each text achieved the competencies required…

In this lesson, designed to be taught within a unit on China, primary-grade students will learn about the history of papermaking and its origins in China and even learn how to make their own paper. After learning about Chinese art and culture in the lesson, students will write their own "cinquain" poem about China. The lesson presents an…

This study investigated what would happen when a student teacher incorporated different techniques for improving comprehension into a third-grade reading group consisting of 10 diverse students. The study noted how comprehension changed when students did creative writing in response to literature and how story mapping or character perspective…

This study compared the effects of two computer-based writing tools (text-based "FrEd Writer" and graphics-based "Once Upon a Time") on the story-writing skills of nine students (grades four through eight) with language-related learning disabilities. Group results did not clearly favor either tool; however, individual…

A study of the effects of a typing tutor plus a computer-based word processor versus paper and pencil on the writing of six elementary students with behavioral disorders found small improvements in capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and complete sentences attributable to either method, though story length increased for three of six students…

Suggests ways to use ClarisWorks to motivate students when only one computer is accessible: (1) class database; (2) grade book; (3) classroom journal; (4) ongoing story center; (5) skill-and-draw review station; (6) monthly class magazine/newspaper; (7) research base/project planner; (8) lecture and presentation enhancement; (9) database of ideas…

Describes the results of a classroom trial activity to encourage communication in mathematics. Students were asked to write a short story or a joke or to create a cartoon about an aspect of mathematics, which was in this case isolating the variable or property of negative 1. The activity revealed creativity and allowed the teacher to determine how…

Discusses a project in which a professional writer, poet Ian McMillan, was brought into middle school classrooms to aid in writing instruction. Describes the writer's contributions to the program, the problems he encountered, and his perceptions of the purposes of writing and the value of his writing residency. (SG)