Constructionist principles provide fertile ground for developing innovative approaches to learning. Using a grounded theory qualitative research design, we analyzed participant reports of their experience in an online course in which they collaboratively authored a book. Our qualitative analysis suggested that participants experienced…

Describes how children in a second-grade classroom collaborate to write classbooks for every conceivable reason. Notes that these books are a very popular take-home item. (SR)

Discusses the Young Authors Program, a program sponsored by the Greater Boston Reading Council, which encourages teachers to help students create original illustrated bound books. (MM)

Describes a four week collaborative writing unit designed to develop students' sense of audience by producing a magazine to orient fifth grade students to junior high school. Discusses how students developed the idea, conducted interviews, wrote articles, used computers to produce the magazine, and distributed copies of their magazine. (RS)

Describes a class novel writing assignment and points out its obvious benefits to the students' understanding of the novel genre. (RAE)

Narrates one teacher's move from high school to eighth-grade English. Describes a method for teaching middle school students how to write collaboratively. Provides details of writing assignments, units, and techniques successfully utilized, including publishing a teenage magazine. (HB)

This article describes a variety of collaborative writing strategies that teachers can use within the four subprocesses of writing (prewriting, drafting, revising, and publishing). The strategies include, among others, brainstorming, semantic maps, directed reading and writing, discussion tests, editing groups, and group efforts in layout and…

This Digest recounts the varied experiences, for both elementary school students and teachers, of producing a classroom newspaper. In the particular instance discussed in the Digest, for the students, it was a chance to collaborate with their peers, to pursue their own special interests, and to see their work published. For the teacher-adviser, it…

The newspaper program at the New Suncook School, Lovell, Maine, is a multi-level, language arts based unit designed to develop in students strong writing and interpersonal relationship skills, and to bring relevance to writing. The monthly newspaper features interviews, surveys, news, and some fiction stories written by students. The newspaper is…

A practicum project was developed and implemented to teach information retrieval literacy skills to Grade 12 regular English students in a public high school. The research skills that the students were learning by mastering the electronic information systems in the school media center were used to research a "real world" problem to be…

Intended for teachers and encompassing all aspects of teaching writing, this book applies the process paradigm to junior and senior high writing instruction. Part 1, "Process and Paradigm," outlines challenges faced by junior and senior high school writing instructors, defines the process paradigm, and presents a sample integrated…