Universities' performance indicators for scholarly outputs depend on academics having productive and sustainable writing behaviours. Research shows that writing programmes can increase research output, but less is known about which writing processes are productive. A project was initiated at a university which widened access to writing support to…

Preschool children hold immense writing potential that is rarely realized in traditional classrooms. This mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study focused on how best to teach these emergent writers. By comparing the effects of interactive writing, writing workshop, and traditional instruction, the study provided a clearer picture of how these…

The purpose of this action research project is to motivate elementary students in writing, specifically in the areas of creativity, detail, and accuracy. The teacher researchers wanted to develop self-motivated and knowledgeable writers. This project was conducted from September 2nd, 2008 to January 30th, 2009. The targeted students enjoyed…

This handbook seeks to provide a practical, readable guide to teaching writing across a broad range of ages and grade levels (K-8). The handbook's seven chapters cover each stage of the writing process in detail, from setting a purpose for writing to drafting, revising, editing, and producing a "finished" product. Its goal is to provide…

Writer's Workshop is a program that teaches children the conventions of writing. Students not only learn proper grammar and punctuation; they also come to learn and value the importance of drafting, revising, and editing their pieces of writing. Writer's Workshop is a process that needs to be consistent. It is composed of three parts. The first…

Describes a fifth-grade teacher's year-long unit of study on memoir. Addresses getting started, mini-lessons, drafting, and embellishment and voice. Notes that even reluctant writers became involved in writing memoirs and that the teacher followed her own advice and began writing a memoir about her grandmother. Appends a rubric for evaluating…

Describes a fifth grade teacher's eight-week unit of study on fiction. Notes that fiction had been a part of the teacher's reading workshop but was absent from her writing workshop. Discusses immersion and exploration, characterization, developing plot, and drafting and revision. (RS)

Drawn from a year-long study in a combined first- and second-grade classroom, this article presents an interpretive portrait of two young students engaged in spontaneous talk while writing. We analyze their conversations to explore the subject positions these student writers assumed, those they assigned each other, and the related functions they…

Although for over 22 years the National Writing Project has been providing methodology for composition instructors, unfortunately pre-service teachers are seldom participants in the Writing Project experience. The need is great for writing pedagogy that truly prepares future teachers to evaluate and respond to writing. Writing partnerships can…

Focuses on performance, processes, and attitudes of 19 kindergarten students who participated in a semester of process writing and instructional activities, asking whether kindergartners can effectively engage in a writing workshop on a sustained basis. Indicates process writing instruction allowed students to show appreciable, measurable gains in…

Most children's books are filled with pictures, yet when schools design curricula to teach writing, they often ignore the role of visual images in the writing process. Historically, methods for teaching writing have focused on text. Even relatively recent techniques like brainstorming and story webbing still focus on verbal information. In some…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of an Instructional Television Program (ITV) designed to model and teach aspects of process writing to second-grade children. Two second-grade teachers and their students (each class contained 24 children) comprised the experimental groups; one second-grade teacher and 24 students comprised the control group.…

This report describes instructional strategies to improve the revising and editing skills of sixth grade students during the writing process. The literature review suggested improved instruction and evaluation through a writing workshop approach as a possible solution to the problem of poor revision skills. Within this structure, research also…