The place of grammar within the teaching of writing has long been contested, and a vast body of research has found no correlation between grammar teaching and writing attainment. However, recent studies of contextualized grammar teaching have argued that if grammar input is intrinsically linked to the demands of the writing being taught, a…

Theories of writing development posit several component skills as necessary to the writing process. This meta-analysis synthesizes the literature on the correlation between these proposed component skills and writing outcomes. Specifically, in this study, we examine the bivariate relationships between handwriting fluency, spelling, reading, and…

Theories of writing development posit several component skills as necessary to the writing process. This meta-analysis synthesizes the literature on the correlation between these proposed component skills and writing outcomes. Specifically, this study examines the bivariate relationship of handwriting fluency, spelling, reading, and oral language…

Identifying English Education courses focused on young adult literature as apposite sites for exploring teacher conceptions of youth and the texts aimed for youths' consumptions, this article addresses the multiple sources of tension--and pedagogical potential--of teaching a young adult literature course centrally framed around controversial…

This study examines the writing of 30 engineering students, faculty response, students' reading of the response, subsequent revision, and faculty evaluation to ask what factors contribute to constructive conversation about writing. It affirms previous research that suggests engineering faculty do not provide the facilitative commentary widely…

Discusses the rationale for experimenting with diverse discourse alternatives in writing classrooms. Offers examples of the readings that inspire the author and her students, as well as samples of student essays. (SR)

Analyzes writing samples of a child's letters to her aunt over a period of a year and a half to show how writing and reading influence each other. (SR)

Describes a poetry teaching method in which prereading strategies are used to spark interest and focus on those devices students are expected to learn. Presents samples of poems students wrote imitating devices in the model. Notes that, although not all students became fans of poetry, they developed an appreciation for the poet's task. (RS)

Describes the buddy journal (a diary that two students keep together, in which they "converse" in writing) and suggests ways to use such journals to build children's literacy. Proposes that buddy journals can highlight the reading-writing connection for children by involving purposeful, personal communication to enhance students'…

Describes the "shrinklit," a rhyming summary of a literary work which serves as an alternative to student book reporting. Suggests that shrinklits are enjoyable because they contain relatively sophisticated humor and are easy for secondary students to mimic. Provides examples of shrinklits written by students. (SG)

Suggests that composition courses can strengthen ties between reading literature and writing about it. Shows how writing assignments that originate in readings of literary texts encourage students'"writerliness." Provides a sample satiric sketch assignment sheet. (MM)

Describes a six-week poetry writing workshop for an eighth-grade class. Discusses getting started, two weeks of immersion in reading poetry, students writing their own poetry, creating a community of poets in the classroom, evaluation, students' poetry, and what the teacher learned. Notes that students gained a much richer understanding of poetry.…

Describes the use of dialogue journals to integrate reading and writing in a mixed-grade, mixed-ability (1-3) classroom. Describes student responses (retellings, clarifications, personal subjective responses, and interpretive comments). Advocates that students write continually as they read through a text. Demonstrates that dialogue journals can…

Describes a second-grade class project in which students wrote a fictional biography in response to several books read aloud to them. Enumerates the 9 steps in the process, and presents selections (chapters 1 and 10) from the book "The Man in the Walnut Shell." (SR)

Describes a framework that helps seventh- and eight-grade readers write about what they notice, question, feel, and relate to (about the book they are reading) in reader response journals. Shows how, as a result, they deepen their involvement with and understanding and enjoyment of literature. (SR)