The authors present the experiences of Wyatt, a nine-year-old whose mother described him as a struggling writer, in a summer digital writing camp. The authors consider how Wyatt was positioned as a writer at camp and how this may have differed from his experiences at school. They found that for Wyatt, being able to compose with digital tools along…

Interrupted formal education is a barrier that makes learning English as an adult an extremely challenging commitment. Besides the many work and family responsibilities that most adult English as a second language (ESL) learners face, students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) often lack familiarity with school-based skills and typical…

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)

Intended to help teachers understand the complexities of the writing process, this pamphlet offers a model for writing conceptualized in three phases: stimulus, process, and product. The process phase is then examined from the perspectives of: consciousness, speed and elaboration, and mental/physical interaction. The following implications for…

Offers peer-response groups as a method for teaching composition. Discusses published and student models, practicing in class with a teacher's draft, and how to form and run peer-response groups. Lists five observed qualities of successful groups, and describes how the teacher fits into the process. Includes examples from students' papers. (PRA)

Presents a grade one and two activity that teaches students the strategy of reading like a writer. Demonstrates the method using Dayal Kaur Khalsa's "I Want A Dog." (MM)

Describes how a shared poetry exercise, combining whole language experiences with process writing techniques, motivates remedial readers. Notes that this technique helps remedial readers achieve success in writing, build sight and meaning vocabularies, and improve reading fluency. (MM)

This paper describes the use of collaborative writing software and simultaneous electronic chats in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. Most ESL students have little experience using word processing software, and most have no keyboarding experience. Using electronic chat sessions assists ESL students with sentence construction, vocabulary…