Revision, an essential component of the writing process, encompasses two basic elements: rewriting the content to assure clarity, and editing the draft to eliminate mechanical and grammatical errors. It is important for teachers to plan lessons directed specifically toward helping children make more sense of their messages. This document presents…

Addressing major themes of the commission's "Open Letter to the American People," this article discusses reading and writing skills development, and the cognitive skills involved in these processes. An effective teaching method, the Language Experience Approach based on aural/oral language with reading and writing combined, is detailed. (MBR)

Even young children can be encouraged to write through the use of individual communication, group discussions, and activities that involve rhythms and music. Such activities create a classroom of children who feel comfortable and happy, who share a rapport with their peers and others throughout the school building, and who feel free to express…

Describes strategies which teachers can model to help their students become cognitively aware of language. Suggests that teachers model writing and reading strategies at the same time they demonstrate word processing functions. (MG)

Focusing on the development of literacy, this book discusses the teaching of reading and writing through stories, songs, and poetry. It is argued that, to develop literacy, teachers must know what to teach, how to Teach efficiently, and how to assign practices through which children learn. The book is organized into three general parts. The first…

Designed for use by basic education teachers, this teaching guide outlines a summer school communication skills program for at-risk students which seeks to build self-esteem through high-interest, success-oriented experiences and to enhance language development by providing opportunities to use language in meaningful situations. The guide…

A method for teaching second language writing to beginning students that combines the Language Experience Approach and process writing is described. The method limits the writing task and fosters success. The lesson-by-lesson implementation plan outlined helps teachers guide students from the conception of a writing topic to a first draft, through…

This quasi-experimental study measured the effects of daily opportunities to draw and write on kindergarten children's ability to represent phonemes in their spelling inventions. All students involved in the study had previously been tested using the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test and placed in developmentally appropriate kindergarten…