Describes how a weekly focused journal writing assessment (in which students note any use of language they find interesting, puzzling, amusing, or annoying as well as their response to it) enhances composition students' awareness of how language is used and where. Offers several different advantages of such journal writing. (SR)

Describes a journal writing activity designed to engage students in the exchange between text and reader. Argues that informal writing in a journal is a means of letting students find out that, if they engage themselves with a text, they will find it interesting. (RS)

When given the chance to select their own research topics, decide which genres to write in, and determine how to present their findings, students assume ownership and take pride in their work. This book leads teachers through the multigenre research papers with upper elementary students. The book explains how teachers can organize their…

Writing activities can be used to cultivate students' enthusiasm for learning. This book shows teachers how to introduce their students to the benefits of writing in a variety of subjects including math, language arts, science, social studies, and art. Each chapter in the book includes an observation that allows readers to enter a classroom and…