Preschoolers may be novices in the area of writing but, as this article highlights, they are indeed writers. In a year-long ethnography of preschoolers during structured writing time the teacher/researcher explored how students adapted to a writing workshop format. Students participated in daily journal writing and sharing, and weekly conference…

Noting that educators need to capture the interest of primary students early on to make lifelong writers out of them, this paper discusses ways to encourage the writing process in the primary grades. The paper discusses the philosophy of the writing process, what experts say about writing, setting up the environment, writing with lower primary…

This booklet presents a qualitative evaluation of the Simi Star Project, which sought to demonstrate the use of a Writing to Read adaptation that supports a literature-based, whole language, writing process environment within kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. After a description of the questions that the evaluation asked, the booklet…

Noting that revising is the hardest part of the writing process for children, this book offers practical strategies to effectively motivate students and to help them build the skills to revise their own work. The book suggests that children in grades 2 and above can handle revision if they are taught the skills that enable them to do it and if…

A study (part of the New Zealand Writing Project) investigated how teachers respond effectively to their students' writing. Several related issues were investigated, including whether "good" teachers of writing at various levels differ in approach and techniques used, and which practices bring about improvement at different ages.…

Taking students from emergent to elaborative writers, this book shows teachers how to conduct a daily writing workshop, manage the writing process, and teach the expository and narrative writing techniques primary-grade students will need to become fluent writers. It includes advice on setting up the classroom; scheduling and organizing the…

An action research project designed and evaluated the effectiveness of an instructional strategy to improve the writing of all secondary students (particularly African-American males) in the Webster Groves, Missouri school district. The first year was devoted to an intensive study of African American culture and literature. A list of six…

An action research project addressed the problem of inadequate student knowledge of writing strategies and students' negative attitudes toward the writing process. The targeted population consisted of early childhood, first grade, and third grade students in two growing, lower/middle class communities located in the western suburbs of a large…

A study examined the feedback associated with "author's chair" to determine the opportunities provided for students to learn about literacy. Subjects, six boys and three girls between the ages of 8 and 10 in a self-contained classroom for students identified as learning disabled, were exposed to a process-oriented approach to writing instruction…

The second phase of a 3-year project examining the effect of a process approach to writing instruction on students' expository reading and writing skills, a study determined the impact of three writing programs that emphasized different aspects of a process-oriented writing environment. Data were gathered from 159 fifth and sixth grade students…