Lists eight ways to develop a topic for a composition. (DF)

Designed to combine the science and the art of teaching composition, this series of assignments encourages junior high and high school writing students to explore tone, original visual images, point of view, and other literary techniques. One assignment asks students to write a number of paragraphs alternately using sarcasm, humor, melancholy, and…

The expressive reading journal aims to break through student passivity by asking students to write extensively and expressively about what they read, each time they read, and to make discoveries and take possession of what they read. This type of journal in the academic course depends for its usefulness on the nature of expressive language, the…

Proposes a seven-stage model to assist in the process of synchronizing the rhythm of teachers' activities with those of their students. (DF)

Uses ideas from speech act theory to show students how to become "co-communicants" with their readers. (DF)

Reviews four specific prewriting activities designed to foster prewriting and avoid premature drafting on the computer: freewriting, electronic journal-keeping, idea-generation, and online "conversations." Provides hints for developing lesson files, reviews current prewriting and hypertext software, and provides tips on selecting software. (14…

A study investigated the effects of preteaching vocabulary on students' performance of a writing task targeted to the use of those words. Subjects were 50 fourth grade and 55 sixth grade students. Materials included a pretest narrative writing assignment, a 10-word vocabulary pretest and posttest, a vocabulary instructional booklet with teacher's…

Reports on a research study to determine if computer-aided instruction could help stimulate prewriting composition. Compares three methods of prewriting instruction and argues that a systematic procedure may be taught as a means of improving writing production. Contends computer usage can enhance this procedure. (RKM)

This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

Noting that effective writing instruction depends on careful planning informed by knowledge of the writing process and its variations in relation to different audiences and purposes, this teacher's guide explains the nature of the writing process and how it relates to instruction. The purposes of the guide are threefold: to highlight current…

Contributed by English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of English and the language arts. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration and include activities where students become acquainted…

Contributed by high school English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of English and the language arts. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration with such activities as examining the…

The result of the collaborative efforts of seven writing instructors and based in part on the Bay Area Writing Project, this writing guide is intended for teachers in grades one through six. In the first part, the first of four sections suggests instructional techniques and activities, includes student writing samples, and defines the writing…

The film, "Telling an Old Story" (part of the series "Writers Writing" that was coproduced by WNET and Learning Designs and televised by WNET in 1985), was integrated into college developmental writing classes and proved to be an effective strategy for the improvement of students' writing skills. The film was presented with the…