Prepared by classroom teachers in a Phoenix elementary school district, this handbook provides information for use in initiating writing practice in both the language arts and the content areas at all elementary school grade levels. The major sections of the handbook provide (1) techniques for motivating students to write; (2) activities at the…

A teacher-written essay comparing writing to farming served as a process model for analogical student themes. This assignment, given to 39 students in 2 classes of a first course in freshman composition, produced complete analogical essays in all but 4 cases. The essays, questionnaire responses, and retrospective essays on the writing of the…

Describes observations of six freshman developmental writers composing with a word processor and computerized prewriting and revising aids, i.e., WANDAH, marketed as HBJ Writer. Stimulated recall sessions using videotapes of the participants' writing are described, the writing process is discussed, and two detailed case studies are presented.…

Various authors provide a wide range of instructional suggestions, including hints for parents on how to read aloud to older children, a story web prewriting technique, a lesson on similes, a description of a series of books designed to develop literacy in natural ways, and advice on using the question-answer relationship procedure and basal…

Discusses two computer programs designed for third-year university-level Spanish composition classes. The programs are based on the process model of composing and consist of pre-writing, writing, and revision. (SED)

The Thinking/Writing model integrates principles of learning theory, composing process research, and practical writing strategies. It is developed to motivate teachers to use writing as a tool for promoting cognitive growth. (MD)

Describes how students who are learning disabled can improve their writing skills through physical movement and manipulating visuals. Describes how movement draws on kinesthetic intelligence and manipulatives draw on spatial intelligence to help students understand language structures in nonverbal ways that may be more intuitive than verbal…

Observation of the development of storytelling skills of seven- and eight-year-old deaf children (N=9) found that subjects who "drafted" their stories in sign language and used role-playing before writing them down produced clearer and more descriptive writing. (CB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

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…

Many communication majors expect to do little written communication, since skill in oral communication is more developed if not preferred. Before a student writes or becomes engaged in the rational and logical process of evaluating writing, he or she is in the stage of clearing the mind for action. A non-rationalistic approach to writing seeks to…

Teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) can use prewriting activities at the earliest stages of instruction to help their students acquire good language skills. Prewriting involves energizing student participation in thinking, talking, group interaction, and skeletal writing activities that become components of a writing task. Concentration…

Intended as an introduction to an interactive writing workshop, this paper presents a general description of the Document Design Center's writing model to be used by workshop participants. Suggesting that the model is an aid in analyzing and revising writing, in developing new documents, and in applying writing research to practical writing tasks,…

In response to recent statistics indicating a 20 percent decline in the ability of the average 17-year-old to analyze, interpret, and express views about written prose, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recommends a number of changes in the elementary school social studies curriculum to provide more opportunities for students…

Jessica Yood argues that Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) initiatives can help us better understand how the academy can act in the information age. Drawing on her observations of a newly emerging WAC program, she offers "an alternative approach to the traditional lens we use to look at disciplines or culture" and suggests that we…

Many college freshmen find it difficult to explore their ideas about writing in the presence of teachers who have already decided the agenda for their student-teacher conferences. Teachers often feel compelled to lead the conversation and fall into an authoritarian model of interaction, "depositing" knowledge into students and ignoring…