This article presents a case study of a fourth grade boy's experiences in writing, preceding and following a story he wrote about a boy whose struggles in writing led directly to his death. We explore how Max's writing experiences related to his identity, specifically his sense of himself as a writer, his struggle to communicate his ideas, and his…

As part of a larger ethnographic project addressing the construction of gender through literacy, this study focused on understanding how the children in one writing process classroom expressed their social selves in their written compositions, as well as how those compositions were engineered within the social dynamics of the classroom. The study…

This report summarizes the findings of a 2-year research project on creative writing and adult education in Cleveland, England, that focused on the ideas and feelings of tutors, students, and writers involved in creative writing workshops in the city. The report begins with overviews of creative writing activities in Cleveland (including mention…

This compilation presents materials associated with the 5-week summer session of the Samford University Writing Project, 1992. The compilation begins with curriculum vitae of staff, teacher consultants, and guest speakers. The compilation also presents lists of group and committee members and daily logs written in by participants in a wide variety…

The first edition of this book in 1987 examined how teachers teach and how learners learn in the context of reading and writing workshops for middle school students. This revised edition still stresses the workshop approach to writing and English instruction, but it calls for a more activist approach by the teacher, encouraging more direction and…

International students travel in many ways. First of all geographically: they move from one country to another. Secondly, they travel through their own identities: they have to find a new place in a new context by familiarizing themselves with new values and customs, while making sure they meet the requirements their studies ask of them. Writing…

Both curricular reformers and writing specialists believe a connection exists between critical thinking and writing, however two obstacles have prevented any conclusion from emerging. One is that there is no established shared understanding of what "critical thinking" means. The other is that no one knows how to measure it, even though…

A plan for increasing effective student writing skills was developed and implemented. Subjects were students in a regular first-grade class, a fifth-sixth grade behavior disorder (BD) class, and a seventh-eighth grade self-contained educable mentally handicapped (EMH) class, all of whom exhibited inadequate writing skills. Evidence for the…

This report describes instructional strategies to improve the revising and editing skills of sixth grade students during the writing process. The literature review suggested improved instruction and evaluation through a writing workshop approach as a possible solution to the problem of poor revision skills. Within this structure, research also…

Israeli 12th graders studying English as a Second Language benefit from writers' workshops where they compose written portfolios and learn to express themselves fluently in writing. Students write with paper and pen or work via the Internet. They write on selected issues and send letters and articles to various online and print journals and…

Investigates preservice teachers' attitudes toward writing and toward teaching writing after completing an innovative language-arts course that stressed process approaches and the writing workshop. Examines the influence this course had on the teaching of writing during their student teaching. Investigates how writing instruction was incorporated…

This article examines a children's book writing workshop for middle school students of color in which 12 girls participated. The curriculum was developed to create intersections between students' in- and out-of-school lives. The students' writing within the workshop is analyzed by unpacking their "recontextualizations" of settings, characters,…

For several years, the author has been working with colleagues in the Northern California Writing Centers Association (NCWCA) and the Stanford Writing Center to build bridges between college and high school writing centers. The writing center at Stanford defines one of its central goals as "celebrating a culture of writing" for all…

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 a program for advancement of students' literacy to improve their reading and writing skills. Subjects were seven fifth-grade bilingual students in a growing middle class community, located in a suburb of a large midwestern city. The problem of low reading and writing scores was documented in student writing samples, teacher…