This article illustrates not only how students with special needs grew as writers in an inclusive writing community, but also how a fourth-grade teacher systematically structured the learning environment and tailored her instruction to guide her students to develop as writers as well as to improve their language skills. (Contains 4 figures and a…

Two approaches to bringing out student voices in writing are the the "workshop advocates approach" and the "critical pedagogy advocates approach." The first group views voice as "individual expression," while the second group views voice as "participation." Though both strive to respect the student's voice,…

Offers advice on surviving while trying to make a career as a writer after having been a writing teacher. Outlines the typical writing process students are expected to follow. Questions whether writer's workshop demands the impossible of students. Finds that the best writing process is to write every day at a time that works for the particular…

Discusses the Russian master, Leo Tolstoy, and the fact that he wrote pedagogical treatises besides novels. Talks about his free school for children on his estate and his research on education. Discusses two of Tolstoy's essays which recount interactions with the peasant children. Links this to teaching an adult writing workshop at a soup kitchen.…

Considers five ways in which the theories that inform writers' workshop have been oversimplified to the point where the power and intent of the original idea is lost. Argues that these oversimplified ideas need to be examined and made complex again. Presents Donald Murray's supportive response to the article. (SR)

Considers how encouraging students to tell their own stories in their first languages as well as in English develops academic strategies and a sense of identity. Shares what the authors have learned about how to bring together two teaching disciplines that have sometimes followed separate tracks--the teaching of writing and the teaching of second…

Considers how the College Essay Program, a long-standing tradition in the North Salem Central School District, helps students prepare a written personal statement essay for needs such as college admission applications. Concludes that college essays are engaging personal statements, difficult to write down, that bring a human dimension to the…

Discusses ways in which a ninth grade advanced placement English teacher adapted her teaching methods to an obviously talented writer. Notes that teacher and talented student have entered a new dimension, not only of ownership but of voice--the writing zone. (RS)

Describes a one-day Exemplary Writers' Workshop designed to recognize the writing products of secondary students. Lists workshop goals: providing students with opportunities to interact with professional writers; letting students interact with higher education faculty; and providing students with information about becoming a published writer. (RS)

Challenges two widely accepted ideas infused throughout many writers' workshops: deeply personal writing has transformative power in society; and all literacy is inherently political. Argues that being fluent in many written forms is the best way to provide students with a useful, lifelong tool. (SR)

Responds to an article in the same issue by Ann Ruggles Gere entitled, "Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms: The Extracurriculum of Composition." Gives two examples of "extracurricular" readers and writers that have been neglected by historians: African-American literary societies and community-based writing groups. (HB)

Reports on "Runaway with Words," a poetry workshop for at-risk teens in Florida's runaway shelters. Describes how, through various exercises, oral recitations, and conversations, troubled teens learn basic writing skills that help them gain control over their emotions. (SR)

Discusses ways for teachers to develop their own writing workshops. Discusses briefly four teacher-generated workshops. (RS)

Provides a course overview and a critical statement of a course for seniors (a capstone experience) at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington described as "a workshop leading to production of a senior manuscript in prose or poetry and public reading of selected work." (PA)

Describes a project where the author worked with students twice a week to observe and document types of collaboration that took place during writing workshops. Presents evidence to identify types of collaboration. Discusses these observations and delineates classroom components that allow these interactions to take place. Considers types of…