Presents the idea of writing in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom in order to enable students to view mathematics not as an isolated subject but as a living part of the world where ideas can be communicated using language. Includes a rubric for assessing a mathematical storybook produced by teacher and students. (ASK)

A study within one Australian college of education investigated the appropriateness of literature-based essays to test learning and attitudes of students and faculty toward the assessment method. It is concluded that a number of faculty had shortcomings in theoretical knowledge of assessment, and that use of these essays frequently failed to meet…

Discusses specific problems (arising in the context of a writing center visit) that writing assignments have caused students. Considers problems in teachers communicating objectives with students, unspecific teacher comments on students' papers, lack of examples for the writing assignment, overemphasis on grammatical correctness, unspecified…

Describes five writing activities for college writing courses: (1) a documented opinion paper exercise; (2) breaking writing rules; (3) trip reports from absentees; (4) case studies to promote writing for particular audiences for pragmatic purposes; and (5) an organizing strategy for studying, using a chart format. (SR)

Provides writing exercises which encourage the use of sense details to let the reader know what is in the writer's mind. Provides writing exercises for setting a mood, describing places in fiction, adding metaphors, and describing people. (MG)

Describes Readers Theatre, a presentation of prose or poetry that is expressively and emotionally read aloud by several readers. Describes how students work collaboratively to adapt their favorite books, poems, or stories to a Readers Theatre script. (RS)

Describes an undergraduate women's literature course in which students write in journals. Argues that the course may resolve conflict between feminist teachers, who dislike some theorists' uncritical view of feminism, and theorists, who dislike the taint of male philosophy in feminist teaching. Suggests that course interaction can bridge these…

Describes writing exercises that stimulate learning while not burdening the instructor. Discusses simulations in which students are asked to write a diary entry about the daily experiences of a 75-year-old, to formulate a marriage contract, and to write a letter to a friend describing the student's worst job experience. (KO)

Techniques for using the whole language approach include read-aloud sessions, student story dictation, practice in using decoding skills, word banks, and exercises that stress the connection between reading and writing. The method considers individual needs and interests, offers relevance, and builds on adults' experiences. (SK)

Offers 17 exercises combining writing and painting, each with its own theme and goal, and all designed to show that close observation is fundamental to the effectiveness of both visual and verbal expression. (SR)

Literature is the ideal vehicle to enable English-as-a-Second-Language students to better recognize their own and other viewpoints and values. Students can develop academic skills by focusing on point of view and multiple perspectives through reading short stories and by completing related writing assignments. 38 references. (Author/CB)

Describes a research paper assignment requiring community college students to locate several reviews on a theatrical production and, using critics' opinions as evidence, write a paper to convince readers that they should or should not see that particular show. Offers a rationale for the assignment based on student characteristics and needs. (DMM)

Describes an activity for primary school students, combining writing with computer-art quilt-making. Provides a bibliography of quilt books. (MM)

Examines the format and nature of the two required writing tasks in the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) English Examination. Asserts that the test assignments do not properly assess writing ability and are problematic, tedious, and ineptly-conceived ordeals for pupils. Discusses the use of writing folders as an alternative. (KEH)

Emphasizes that composition teachers can create exercises fitted to the current psychological or process perspective on learning (freewriting, drafting, revision) by adding to classical or product perspective (copying, summarizing, paraphrasing, translating, amplifying) the elements of rhetorical purpose and sense of context and community. (RS)