Reading, vocabulary enlargement, and the cause and effect essay are stressed as activities students can pursue on their own to improve their writing. (HTH)

Tells the story of a substitute teacher's involvement with a "problem" class and her use of a student's idea as a class writing assignment. (RL)

The two-part essay explores problems of developing history curricula and provides a specification for building history curricula that confronts problems about the nature and value of history. Propositions which underlie the specification are also presented. (KC)

Provides several suggestions for introducing a note of humor into the French classroom while at the same time providing writing practice. Suggestions are based on primary source materials, such as newspaper ads, advice columns, graffiti, popular literature, crossword puzzles, etc. (AM)

Discusses a French course designed to help students learn the dynamics of good writing and become sensitive to style. The approach to teaching writing relies on in-class editing of compositions that students produce on a weekly basis. (NCR)

A variety of formats for writing news articles and announcements on a variety of common topics (current events, cultural events, sports, surveys, interviews, travelogs, and classified advertising) is presented in fill-in-the-blank form. Suggestions are offered for using these formats to teach French usage at all levels. (MSE)

This study reports results of student graphing of writing after brief free writing periods in the 4th grade. An examination of writing samples over time from students with the highest and lowest writing rates showed improved writing quality in terms of more concrete details and more sophisticated organization. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Presented are the results from a few of the writing prompts used in a study and some of the comments made by individual students in response to specific prompts. Background of the study, an intervention strategy, and categories used (prompts, responses, applications, and explanations to peers) are discussed. (CW)

Describes the experiences of heterosexual teachers in introducing the topic of sexual preference into a freshman writing course. Expounds on the pitfalls of a writing assignment in which students were asked to describe a conversation with someone about homosexuality. Includes numerous attempts at integrating lesbian and gay experiences into the…

An examination of the effectiveness of the use of various computer-based communication tools (commercial computer conferences, bulletin boards, word processors, outline processors, and electronic dictionaries) in developing college students' Spanish proficiency suggested that computers offered potential for enhancing the writing process. (38…

Offers a practical curriculum for the composition classroom which takes into account a socially informed sequence of work. Argues that every student possesses a socially constituted generic lexicon which functions as a complex code of verbal behavior. Urges teachers to establish mediating links between familiar and unfamiliar generic contexts.…

Examined is the successful grant proposal by Bush School of Salem, Oregon, in which fifth and sixth graders researched, wrote, edited, and published a book about Chief Quinaby. The project bolstered student self-esteem and made learning come alive through real-life experience. An excerpt from the book is included. (SI)

A nine-lesson plan illustrates a senior-level approach to "The Little Prince" that includes follow-up, consolidation, and review activities. Group and individual, oral and written exercises and suggestions for evaluation are provided. (MSE)

Discusses alternatives to formal grammatical analysis to teach syntax and usage, including sentence combining, expansion, and modelling/imitation; transformation exercises; and inductive grammar. Considers ways of teaching editing/proofreading skills, including peer editing, teacher/student conferences, and selective marking of errors. Discusses…

Shows how a teacher used paintings as a basis for writing exercises designed to teach students about the subjectivity of interpretation and the importance of visual imagery. Describes a number of specific writing assignments and classroom activities involving description, interpretation, drawing, poetry, and research papers. (TB)