A sentence variety exercise, used to help student writers consciously consider and control the lengths and types of sentences in their essays, is discussed. Students revised paragraphs according to the method and reflected on whether they found the exercise useful in improving their writing. Reactions were mixed, although most students were able…

Through journal writing children have the opportunity to explore learning, feelings, experiences and language. It is a very effective means of helping students develop writing skills through a process approach. Here is a framework for exploring the possibility of including a journal writing program in an elementary school curriculum: (1) consider…

Aiming to develop both a philosophy and a rationale for student-determined course content, this paper proposes ways in which college students can determine reading content and writing assignments for their courses. An instructor and his students at the University of Illinois at Chicago developed course syllabi for English 152 (introduction to…

The CC School project, which included 18 elementary students with deafness enrolled in the TRIPOD program within the Burbank (California) Public Schools, applied a personal video captioning technology in a workstation setting to a weekly writing experience that involved translating short American Sign Language video stories into written English…

Second language learners need to be given tools with which they can make language learning a personal experience. In writing, this means that they are given the skills needed to collect, organize, and present information that stimulates acquisition of new vocabulary and production of authentic writing that encourages language-related risk-taking.…

It is proposed that a major obstacle for intermediate-level learners of English as a Second Language is the transition from thinking in the native language to thinking in English, that this transition must be made before proceeding from the intermediate level, and that it should begin as early as possible in language training. Early in-class…

This booklet contains 51 selected journal entries, written in English or Spanish by migrant students in the 1990 Migrant Education Summer Program of the Escondido Union High School District, San Diego, California. The students recorded their thoughts on the following topics: (1) personal histories; (2) experiences at school; (3) life in…

Recent writing theory, research, and pedagogy have aided in the development of several models for improving second language writing skills. Attention is focused more on writing as a process, the importance of practice in writing improvement, and the need to learn cognitive structures contributing to writing. Daily journal writing is one method of…

This paper shows how a traditional story can be used to teach an indigenous language, and how the inclusion of writing can help students learn the language effectively. Hupa people have told Coyote stories for thousands of years. Such Hupa stories are incorporated in Hupa language instruction using the Language Proficiency Method, which involves a…

In an attempt to improve its students' writing abilities, as well as their critical thinking skills, Lord Fairfax Community College, in Virginia, developed a program called "Thinking through Writing." The project designers believed that concept formation, classification, memory enhancement, and other learning/thinking skills could be…

A study examined the effect of a computer network which was designed to create a functional learning environment to engage students in writing as a communicative act with a real audience. Subjects, 44 seventh-grade Israeli students, wrote an essay as part of their regular midterm examination and, a week later, wrote another essay for their peers,…

This student workbook for adult beginning reading instruction consists of a series of exercises in three instructional units. The first unit contains three lessons concerning self-description. The second unit consists of three lessons on the class, classroom, and clothing. The third unit has two lessons, one about daily activities and one about…

In 1983, Charles County Community College (CCCC) initiated a project to infuse academic information from the sciences, humanities, and social sciences into developmental courses. The reorganization assignments related to 27 topics that promoted academic examination and cultural literacy while at the same time drawing from students' own…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on writing strategies for gifted children is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a…

A series of computer programs have been developed at Michigan Technological University for use with technical writing and technical communications classes. The first type of program in the series, CURIE II, includes process-based modules, each of which corresponds to one of the following assignments: memoranda, resumes, feasibility reports,…