A study examined the behavior of first graders as they collaborated on a writing exercise using a word processor. Data were collected over three weeks in the form of fieldnotes and 13.5 hours of videotape of students working at the computer. Videotapes were examined to locate patterns of discourse and physical actions, and by abstracting from the…

Six eclectic basal readers were evaluated to determine what basal readiness programs are teaching kindergarten and early first grade children. Each lesson was analyzed to discover the main purpose of instruction as stated in an objective or skill and the actual requirements placed upon the child during instruction. Using the recommendations from…

Analysis and assessment of young children's spontaneous writing and drawing in daily journals may focus on three significant dimensions: what, who, and how: what stands for thought and meaning; who, for person; and how, for form. These categories may be further divided. Thought and meaning include theme(s), organization, and vocabulary; person…

Intended for college-level basic writers, this booklet integrates training in selected oral communication activities with writing instruction in order to improve students' academic writing. The first section discusses oral communication theory, emphasizing the underlying rhetorical abilities of invention, audience adaptation, and argumentation, to…

Writing techniques espoused by Peter Elbow, applied to the teaching of writing in advertising copywriting classes can help students develop into better writers, generating better copy ideas. The shift of focus from writing a finished piece the first time to concentrating on the process of writing allows for a freer flow of ideas and creativity.…

A project followed the development of a curriculum of editing assignments used to bridge the gap between Miami-Dade Community College students' passive command of grammatical rules and active use of them in their writing. Assumptions and strategies used in developing the curriculum included: (1) the idea that editing must be seen as a part of the…

Intended to provide the schools of California with a standard for assessing their existing writing programs and a tool for designing new programs, this handbook addresses both the content and the teaching methodology of a writing program. Sections of the handbook provide (1) background information on the teaching of writing; (2) a discussion of…

Since spring 1987, Mitchell College has included a computer laboratory component in its basic writing curriculum to teach students word processing skills. The development of the program posed a number of challenges: (1) introducing word processing to all students without revising the curriculum; (2) designing a computer facility that could serve…

Most school writing required of students is done in artificial situations that have little resemblance to the writing demands people actually face. For this reason, students often fail to see the value of writing and thus produce writing that does not reflect their true ability to communicate. In a bilingual Los Angeles school serving students…

This book recounts the struggles and successes of one Seattle School District secondary school composition teacher guiding special education students through the writing process. The nine students had an IQ range of 59 to 109 and had an age range of 14 to 17 years. Of the students assigned to this class: one was neurologically impaired; one was…

The result of a year of research and development in the classroom, the language arts activities presented in this handbook are designed for use with microcomputers in elementary and junior high classrooms. The first chapter reviews the current uses of microcomputers in the classroom and identifies the problems associated with the prevailing…

The 1988 Writing Objectives Assessment is the fifth such assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in grades 4, 8, and 12, since the program began in 1969. The objectives reflect a consensus of opinion regarding the process of writing: that it is used for a variety of purposes and audiences, and that the form and process…

This guide provides a collection of ideas for word processing activities that teachers have found to be useful in special education classes. The guide begins with a list of 41 computer skills, the grade levels at which the skills are usually introduced (from kindergarten to secondary levels), and provides names of commercial programs which may be…

This workbook is part of "Contact Canada," a course for teaching English as a second language to adult Francophones. The specific aim of this booklet is to teach the meaningful use of the progressive present tense through comparison and contrast with simple present tense usage. The workbook, which is accompanied by a six-minute animated…

Intended for use in teaching a senior high school writing course, this curriculum guide uses career related activities to help students clarify their career goals, practice some common adult writing experiences, and, in general, prepare for the future. Four areas from "real life" experiences are included and may be used separately as…