Reviews college students' compositions describing the acquisition of their literacy skills. Reports that males' anecdotes tend to reflect individual achievement and competition, whereas females' writings display a process and cooperation focus. Argues that new research must be conscious of these differences, or gender-blind studies may be…

Examines teachers' responses to students' first drafts of writing assignments. States that teachers should lead students to rethink and rewrite through positive, constructive feedback. Suggests three ways to encourage students to rewrite/revise, including: dialogue feedback, student conferencing, and reader reaction summary. (MM)

Explores Michel Foucault's view of discourse and relates it to the college freshman writing experience. Describes discourse as the aim to expose a fundamental contradiction between the nature of knowledge and the notion of unchanging structures. Compares two student passages to illustrate empowerment within discourse. (KEH)

Surveys recent feminist research on gender differences in social and psychological development, and shows how this research and theory may be used in examining student writing, thus suggesting directions that a feminist investigation of composition might take. (SR)

Describes a pen pal project designed to meet the needs of a group of elementary special education students learning to become efficient users of language and of university education majors focusing on issues related to the literacy activities of nonconventional learners. (SR)

Describes teaching history to fourth graders using novels and reference books. Notes that students also publish a newspaper and complete an oral history project. (SR)

The historical bases for "text appropriation" in native English speaker (NES) and English-as-a-Second-Language writing classrooms are reviewed, along with the effect of the exclusion of the social context in writing. Suggestions are offered for encouraging teachers to use their roles as writing experts and cultural informants to empower students…

Describes how students in a sixth-grade class connected reading and writing in the context of a project on traditional stories and new transformations of those old tales. Includes a 20-item annotated bibliography of transformations of traditional stories. (SR)

Describes the use of alternative types of poetry and affirmations to encourage self-esteem and break down barriers to learning in an adult basic skills reading class. (SR)

Asserts that autobiographical writing empowers community college students to create public voices and meet personal and professional goals while enlightening instructors about the effectiveness of teaching methods. Discusses journal writing as self-teaching, student responses to existing autobiographical models, the influence of peer audience on…

Explores how visual (pictorial) and verbal (linguistic) systems work together and influence each other as young children create symbol systems. Finds that, for young children, color plays a key role in communicating messages. Shows how art and writing (especially color and light) influence each other in children's literacy development. (SR)

Describes how writing workshops, and in particular how peer response to writing, were incorporated into a graduate level reading/language-arts-methods course with a research paper requirement. Discusses how writing-workshop sessions and peer response to writing were implemented in the course. Notes student response, and discusses positive results.…

Discusses why two high school teachers in Kentucky teach the novel "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, discussing their beginnings, their experiences, their approach, and their goals and criteria. Discusses prereading, reading, and postreading activities. Discusses concerns raised by teachers regarding student maturity and parental approval, and…

Recounts a unique literacy project for the early childhood classroom that integrated pictures, oral histories, and print to create a name storybook. Notes how children began to recognize their own names in writing and the names of their fellow students, were exposed to diverse cultures, and encouraged parental involvement. Includes written…

Argues that writing to a real audience in the form of a letter is an effective way for students to learn the importance of audience in writing. Stresses the idea that students who are intimidated by the writing process will view letter writing in a more positive light and be more amenable to the learning process. Describes a specific…