A two-year study investigated writing in the elementary school. Data collected included field notes from observation of a second/third grade classroom, videotapes of selected classroom activities, weekly journals kept by the teacher reflecting her thoughts on teaching in general and on writing in particular, interviews with the teacher about the contents of videotapes and journal entries, student writings collected naturalistically, and conversations with students about their writing. Results revealed that the teaching and learning of writing was largely inarticulated. When free of the materials and precise district mandates both supporting and limiting instruction in other academic areas, writing posed both a problem and an opportunity for the teacher and students. Much of the creative instruction in writing was "invisible." Teachers often engaged students in writing that was incidental (to the completion of other academic tasks), or writing became such a part of everyday life in the classroom that it went unremarked upon by those involved. (HOD)