Explores the gap between adult writers and children readers and examines some misconceptions about writing for children. (HTH)

Presents suggestions for teachers to help writing students understand when and when not to revise their writing. (HTH)

Patterns of misspelling common to children's writing are examined to help teachers recognize the strategies used by developing spellers so that they can provide more focused and individualized spelling instruction. (HTH)

Examines three misconceptions teachers and parents make about children and learning to spell: (1) learning to spell is based primarily on a child's knowledge of phonics, (2) learning to spell is a memorization process, and (3) children should not write if they cannot spell words correctly. (HTH)

Seven characteristics of an effective spelling program, supported by multiple independent research studies, are examined along with their implications for learning to spell. (HTH)

The value of teaching children to look objectively at language as they make the transition from reality-bound sentences to linguistically correct sentences is examined. (HTH)

Cites materials in the ERIC system concerning research on classroom communication and its implications, and notes some of the problems with that research. (HTH)

Presents a historical overview of the introduction of the major reading comprehension assessments, showing that the predominant approaches were shaped by the prevailing educational measurement milieu and were implemented largely in response to public pressure. Argues in favor of a naturalistic reading comprehension assessment for evaluating those…

Demonstrates how peer interaction during writing helps children experience connections between reading and writing. Describes children's responses to unfinished pieces, a peer's "published" piece, other students' published books (read aloud by a student other than the author), and to books written by professional authors. (HTH)

Expands the usual notion of critical reading from just the judgments readers make about the text to include judgments they make about their "reading" of the text. Describes activities to develop "executive" metacomprehension skills. (HTH)

Examines British education in which students who have not learned to read in infant (primary) school are given "remedial" instruction, arguing that these students are not "remedial" but rather are learning language for the first time. Recommends teaching based on the similarities between remedial instruction and second language learning. (HTH)

Presents a dialogue with a student, indicating her frustration with reading instruction that concentrates on practicing isolated skills rather than reading practice for pleasure. (HTH)

Discusses potential microcomputer applications in the language arts classroom, including computer assisted instruction, computer managed instruction, and information processing. Examines several disadvantages of the current technology such as its emphasis on visual skills at the expense of oral language. (HTH)

Discusses the interrelationship of the language arts, and how both oral and written language help the learning process. Describes a classroom in which students' activities center around talking, and how the teacher participated as a researcher in ethnographic studies out of which came the motivation for this instructional approach. (HTH)

Describes one teacher's systematic inquiry into the effectiveness of strategies to increase students' vocabularies. A research-type approach indicated that use of clarity statements and interchanges that encouraged connections to the students' own lives seemed more effective in helping students incorporate their understanding of concepts with…