ERIC Number: ED274955
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985-Oct
Pages: 10
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Microcomputer Activities Which Encourage the Reading-Writing Connection.
Balajthy, Ernest
Many reading teachers, cognizant of the creative opportunities for skill development allowed by new reading-writing software, are choosing to use microcomputers in their classrooms full-time. Adventure story creation programs capitalize on reading-writing integration by allowing children, with appropriate assistance, to create their own "choose-your-ending" stories using the computer. These stories present to the child a series of options through which the story develops. "Story Tree" is a good example of this software. "That's My Story" and "The Playwriter Series" are similar, but are designed for younger children and need less teacher monitoring, while "The Writing Adventure" and "AdventureWriter" are more educationally sophisticated programs. A successful plan for teaching the use of complex adventure story creation software might include (1) training teacher aides in advance to use the program, (2) introducing the program to the class in a large group demonstration, (3) assigning group writing experiences for increased peer feedback and interaction, (4) establishing a disk library of stories as part of the regular classroom program, and (5) copying the file disks that contain students' created stories and trading them with other classes. An increasing variety of software which focuses on reading-writing integration, particularly "meaning-centered" software, is being offered to teachers. (A list of adventure story creation programs, publishers, and prices is included.) (JD)
Descriptors: Computer Assisted Instruction, Courseware, Creative Thinking, Creative Writing, Elementary Education, Microcomputers, Reading Games, Reading Improvement, Reading Instruction, Reading Programs, Reading Skills, Reading Strategies, Reading Writing Relationship, Teaching Methods, Word Processing
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A