Many parents on a southwestern Manitoba (Canada) Indian reservation are troubled by the small number of high school students who graduate. Much of the failure can be attributed to the generally poor writing skills of aboriginal students. To increase the students' writing ability, a computer-assisted instruction program emphasizing writing and…

The development of written language and its functions were studied for 236 second graders (from four locations in the surrounding Birmingham, Alabama area) in 6 traditional and 6 writing process classrooms. Pen pal letters to undergraduates and written samples were obtained from three students from each class. Writing process classrooms reflect…

In 1989, the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools received a grant to create an elementary arts magnet school and to enhance magnet programs at four other schools in Portland (Oregon). The Portland Magnet Program emphasized improvements in programing, marketing, and articulation between magnet programs, allowing the schools to purchase…

The purpose of this report is to examine the processes and skills involved in helping teachers write narratives about cases rich enough to be useful in teacher education programs. The approach described necessitates collaborative exchanges among teachers and researchers and requires numerous iterations of the original narratives. The report traces…

This manual is a resource book for organizers and leaders and parent groups who want to explore specific strategies to help children become better writers. The guide contains material necessary to conduct a 1- or 1.5-hour session on how parents can make writing more meaningful for children. The guide includes: (1) a leader's guide with…

The Children's Art Carnival (CAC) is an intensive holistic reading and reading-oriented arts program for Chapter 1-eligible students who have scored below the cut-off point on a standardized reading test or have performed poorly in the classroom. This report presents the findings of evaluations of the 1990-91 and 1991-92 programs by the Office of…

The Lexington School for the Deaf (New York) has developed a program which involves deaf students in extensive writing within the science curriculum through utilization of a local area network of linked computers. The program is intended to counter the students' low science achievement and poor written language skills. Originally developed for use…

This packet contains 10 selected papers on writing centers in both secondary and post-secondary settings: "Keynote Address: Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center" (Andrea A. Lunsford); "Diversifying for Disabilities: Making Writing a Mode of Encouragement" (Laurie Bertamus); "When Cultures Collide: The…

A literature teacher used high interest paperback books to develop the educational skills and improve the attitudes of unmotivated students. By introducing new books with guides stressing personal reasoning and values clarification over correct answers, the teacher helped build students' confidence in their own thinking ability. She pushed…

The product of a study documenting the classroom writing behavior of three kindergarten and three second grade students, this research report focuses on the kindergarten data. Following an introductory chapter describing the theoretical assumptions underlying the project, the research questions posed, and the provisions made to insure reliable and…

Intended to complement two other summaries about writing across the curriculum at Gallaudet College for deaf students, this report describes the first academic year of the college's writing across the curriculum program (WAC), detailing various instructors' projects and their personal opinions about the program, as well as how the students felt…

In the last 10 to 15 years, a number of higher education institutions have initiated model cooperative programs with high schools to strengthen secondary composition instruction. The Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP) in California involves a 5-week summer seminar in which both secondary and postsecondary instructors write the kinds of compositions…

The articles in this volume were written by teachers with an average of 15 years experience teaching writing from the primary grades through college. Each article is the fruition of one to three years work with students and teachers after a summer institute. The authors of the articles discuss such topics as (1) personal experiences as a teacher…

Directed towards elementary teachers interested in improving their writing programs, this guide focuses on motivating teachers to involve themselves and their students in the writing process. Each of the 12 chapters contains practical step-by-step procedures on implementing the writing process, and sample activities are illustrated. The first…

Intended for all teachers involved in writing instruction, this booklet serves as an inservice guide, focuses on writing as crafting and authoring, and examines components of instruction in writing as a process. The booklet discusses the following topics: (1) the public face of writing in schools, (2) the writing process, (3) the use of models for…