Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools: Theory, Research and Practice

This innovative text speaks directly to students preparing to teach writing and to practicing English teachers who want to improve their ability to teach writing. It includes a useful summary of the research and theory which form the basis of the “writing revolution.” Using practical explanations of teaching strategies and many examples of assignments and student writing, the text offers novel methods through which to teach the writing process and new techniques to effectively evaluate and respond to student writing.

Table of Contents:
1.What English Teachers Need to Know about Writing. Maintaining Students' Positive Attitudes towards Writing. How You Become an Effective Instructor of Writing. What Do You Already Know about Writing? How Can This Book Help You to Become an Effective Writing Instructor? 2.New Goals for Writing Instruction. A Brief History. Composition Research. 3.Teaching the Writing Process. Teaching the Writing Process through Self Reflection. Teaching the Writing Process: Strategies for Composing. 4.Teaching about Sentences. The Development of Sentence Skills. How Error Analysis Can Contribute to Teaching Sentence Skills. Techniques for Helping Students Improve Sentences. Teaching Style. Sentence Construction: Non-Standard Dialect and ESL Students. The Computer and Sentence Level Instruction. 5.Evaluating and Responding to Student Writing. Too Much Evaluation, Too Much Grading. What Is the Value of Not Grading? Evaluation and Response: How Do They Differ? Conferencing. Portfolios. 6.Designing Writing Assignments. How Much Structure? How Much Freedom? Assignment Terminology: What Is the Difference between “Explain” and “Discuss?” Choosing the Assignment Task: What Should Students Write about? Sequencing Assignments: How Do We Increase Assignment Difficulty? The Purpose and Audience for the Assignment: Why Are We Writing? For Whom Are We Writing? Assignment Deadlines: When Is the Paper Due? Developing Evaluation Criteria: “How Can I Get an A?” Assigning and Evaluating Ungraded Writing: “Teacher, but How Will You Grade My Journal?” 7.Writing about Literature. Responding to Literature: Three Dimensions. Responding to Literature: The Reader-Response Approach. Writing the Formal Essay about Literature. Writing about Literature: Alternatives to the Essay. Writing Fiction, Poetry, and Plays. Writing Imaginative Literature and Teaching the Essay. The Computer and Teaching Literature. 8.Composition Curricula: Four Approaches. The Correctness Approach. The Personal Growth Approach. The Rhetorical Approach. The Socio-Cultural Approach. District Curriculum Guides and Classroom Writing Programs. Designing Writing Units. 9.Reflection, Research, and Teaching Writing. The Teacher as Researcher. The Teacher as Writer. The Mechanics of Journal Keeping. Writing by Teachers for Teachers. Benefits: The Teacher Researcher and the Teacher Writer. The Value of Teacher Research for Students. The Value of Teacher Research for the Academic Community. 10.Joining the Profession. The National Council of Teachers of English. Professional Journals. Professional Conferences. Submitting Proposals. The National Writing Project and Special Interest Organizations. The Internet.