Soven, Margot Iris

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

Preface vii 1 What English Teachers Need to Know about Writing 1(10) Maintaining Students' Positive Attitudes toward Writing 2(2) How You Become an Effective Instructor of Writing 4(1) What Do You Already Know about Writing? 5(1) How Can This Book Help You to Become an Effective Writing Instructor? 6(1) Conclusion 7(4) 2 New Goals for Writing Instruction 11(14) A Brief History 11(4) Composition Research: New Approaches 15(4) Technology and Teaching Writing 19(1) Conclusion 20(5) 3 Teaching the Writing Process 25(40) Teaching the Writing Process through Self-Reflection 25(7) Teaching the Writing Process: Strategies for Composing 32(1) Prewriting and Planning Techniques 33(8) Writing Time: Drafting and Revising 41(10) Publishing 51(1) Conclusion 52(13) 4 Teaching about Sentences 65(44) The Development of Sentence Skills 66(2) How Error Analysis Can Contribute to Teaching Sentence Skills 68(4) Techniques for Helping Students Improve Sentences 72(1) Where Does Grammar Fit In? 73(4) Sentence Combining and Generative Rhetoric 77(8) Assorted Exercises in Sentence Composing 85(1) Teaching Style 86(3) Sentence Instruction: Nonstandard Dialect and ESL Students 89(4) The Computer and Sentence Instruction 93(1) Conclusion 94(15) 5 Evaluating and Responding to Student Writing 109(26) Too Much Evaluation, Too Much Grading 110(3) What Is the Value of Not Grading? 113(1) Evaluation and Response: How Do They Differ? 114(12) Conferencing 126(1) Portfolios 127(6) Conclusion 133(2) 6 Designing Writing Assignments 135(22) How Much Structure? How Much Freedom? 137(3) Assignment Terminology: What Is the Difference between Explain and Discuss? 140(1) Choosing the Assignment: What Should Students Write About? 141(2) Sequencing Assignments: How Do We Increase Assignment Difficulty? 143(1) The Purpose and Audience for the Assignment: Why Are We Writing? For Whom Are We Writing? 144(1) Assignment Deadlines: When Is the Paper Due? 145(1) Developing Evaluation Criteria: "How Can I Get an A?" 146(1) Assigning and Evaluating Ungraded Writing: "Teacher, How Will You Grade My Journal?" 147(7) Conclusion 154(3) 7 Writing about Literature 157(40) Writing about Literature 158(1) Responding to Literature: Three Dimensions 158(4) Responding to Literature: The Reader-Response Approach 162(4) Writing the Formal Essay about Literature 166(4) Writing about Literature: Alternatives to the Essay 170(2) Writing Fiction, Poetry, and Plays 172(3) Writing Imaginative Literature and Teaching the Essay 175(1) The Computer and Teaching Literature 176(1) Conclusion 176(21) 8 Composition Curricula: Four Approaches 197(44) The Correctness Approach 201(2) The Personal Growth Approach 203(4) The Rhetorical Approach 207(8) The Sociocultural Approach 215(5) District Curriculum Guides and Classroom Writing Programs 220(1) Designing Writing Units 221(7) Conclusion 228(13) 9 Reflection, Research, and Teaching Writing 241(44) The Teacher as Researcher 243(6) The Teacher as Writer 249(4) The Mechanics of Journal Keeping 253(2) Writing by Teachers for Teachers 255(1) Benefits: The Teacher-Researcher and the Teacher-Writer 256(2) The Value of Teacher Research for Students 258(2) The Value of Teacher Research to the Academic Community 260(2) Conclusion 262(23) 10 Joining the Profession 285(18) The National Council of Teachers of English 286(1) Professional Journals 286(6) Professional Conferences 292(1) Submitting Proposals 292(2) Support for Your Research 294(1) The National Writing Project 295(1) Special-Interest Organizations 296(1) The Internet 297(1) Conclusion 297(6) Index 303