English Updates. April 30, 2007. Eng. Ed. April 2007. Archives.

English Education. April 2007.
Curriculum..... PhD..... Bob Petrone is doing his PhD dissertation on the literacy practices of adolescent boys who participate in skateboarding culture. EngEd (Apr. 07), 196. [Make what you want of that information.]

Literature..... Response..... Students prepare stories of scenes in novels or short stories. What's the difference between a story and a summary? Suggested by MM Juzhik and MB Sherry. EngEd (Apr. 07), 236-258.

Literature..... Culture..... What problems do immigrants face on coming to America? One reason for reading multicultural literature. What are assumptions about immigrants by American students? MK Thompson. EngEd (Apr. 07), 260.

Archives
Speaking..... Writing..... What is the relationship between speaking and writing? “…I find that the more opportunities students have to practice formal oral language, the better their academic writing becomes.” M Cruz. EJ (Jul. 05), 15.

Writing..... Reading..... What is the role of the writer in encouraging readers to read? “To make sure the readers persist, we have to pique them with questions worth answering.” S Dimeo. Wrt (Apr. 05), 33.

Writing..... Advice..... What are some purposes for writing? “Write the book you want to read.” Marilynne Robinson. Wrt (Apr. 05), 25.

Writing..... Argument..... What are the assumptions in an argument? In examining cartoons as well as arguments, what assumptions must the audience share with the cartoonist and the polemicist? BL Brunk-Chavez. TETYC (Dec. 04), 179-185.

Writing..... Assignment..... What are some interesting writing assignments? Students recall and try to re-create in writing a scene from nature, when they said, “That’s beautiful.” R Laughlin. CN+ (Jan. 05), 3.

Writing..... Assignments..... What are some criticisms of writing assignments in classrooms? “But the main insight I have about my own literacy history is that none of the important or meaningful writing I have produced happened as a result of a writing assignment given in a classroom.”—Lillian Bridwell Bowles, 1995. KB Yancey, CCC (Dec. 04), 298. Have students write for real audiences and send that writing to the real person. H Mancina. EJ (Jul. 05), 31-35.

Writing..... Basic..... What is one goal in working with basic writers? “Overcoming any students’, but particularly basic writing students’, fears and doubts regarding themselves as writers is a huge victory. A. Reichert. TETYC (Dec. 04), 171.

Writing..... Beginning..... What is the most effective way to begin stories? “The most common mistake we writers make, especially in first drafts, is to back into the tale and wait too many pages to start the real story.” S Dimeo. Wrt (Apr. 05), 31. “Start with a bang, not a whimper. That play on TS Eliot’s famous line from ‘The Hollow Men’ offers fiction writers good advice for two major reasons. A bang-up opening to the narrative not only hooks the reader but also helps focus the writer’s tone and intent on what follows. Noted writers have long affirmed just how crucial the opening is…. But the best way to master a good opening is to see how classic authors…have done it best.” S Dimeo. Wrt (Apr. 05), 31.

Writing..... Children’s literature..... How long does it take writers to write books? Roald Dahl: “I have written only two long children’s books myself, and for all I know they may be completely worthless…. Each of them took somewhere between eight and nine months to complete, with no time off for other work, and eight or nine months is a big slice out of the life of any writer….” Wrt (Apr. 05), 8.

Writing..... Courses..... What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. CCC (June 05), 556-580.

Writing..... Courses..... What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. CCC (June 05), 556-580.

Writing..... Creative..... How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. CN+ (Aug. 05), 14-15.

EngEd = English Education. CN+ = Classroom Notes Plus. CCC = College Composition and Communication. Wrt = The Writer. TETYC = Teaching English in the Two-Year College. EJ = English Journal.