Text Speak

As a future teacher and a Communications/Writing Arts dual major, this article bothered me.  The article discusses how schools in New Zealand now allow their students to use “text speak” on national exams.  For those who don’t know, text speak is the slang and abbreviations for words/phrases used in text messaging and instant messaging.  For [...]

The Write Games

            Most elementary teachers have some kind of fun activity or free time on Fridays, where students usually play board games, draw, or engage in some other non-academic related activity.  It’s possible to have children play, have fun, and still learn with educational games such as these, provided by Education World.  When practicing synonyms, you [...]

The Write Idea

If you were to ask elementary students what their favorite part of the school day is you would very rarely hear language arts as a response.  It’s difficult for language arts teachers to compete with lunch, gym, and recess, but it’s not impossible.  There are many ways to include some fun in the writing process.  [...]

Toddlers Typing

First I learned how to sing the alphabet; then I learned how to write the alphabet. This would seem to represent how students learn to write; yet technology is dramatically changing this. Check out this you tube where a toddler is learning to type the alphabet rather than write. Do you think that these activities [...]

Writing Across all Subjects

“Few faculty would deny the importance of writing in their academic discipline or the role writing plays in mastering material, shaping ideas, and developing critical thinking skills. Writing helps students learn the subject matter: they understand and retain course material much better when they write about it.”
Here are some strategies from http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/writebetter.html :
General Strategies
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