Teaching Composition

Teaching Composition
Author: Gary Tate
Publisher: TCU Press
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1987
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780875650692

Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing

Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing
Author: Eve Bearne
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2007-09-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 184920506X

Includes CD-Rom Why are visual approaches to literacy important? Children′s experience of texts is no longer limited to words on printed pages - their reading and writing worlds are formed in multimodal ways, combining different modes of communication, including speech or sound, still or moving images, writing and gesture. This book is a practical guide for teachers in making sense of multimodal approaches to teaching writing. The book covers topics such as: - The design of multimodal texts and the relationships between texts and images - How to build a supportive classroom environment for analysing visual and audiovisual texts, and how to teach about reading images - How to plan a teaching sequence leading to specific writing outcomes - Examples of teaching sequences for developing work on narrative, non-fiction and poetry - Formative and summative assessment of multimodal texts, providing levels for judging pupil development, and suggestions for moving pupils forward - How to write, review and carry out a whole school policy for teaching multimodal writing The book is accompanied by a CD, which contains a range of examples of children′s multimodal work, along with electronic versions of the activities and photocopiable sheets from the book, and material designed for use with interactive whiteboards. It will be a valuable resource for primary teachers, literacy co-ordinators and students on initial teacher training courses.

Theorizing Composition

Theorizing Composition
Author: Mary Kennedy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 422
Release: 1998-06-25
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0313367590

The last 25 years have witnessed extraordinary growth in the academic specialization variously described as composition studies or rhetoric and composition. What was noticeable about the field in its infancy was a preoccupation with practice, a lack of emphasis on theory, and an exclusive reliance on the writing process. As its disciplinary status has grown, the field has become far more theoretical. Composition studies has expanded its focus, reconceptualized the writing process, and embraced a wide range of critical perspectives. The result of this change is that terms such as poststructuralism, social construction, gender, and genre, which were largely unknown in 1965, now dominate discussion. This reference book is a guide to the multiplicity of theories that have emerged to form the disciplinary foundation of composition studies. The volume consists of 66 entries, each of which is written by an expert contributor and focuses on a particular theory or group of theories. While the entries show how various individuals have contributed to theoretical movements, very few concentrate on the work of a single theorist. Each entry first provides a critical summary of a particular theory or group of theories, including key elements, basic concepts and claims, and information about seminal or particularly influential works. It then reviews the theory's critical reception in composition studies and discusses its significance in the field. The bibliography at the end of each entry lists primary texts and major scholarship related to the theory and provides additional suggestions for further reading. The volume closes with a selected bibliography of important works.

Teaching L2 Composition

Teaching L2 Composition
Author: Dana R. Ferris
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2013-10
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1136696652

This popular, comprehensive theory-to-practice text is designed to help teachers understand the task of writing, L2 writers, the different pedagogical models used in current composition teaching, and reading–writing connections. Moving from general themes to specific pedagogical concerns, it includes practice-oriented chapters on the role of genre, task construction, course and lesson design, writing assessment, feedback, error treatment, and classroom language (grammar, vocabulary, style) instruction. Although all topics are firmly grounded in relevant research, a distinguishing feature of the text is the array of hands-on, practical examples, materials, and tasks that pre- and in-service teachers can use to develop the complex skills involved in teaching second language writing. Each chapter includes Questions for Reflection, Further Reading and Resources, Reflection and Review, and Application Activities. An ideal text for L2 teacher preparation courses, courses that include both L1 and L2 students, and workshops for instructors of L2 writers in academic (secondary and postsecondary) settings, the accessible synthesis of theory and research enables readers to see the relevance of the field’s knowledge base to their own present or future classroom settings and student writers.

Beyond the Corporate University

Beyond the Corporate University
Author: Henry A. Giroux
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780742510487

Prominent scholars in this book move boldly beyond critique to show how and why the critical functions of a democratically informed civic education (not merely professional training) must become the core of the university's mission. They show why higher education must address what it means to relate knowledge to public life, and social responsibility to the demands of critical citizenship. Moreover, they show why democratic forms of education and various elements of a critical pedagogy are vital not only to individual students, but also to our economy and our democratic institutions and future leadership. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Rhetoric and Reality

Rhetoric and Reality
Author: James A. Berlin
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 242
Release: 1987
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 080931360X

Intended for teachers of college composition, this history of major and minor developments in the teaching of writing in twentieth-century American colleges employs a taxonomy of theories based on the three epistemological categories (objective, subjective, and transactional) dominating rhetorical theory and practice. The first section of the book provides an overview of the three theories, specifically their assumptions and rhetorics. The main chapters cover the following topics: (1) the nineteenth-century background, on the formation of the English department and the subsequent relationship of rhetoric and poetic; (2) the growth of the discipline (1900-1920), including the formation of the National Council of Teachers of English, the appearance of the major schools of rhetoric, the efficiency movement, graduate education in rhetoric, undergraduate courses and the Great War; (3) the influence of progressive education (1920-1940), including the writing program and current-traditional rhetoric, liberal culture, and expressionistic and social rhetoric; (4) the communication emphasis (1940-1960), including the communications course, the founding of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, literature and composition, linguistics and composition, and the revival of rhetoric; and (5) the renaissance of rhetoric and major rhetorical approaches (1960-1975), including contemporary theories based on the three epistemic categories. A final chapter briefly surveys developments through 1987. (JG)

Teaching ESL Composition

Teaching ESL Composition
Author: Dana R. Ferris
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2004-09-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135626936

In keeping with the spirit of the first edition, Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice, Second Edition presents pedagogical approaches to the teaching of ESL composition in the framework of current theoretical perspectives on second language writing processes, practices, and writers. The text as a whole moves from general themes to specific pedagogical concerns. A primary goal is to offer a synthesis of theory and practice in a rapidly evolving community of scholars and professionals. The focus is on providing apprentice teachers with practice activities that can be used to develop the complex skills involved in teaching second language writing. Although all topics are firmly grounded in reviews of relevant research, a distinguishing feature of this text is its array of hands-on, practical examples, materials, and tasks, which are presented in figures and in the main text. The synthesis of theory and research in a form that is accessible to preservice and in-service teachers enables readers to see the relevance of the field's knowledge base to their own present or future classroom settings and student writers. Each chapter includes: *Questions for Reflection--pre-reading questions that invite readers to consider their own prior experiences as students and writers and to anticipate how these insights might inform their own teaching practice; *Reflection and Review--follow-up questions that ask readers to examine and evaluate the theoretical information and practical suggestions provided in the main discussion; and *Application Activities--a range of hands-on practical exercises, such as evaluating and synthesizing published research, developing lesson plans, designing classroom activities, executing classroom tasks, writing commentary on sample student papers, and assessing student writing. The dual emphasis on theory and practice makes this text appropriate as a primary or supplementary text in courses focusing on second language writing theory, as well as practicum courses that emphasize or include second language writing instruction or literacy instruction more generally. New in the Second Edition: *updated research summaries consider new work that has appeared since publication of the first edition; *revised chapter on research and practice in the use of computers in second language writing courses covers recent developments; *streamlined number and type of Application Activities focus on hands-on practice exercises and critical analysis of primary research; and *revisions throughout reflect the authors' own experiences with the text and reviewers' suggestions for improving the text.