Of the four modes of communication, writing is the slowest to develop and the most difficult to perform. In his book, Jerral R. Hicks provides a unique perspective on the current status of writing instruction in public schools. He examines the unacceptable statistics which indicate the failure of the educational system to nurture any writing skills at the elementary level. He discusses the sources of the problem, such as poorly trained teachers and limited resources, and proceeds with the delineation of a program intended to develop a more positive and productive instructional writing agenda in public schools. He includes a variety of effective learning activities, including checklists and outlines. The emphasis of this book is upon the potential excellence of the system and how to go about achieving it. Contents : Putting Writing in Perspective; The Nature of Writing; Defining Program Effectiveness; Developing the Writing Program; Stimulating Children to Write; A Writing Curriculum; Appendix.
