The following articles provide detailed insights into classroom practice on the teaching of writing skills in context.

• 'Contextualising the Teaching of Writing'
  A Paper (12 pages) presented by Rodney Martin at the AATE-ALEA National Conference in Canberra, Australia in July 2007.
  It is both possible and practical to contextualise the teaching of writing and associated skills in a way that truly reflects the writing process. This paper addresses the use of text models as a basis for teaching any aspect of writing and language knowledge in a manner that makes sense to students.

• 'The WINGS levelling process'
  An article (3 pages) by Jennifer Andrews, Reading Recovery Tutor, and Rodney Martin, author and editor.
  What process was used to determine the guided reading levels of all the books in the WINGS series? Who did the levelling? How can you be sure of their validity?

•   'High-frequency words'  (updated February 2010!)
  A brief article including 4 charts over 11 pages by Rodney Martin.
  What are regular and irregular high-frequency words? Why are they important to beginning readers? Which high-frequency words are introduced in the WINGS series and at what levels?

• 'Little Penguins. Rodney Martin, Re-envisioning Process Writing'
  An academic review and reflection by Helen Toon, Lucinda Vapp and Marcus van Denham (3,000 words) based on the above article (WRITING AND GRAMMAR), 2004.
  Toon, Vapp and van Denham critically examine proposals made by Martin and describe how it alters their understanding of process writing and its potential.

• WRITING AND GRAMMAR: Teaching Children to Solve Problems Rather Than Learn Rules’
  A paper (3,000 words plus images) by Rodney Martin presented to the ALEA national conference in Melbourne, 2003.
  This paper offers practical insights into teaching students how to use references to solve writing problems as part of the writing process.
  Go to Martin’s Writers Guides

• THE MESSAGE AND THE MEANS: The writer's voice, the editor's discipline and the audience's ear'
  A paper (2,390 words plus images) presented by Rodney Martin at the 2006 ALEA National Conference in Darwin, Australia.
  This paper addresses the difficulty many teachers face in implementing writing curricula that require a functional application of language conventions. It gives teachers practical insights and greater confidence in their understanding and teaching of writing.
  Go to Step Beyond