
School Discourse
Learning to Write Across the Years of Schooling
Continuum Publishing Corporation
Published on 11. November 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-1-4411-3131-7 (ISBN)
Description
This book tracks the developmental changes in writing across the schools curriculum, enhancing a key area of research in applied linguistics. Writing development has been a key area of research in applied linguistics for some time, but most work has focused on children's writing at particular ages. Christie and Derewianka draw on extensive research in both primary and secondary years to trace the developmental trajectory from age 5 or 6 through to 18. Using a systemic functional grammar, they outline developmental changes in writing in three major areas of the school curriculum - English, history, and science - as children move from early childhood to late childhood and on to adolescence and adulthood. The book considers the nature of the curriculum at various stages, discussing the interplay of curriculum goals, pedagogy and developmental changes as children grow older. It also explores how emergent control of the different subjects requires control of various subject specific literacies and considers the pedagogical implications of their findings.
"School Discourse" will be of interest to anyone involved in the writing performance of children in schools, particularly applied and educational linguists. Discourse is one of the most significant concepts of contemporary thinking in the humanities and social sciences as it concerns the ways language mediates and shapes our interactions with each other and with the social, political and cultural formations of our society. "The Continuum Discourse Series" aims to capture the fast-developing interest in discourse to provide students, new and experienced teachers and researchers in applied linguistics, ELT and English language with an essential bookshelf. Each book deals with a core topic in discourse studies to give an in-depth, structured and readable introduction to an aspect of the way language is used in real life.
"School Discourse" will be of interest to anyone involved in the writing performance of children in schools, particularly applied and educational linguists. Discourse is one of the most significant concepts of contemporary thinking in the humanities and social sciences as it concerns the ways language mediates and shapes our interactions with each other and with the social, political and cultural formations of our society. "The Continuum Discourse Series" aims to capture the fast-developing interest in discourse to provide students, new and experienced teachers and researchers in applied linguistics, ELT and English language with an essential bookshelf. Each book deals with a core topic in discourse studies to give an in-depth, structured and readable introduction to an aspect of the way language is used in real life.
Reviews / Votes
"'The authors have made a tremendous contribution to our understanding of the paths learners follow in written language development from early childhood to late adolescence. They provide, for the first time, detailed and clearly articulated descriptions of the language students learn to control as they write key genres across the curriculum. The book will be a frequently-consulted reference work for teachers, curriculum developers, and writing researchers.' Professor Mary J. Schleppegrell, School of Education, University of Michigan, USA."More details
Series
Edition
NIPPOD
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
427 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4411-3131-7 (9781441131317)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Frances Christie | Beverly Derewianka
School Discourse
Learning to Write Across the Years of Schooling
E-Book
12/2008
1st Edition
Continuum Publishing Corporation
€42.99
Available for download
Persons
Frances Christie is Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia and Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. Beverly Derewianka is Professor of Language Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Content
Acknowledgements; Notations; 1. A functional approach to writing development; 2. Writing stories in subject English; 3. Writing to respond to and evaluate other texts; 4. Reconstructing the past: recording and describing historical events; 5.Reviewing the past: interpreting, explaining, arguing and debating historical events; 6. Observing and writing about the natural world; 7. Interpreting phenomena of the natural world; 8. The developmental trajectory in writing; References; Index.