Abstract
This article presents the results of the initial stage of research on grades 4–8 teachers' writing instruction within rural and urban contexts across Canada. Teachers' goals and their use of digital technologies and multimedia are examined within rural and urban schools in five eastern provinces. Through half-hour telephone interviews with 54 teachers, the authors found that perceptions of the value of writing within their communities and the kinds of support for writing that students were given outside school divided along teachers' perceptions of students' social class lines. Language spoken in students' homes also influenced teachers' goals for their students. Only 5 of the 54 teachers interviewed provide opportunities for students to compose on computers. In most teachers' classrooms, computers were used for retyping drafts, and often used at home, to create ‘good copies' that students handed in for grades.