Suggested writing projects to stimulate thought-to-theme writing connections involve: (1) haiku based on animals; (2) acronyms as vocabulary builders; (3) aromas and textures as inspiration; (4) writing proverbs and fables; and (5) a "musical chairs" approach to story-writing, with props supplied at intervals to test creative technique. (FG)

Shows how a teacher used student curiosity and imagination in helping students to develop lifelike characters and to collaborate on writing short stories. Provides samples of the sketches and stories. (RL)

Reviews research indicating that children's writing moves in an age-related sequence from the literal and factual to the metaphorical and affective and shows a growth in awareness of the psychological characteristics of the self and others. Presents an analysis of children's stories that provides guidelines for teachers and researchers to use in…

Provides examples of student poetry about silence and about sounds that disturb or emphasize silence. Shows how imagination and listening skills can be combined in creative expression. (RL)

This study evaluated the use of guided imagery practice to enhance creative writing with 43 academically gifted students (stratified as either high or low creativity) in grades 3 and 4. Groups receiving the guided imagery practice (regardless of original creativity level) generated more original writing, which contained more sensory descriptions…

Effective informational writing assignments show students that creativity and imagination are essential to the generation of new ideas in all content areas. A collection of these assignments has been arranged into five categories of increasing complexity based on the following criteria: whether the point of view is assigned as self-selected;…

Reports of one poet's efforts in elementary classrooms to counteract the misconception of the syllabic nature of haiku. (RL)

This digest considers approaches to langugae arts teaching that are based on mythic or archetypal ways of experiencing and knowing. The Digest argues that such approaches address students' inner lives more directly than do the usual instructional methods such as whole language or student-centered instruction, and thus can help to promote…

Curriculum leaders, program specialists, and teachers can intentionally arouse the activation of one hemisphere of the brain over the other through the use of right brain strategies in language learning. While most functions of the left hemisphere are concerned with convergent production (getting the right answer), functions of the right…

This article discusses the use of books, concrete experiences, and poetry as springboards to creative writing in the foreign language classroom. Examples are given for each of the three techniques. (CFM)

Describes how one school developed six literature-based explorations involving an author of children's books that was intended to develop children's imaginations. (HOD)

Discusses three books on language and literature instruction that present humanistic approaches to teaching students how to write, think, and express themselves in a creative manner. (FL)

Designed to develop students' abilities to follow directions and organize and write their thoughts, this junior high level activity involves students in creating a dream person using magazine or catalog pictures and then writing a biography of this person. Materials include teacher notes, follow-up suggestions, evaluation procedure, and a…

Describes ideas and approach to an interdisciplinary unit in creative writing and science which uses art and storytelling to sharpen imaginative skills. Relates the special success of this unit's approach in motivating students, the culmination of which was an all-day field trip to a marine science center. (JM)

Noting that everyday creativity often requires imaginative insight, this book provides opportunities for children and adults to invent and problem solve by confronting puzzling scenarios that invite visual imagination. Each of the 71 activities in the book begins with a scenario that promotes speculative imagination. In the creative- and…