Approaching poetry from the nigh impossible task of defining it leads to a fruitful discovery of some of the most important aspects of it. (DD)

This article takes a closer look at teaching in classrooms by reviewing a recent article by Carol Booth Olson and Robert Land, literacy researchers and National Writing Project site directors. In "A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School" (EJ776476), Olson and…

A brief look at teaching students how to write letters and at using letters as instructional tools in the junior high and high school English classroom. (RL)

Discusses approaches to writing poetry in high school English classes, giving students many successful writing experiences in which classmates can commend each other's word choices. Offers three patterns for generating in-class poems. (RL)

Suggests ways to motivate students to write poetry, and illustrates them with samples of student poems. (DD)

Explains the legal issues involved in plagiarism and suggests strategies to deal with and prevent it. (JL)

Describes the "Chinese Menu System" of student instructional units based on the ideas of James R. Moffet being used by teachers in the Columbus, Georgia, area in which students select learning activities from categories constructed around a single topic. (JL)

Discusses the advantages inherent in using peer evaluations in writing classes. Offers a list of references on peer teaching in writing instruction. (RL)

Lists 16 questions for eliciting student writing. (JT)

Notes the similarities in the processes of coaching junior high school football and teaching high school English. (RL)

Recounts the experiences of a writer-in-residence at a small liberal arts college as she helped her students through the composing process. (RL)

Presents the benefits to be derived from journal writing and provides 47 ideas for journal writing. (DD)

Describes how to adapt a film study technique (Richard Lacey's image sound skim) to literary study (the image or scene skim) to develop students' skill in perceptive reading. (DD)

Argues for the validity and effectiveness of using film excerpts to teach high school English. Suggests various methods for using commercial films on VCRs to study themes, formal elements of literature, literary terms, and the aesthetic decisions behind film adaptations. (JG)