The author was invited as a teaching artist into a first-grade classroom in New York City to teach a 14-session poetry residency culminating in an anthology of student writing. They began by sitting together on a carpet by the interactive whiteboard and read aloud several examples of "I wish" poems from Kenneth Koch's (1970) wonderful…

In this article, two students share their experiences and recommendations on writing. They talk about when and how has a teacher or an assignment made them feel most like a real author.

The more the author delved into forming her poetry unit, the more poetry opened up to her. She began to appreciate it for its creative ability to help readers and writers understand texts, experiences, and ideas. It was the length of time involved that concerned her most. She was mainly trying to work out the pace needed to cover as much as…

Fifteen writing instructors report their favorite ways of getting students to write. (RL)

Offers four evaluative questions for revising writing assignments into vehicles that steadily move students toward writing fluency. (RL)

Urges teachers to keep reading and writing alive in the classroom by assigning a variety of books, including the classics, and by integrating written responses with the reading assignments. (DD)

Offers 10 classroom-tested assignments that result in successful writing experiences and assist students in developing creative and critical thinking skills. (RL)

Presents strategies to increase the flow of writing so that students become more attuned to the usefulness of words in capturing thoughts, feelings, and impressions. (RL)

Describes a teaching method in which high school sophomores (1) read A. Munro's "Connection," a short story connecting the author to her family origins; (2) interview relatives about their personal history; and (3) compose vignettes based on the notes collected during a three-week period. Provides numerous questions and prompts used to help the…

Describes writing assignments that other teachers may wish to present in their classes on women's issues. (CRH)

Describes how students are able to empathize with women writers and each other by reading and writing autobiography. (CRH)

Provides a writing assignment that introduces the use of an invention heuristic to students of middle school age. Illustrates the use of the assignment with the prewriting and in-class essay of a nine-year-old student. (RL)

Describes and illustrates a writing assignment in which students assume the role and the voice of someone they perceive as different from themselves, requiring attention to appropriate--not necessarily "correct"--language styles. (RL)

Describes a creative writing assignment in which individuals write episodes about different characters and small groups collaborate on unifying the collected "chapters" into sagas. (RL)

Reexamines assumptions about teaching the research paper, including the following points: (1) research is suitable for all high-school students, not just college-bound seniors; (2) research is not natural, but requires much training; (3) real research does not restrict sources; (4) teachers can not teach research without doing research themselves;…