A grade one through two teacher describes how her class created and shared original hardcover books. Highlights include how to put the books together, a source for ordering blank books, handwritten vs. typed books, and a "literary luncheon" to share the books with families. (PEN)

Describes how one teacher got elementary students excited about writing poetry by providing them with simple rules and structures and encouraging them to take chances. Strategies included having each child contribute one line to a poem, discouraging rhyming (which is difficult and blocks creativity), encouraging them to write freely, and having…

Explores the intersection of poet William Stafford, the poet in each child, and poetry. Discusses influences of Stafford on the author during her academic training and subsequent academic career. Notes Stafford left behind a vision of the world, a way of thinking about the process of writing, and a respect for the writer that is each child as…

Considers different fifth-grade students' transformations through expressing themselves with poetry. Claims the content of children's writing suggests a complete revision of standard educational ideas about who the children are, what they know, how they think, and how much they can learn if teachers only know how to tap into their brilliance. (SC)

This book offers an entire year of journaling ideas--some serious, some "silly," but all tied to the calendar year. In fact, the book's sections are the months of the year. Each idea in the book comes with a fact-filled introduction and aims to prove that writing does not have to be boring or dull. As a special feature, many entries in…

Describes how teachers can make writing an important part of everyday life within the school community by: conferring with students about purpose and audience; elevating genres particular to schools; designing community service assignments; expecting that artwork will be accompanied by text; weaving writing into student government; creating…

Describes the implementation of a weekly creative writing assignment for early elementary school students in a Montessori setting. Notes that students' writing reveals their social maturity and personality characteristics. Provides suggestions for starting a creative writing exercise, including brainstorming, a babbling activity, and a…

Discusses five conditions, based on research, that should be present if daily journal writing is to facilitate literacy development in kindergarten children: print rich environment; scheduling; teacher modeling; honeybee conferences; and sharing. (PA)

Presents ideas for tools useful for teaching writing in elementary school, such as carbon paper, stick-on flags, blank books, scissors, rulers, tape, stationery, postcards, card stands, clotheslines, and Polaroid cameras. Notes on materials dos and don'ts and special writing projects are included. (SM)

In a new compact and easy-to-use edition, this book presents a program that provides students with a developmentally appropriate framework in which students become proficient spellers and at the same time develop as readers and writers. The book includes the original spelling instruction program; spelling dictation lists for grades 1 to 3; an…

Noting that one of the most important parts of knowing how to write well is to feel comfortable doing it, this information sheet lists some things parents can do to encourage their children to write and presents a series of writing activities. The information sheet notes that parents can: (1) show their children that they write often; (2)…

Though students enjoy tasteless topics, teachers must set classroom standards that reflect community standards and tolerance levels. Strategies for moving students beyond tasteless topics in writing include: not making them feel bad about their interests; not being afraid to change the rules when there are unhealthy writing ruts; and letting…

Notes that research in three primary schools in Southern England draws attention to the ways in which the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) is prompting changes in contexts for writing and in the nature of teacher intervention. Concludes that developmentally appropriate, affirming strategies need not contravene the educational ideals of the NLS.…

Presents strategies for using children's drawing as scaffolding for early writing: (1) paving the way with drawing (talking about drawing, asking the right questions, social context); and (2) getting stories into writing (supporting children just learning what letters look like, with a good mental image of some letters, who can write most letters,…

Middle school teacher describes a framework that gives inexperienced, anxious writers the confidence to write. The process, called doing prompts, stems from analyzing prompts or writing assignments that outline the topic for a piece of writing. The process involves analyzing the prompt being called for, completing a graphic organizer, composing…