Writing classes ought to be among the most creative environments imaginable, but sadly, some writing teachers seem to think that their own writing ability, in proximity, is enough to get students started. A good writing teacher must be a constant student of creativity, always searching for new ways to teach, new inspirations, new forms of…

Annotates 17 conference papers, theses, and journal articles (published between 1989 and 1992) from the ERIC database that discuss the advantages and disadvantages of journal writing at all levels of education. (RS)

Although reading and writing exist only in relation to each other, writing plays little or no role in the usual instructional approaches to reading. Mostly, reading is taught as a sequence of discrete skills, which is ineffective since it accommodates the analytic reading style to the exclusion of global, kinesthetic, and auditory styles. Reading…

Suggests that the use of writing in the social studies classroom deepens the meaning and the students' understanding of the content. Discusses the use of journal writing, the guided writing procedure, interviews, and letter writing in the social studies classroom. (RS)

Nine years ago, many parents protesting the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (commonly referred to as the Hatch Amendment) accused the schools of invading student privacy in sex and drug education classes, in counseling sessions, and in English classes. Some parents testifying at hearings conducted by the United States Department of Education…

In outdoor education, reflection transforms experience into knowledge. Writing activities facilitate reflection. In designing writing activities, instructors should ask themselves why they are asking their students to write, what type of writing is appropriate for their purpose, when and in what context the activity should take place, how they…

The 26 teaching strategies in this collection originally appeared in IDEAS PLUS, a special publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. The teaching strategies are entitled: (1) "A Dream House" (Thomas M. Cobb); (2) "A Journal-Writing Pot of Gold" (Irina Markova); (3) "Adopt-a-Word" (Annette Matherne); (4) "Contrasting Moods" (Don…

Describes exercises in which students create a fictional character from history and write a journal entry in a cooperative group activity. Discusses further assignments in which individual students create additional characters descended from the original for study of later historical periods. Suggests that the project demonstrates how historical…

Combining the expansion of cultural literacy with the development of process-based writing, this book addresses each stage of the writing process, with emphasis on the recursive and overlapping nature of these stages. Numerous related model activities at the end of each chapter show how to develop the writing process, while expanding the writer's…

This booklet provides practical exploration of the use of narrative in the classroom with students and in teachers' personal and professional development. The various narrative forms are described in boxes throughout the booklet and include letter writing, storytelling, autobiographical accounts and several others. There are four "Your…