Describes how the author has her students create "found poems" and use them in conjunction with the students' own Readers/Writers Logs to help students make more of a text, own it, and discover the power of effective language. Includes instructions, student samples of found poems, and samples of the entire process. (SR)

Discusses ways in which a teacher new to teaching ninth-grade English and new to the school district lured her "reluctant" readers into a true community of readers. Describes a trip to a local bookstore, building the reading community, writing in response to reading, graphic responses to reading, and oral responses to reading. (RS)

Describes a half-year curriculum called "Portraits," developed by three middle school teachers in collaboration with the education department of a museum, in which students learn and practice the skills involved in visual observation and apply them to reading and writing: precise observation of detail, accurate inference based on these facts, and…