Discusses a thinking-writing-organizing technique that Kenneth Burke called the dramatistic method. Suggests that having students ask and answer a series of questions prompted by five words (who, what, where, why, and how) placed at each of the points of a star can help students think and write about works of literature. (RS)

Often when teaching creative writing to grade school and middle school students, teachers encounter two problems: students state that they do not have anything to write about, or students keep their poetic voices quiet and imitate the examples that they are given. If students are encouraged to mentally create images of poetic forms and to write…

Suggests using the writing folder for such reasons as gaining an improved description and assessment of individual growth in writing, getting a better descriptive picture of writing achievement within the class, and assisting teachers in improving their assessment of writing. (EL)

Discusses the values of publishing student writing (among them increased audience awareness), describes one writing project's procedures for formulating topics by daily expressive writing on a literary topic, outlines procedures for evaluating, responding positively to, and publishing this daily writing, and enumerates benefits for teacher and…

This handbook for teachers of English explores the development of writing skills in an academic context. The book is intended for teachers working in situations where students are required to produce reports, essays, dissertations and other forms of academic writing in English. The book's first section examines the writing process and establishes…

Based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" and other war literature, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that works of art about war can call up strong emotions in readers; and that the writing process can be applied to writing poems. The main activity of the lesson involves…

This collection of 26 brief essays by college and high school faculty represents a variety of practical approaches that can be used in composition classes. After a foreword by the editor, the essays and their authors are as follows: "Writing as a Moral Activity" (Judith Anderson); "Specific Details (Orangen't You Wise to Use…

This book is intended for middle and high school teachers who are committed to the process-writing model and are eager to encourage their students in the last step of the process--publication. The book offers specific writing ideas and classroom activities that help students develop the confidence and ability to publish in a wide market, and it…

Based on Charles Dickens' novel "Great Expectations," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand the differences between totalitarianism and democracy; and a that a writer of a story considers theme, plot, characters, setting, and point of view. The main activity of the lesson involves students working in groups to…

Culled from ideas contributed by people attending conferences of the National Council of Teachers of English and by readers of "NOTES Plus" and "IDEAS Plus," the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of writing and literature. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the…

Contributed by English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of writing and literature. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration and include activities in which students write family newspapers…

A program was developed and implemented for use with college freshmen at a community college in southeast Florida whose entrance examination scores fell below the acceptable range for admission into a regular English classroom. These students lacked an adequate background in basic English language skills, had an insufficient understanding of the…

Contributed by English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of English and the language arts. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration and include activities where students improvise dialogue…

Contributed by English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of English and the language arts. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration by helping students learn to tell stories from pictures,…

Focusing particularly on student writing, this book describes the principles of an interactive classroom and presents specific activities which adhere to those principles. Acknowledging that such classrooms require that the students feel comfortable with each other, the book details several activities that help to build a positive classroom…