Since July 2013, our research team has been working on a project that aims at re-introducing rhetorical exercises in Belgian secondary (high) schools and at studying their effects on the pupils. Our hypothesis is that the regular practice of rhetorical exercises, inspired by those practised in Antiquity, could stimulate skills like…

If a teacher reads the children's stories to the whole class, the children begin to write for their peers rather than for the teacher's approval. The combination of hearing their stories read aloud and seeing their friends enjoyment is irresistible. The writing improves dramatically. (Author/MS)

A teacher at a junior college with a high percentage of Chicano students finds that a buddy system" approach to in-class writing improves student motivation and writing skills. (MN)

An elementary teacher presents suggestions for helping students focus their thinking, find a central theme, and develop story ideas for writing. She describes how to demonstrate focus in writing (via teacher's writing, professional authors, and student's writing) and how to develop focus when conferencing. (SM)

Suggests using poetry's short short forms for a methodical and rapid series of writing assignments that emphasize both careful writing at the sentence level and overall planning and respect for form. (HTH)

Discusses methods to lend more realism to the technical writing classroom: (1) role playing, in which a report is written for someone other than the teacher; (2) presenting proposals orally at a party; (3) presenting a problem for students to solve through research; and (4) creating an advertising poster on a topic students know little about to…

Discusses the benefits of having regular sessions in student journal writing. (RL)

Notes how the use of controlled composition techniques in English-as-a-second-language classes can be adapted to help basic writers in remedial writing classes. (RL)

A method of second-language instruction that acknowledges and reinforces the connection between ordinary and artistic uses of language is discussed. The theory, rationale, methods, and some sample activities for the approach are outlined. (MSE)

Contains one-paragraph descriptions from six college English instructors describing successful lessons and techniques used in the classroom. Covers collaborative teaching with letter writing; notetaking and paraphrasing; a first day ice-breaking activity; a writing development check; linking assignments in basic writing; and a descriptive writing…

Although not all the problems of writing are solved by practice in letter writing, a review of the classical texts on "ars dictaminis"--letter writing--creates a strong argument for its increased use as an exercise in college composition classrooms. By incorporating the lessons of dictamen as a device for achieving rhetorical…

Shares some approaches and suggests poems that can be used to inspire discussion and creative writing in bilingual classes. (RL)

One approach to introducing students to poetry is to have them write and analyze their own poems. Although this approach has some disadvantages, it does serve to tap students' experiences and expressive potential with creative projects and to give them an immediate and direct relationship with the traditional published works. By writing poems…