Many of the problems that confront students in creative writing courses are similar to those experienced by students of other types of composition. This discussion delineates three problems that seem to be at the core of the difficulties for both groups of students: preconceived notions of what an essay, poem, or short story should be; inability…

Reading fantasy literature to children proved to be an effective way to limber up their creativity. (JH)

Suggestions are given on how to write stories for students, taking into consideration plot, vocabulary development, and interest levels. (JH)

This is the final report of the Using the Second "R" Project, which was designed to provide elementary school teachers in the Cleveland (Ohio) public schools with a kit of instructional strategies and evaluative instruments for use in the development of their students' creative writing skills. The report contains a narrative account of the needs…

A practical, low-cost plan that involves teacher workshops and noon-hour workshops for students to encourage creative activity in an elementary school program for kindergarten through grade five is described in this booklet. Included is a sample of a monthly newsletter that suggests activities for creative involvement that are seasonal, centered…

ONE OF THE USES FOR POETRY IN THE CLASSROOM IS THAT OF STUDYING THE WAY A POET EMPLOYS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND THE CONCRETE, SENSUAL IMAGE TO BRING INTO SHARP FOCUS, OR SUGGEST BY CONNOTATION, THE DEFINITION OF A SINGLE WORD. THIS, IN TURN, CAN LEAD TO STUDENT EXERCISES IN DEFINING WORDS IN CONCRETE SENSUAL LANGUAGE. BY TAKING A POEM WHICH SEEMS…

In part a rebuttal to an editorial written by Ronald Regan which appeared in the "Denver Post" stating that English teachers should go "back to the basics," this paper argues that rules without reason, drills without meanings, and writing and reading without imagination are mechanical exercises without expression of self. What English teachers…

Designed to encourage sustained independent writing, this book demonstrates ways that children were stimulated to invent their own Utopias, their own religions, new ways of fighting wars, and different schools. Contents include the following: "Traveling to an Imaginary Place; "Religion"; "Question of Continuity in Writing"; "War"; "Moving Toward a…

The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine if increasing the number of types of sensory stimulation prior to a writing experience would help children to write more creatively and to write longer stories. The sample for this study consisted of 300 randomly selected fourth, sixth, and eighth grade students from the Silver Bay area, a…

This curriculum guide for the teaching of composition at the sixth grade level includes lessons in six categories: Observing, Recallin Experiences, Making Words Work, Causes and Effects, Using Imagination, and Considering Audience. The lessons include a statement of purpose, a description of primary and/or secondary skills that are objectives of…

This book describes a program designed to help children think about the writing process in order to express their ideas better in writing: to stimulate children's thought and to introduce them to forms of literature they might not ordinarily read, the teacher should read aloud to both primary and secondary level students at least 20 minutes every…

Teachers should encourage children to write in order to help them understand their feelings of anger, hurt, guilt, and so on.

Discusses how a teacher found that collaborative creative writing with the students motivated them to create, discuss, edit, and revise their own writing. (SRT)

Presents a high school student's story about fishing, analyzes the story, and provides study guide questions for students intended to amplify the reading. Invites "English Journal" readers to use this story and study guide in their own classrooms. (JG)