The teaching activities presented in this document focus on motivating students in the classroom. The paper describes (1) using stick figures to teach the use of adjectives, (2) using pen names in a covert letter writing project to teach writing skills, (3) increasing creativity in composition topics by brainstorming about ways to use bricks, and…

Reflecting the view that a single formula for revolutionizing the teaching of writing is unavailable, this publication of the New York State English Council presents a series of articles dealing with various topics in the teaching of composition in high school and college settings. Subjects discussed include the following: the use of fables in the…

This paper describes a year-long, college senior composition course based on nature writing and open to students from all content areas. Nature writing is defined as writing about nature with the specific requirement that the writer must remain true to the objective facts of nature while at the same time presenting the human response to, and the…

This booklet is one of a series of teacher-written curriculum publications launched by the Bay Area Writing Project, each focusing on a different aspect of the teaching of composition. This booklet explains techniques that can be used by teachers in all subject areas to help students use writing, not merely as a means of testing knowledge, but as…

An analysis of the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks shows that she can be used as a model for students at many grade levels to emulate. Her poetry excels as a model, not only because of her imagery, but also because of her use and modification of both traditional and newer forms of poetry and her skill with the devices of sound. Like other evolving and…

Conflict is the basis of all stories and thus should appear in some form in the first sentence. There are three kinds of conflict: people vs. people; people vs. nature; and people vs. themselves. Conflict must be repeated in all the various elements of the story's structure, including the plot, which is the plan of action telling what happens to…

This paper argues that writing teachers' emphases on orderly and polished products from their students have inhibited the ability to invent ideas and think clearly. The teaching techniques of the poet William Stafford are described as a model for teaching students to be more thoughtful. It is concluded that teachers of writing should first…

Day-by-day lesson ideas are given for an eight-day writing unit in which students study literary conventions and write their own short stories. Evaluation of the stories is continuous throughout the unit and partly done by other students. (SJL)

Because of their effectiveness, as well as their accessiblity as points of reference, TV commercials can provide excellent bridges in teaching concepts of good, effective writing. Specificity through metaphor is only one of the many basic writing course topics that can be effectively illustrated through TV commercials. (Author/EB)

Describes an experimental project implemented in a language school in northern Italy in which students, using a poem as a basis, created a cast of characters and expanded the poem's story line to create a world in which the characters could interact. (SED)

Reevaluates the impact that Kenneth Koch's 1970 collection of children's poetry, "Wishes, Lies, and Dreams," has had on its contributors. (MM)

Standardized writing tests focus more on content than mechanics, but writing instruction typically focuses more on mechanics than content. Plot scaffolds, can help teachers fix the balance and help foster creativity and originality in students' writing. In this practical guide, elementary and middle school teachers will find: (1) a research-based…

Notes eight ways that journalism instructors can break the barriers of cultural sex-linked behavior so that their students feel free to express themselves creatively. (FL)