Looks closely at the words of Whitman's "Song of Myself" to get a closer look at the mystery of poetry. Discusses how Whitman's work can be used with students to inspire their writing. (MG)

Offers a 20-item list (put together by high school students) of features characteristic of Whitman's poems. Uses the list of features to write original poetry. Offers additional writing ideas for use with Walt Whitman's poetry. (MG)

Describes ways in which third and fourth grade students were introduced to language study by way of creative writing assignments. (HOD)

Presents three writing exercises ("quick plots,""fairy tales: traveling," and "what did Shakespeare see when he closed his eyes?") designed to be completed with a group of people. Notes that the exercises can help students create solutions to the problems they run into when writing fiction. (RS)

Stresses the importance of using imagery when having beginning writers write poetry. Discusses additional techniques of stressing the unusual, continuation words, the five senses, and repetition of a word or phrase. (MG)

Describes the uses of 2 texts by John Holt for teaching grades 6-8, and high school on up. Relates how the texts encourage students to write from their own experiences in vivid detail and discover the value of reading their work aloud to build awareness of their writing "voice." (PA)

Offers six prompts to use in teaching creative writing at the high school level. Explains how the prompts are used in the classroom. (MG)

Describes how "The Sleeper" was used with third and fourth grade students to inspire them to use a variety of verbs. Shares several examples of poems the students wrote after discussing Whitman's poem. (MG)

Working with genre provides viable alternatives and variety in the teaching of creative writing and gives legitimacy to forms and subjects with which students are already familiar. (HOD)

Discusses five writing exercises to improve teachers' and students' writing. Suggests using the exercises once a day. (RS)

Describes three ways to elicit children's poetry about their family histories. Illustrates this teaching technique with sixth graders' poems. (RL)

Provides writing exercises which encourage the use of sense details to let the reader know what is in the writer's mind. Provides writing exercises for setting a mood, describing places in fiction, adding metaphors, and describing people. (MG)

Tells the story of a substitute teacher's involvement with a "problem" class and her use of a student's idea as a class writing assignment. (RL)

Describes the Teachers and Writers Collaborative at P.S 49 and the principal who keeps the writing program going. Discusses how the collaboration works and the teaching techniques used by the writing teachers in the school. (MG)

Describes the use of improvisation in English instruction, focusing on understanding the elements of fiction, writing monologues and playscripts, and collaborating. (RL)