In the pursuit of fostering vibrant and inclusive learning environments, this article explores how the practice of community-building can be a contemplative practice. Drawing upon personal experiences and pedagogical insights, Muir navigates the rewards of cultivating authentic connections among students while dismantling hierarchies within the…

This essay explores the creativity and learning that can take place when students are given the opportunity to go beyond the GCSE set poems and create their own poetry anthologies. I argue that in the process of creating a poetry anthology, students are encouraged to engage on a deeper and more personal level with poetry. I suggest that when…

Students from all over the world, from various ethnic and racial communities, make up the student population of the schools in the United States. Each one of them brings to the classroom several unique characteristics. Creative writing and art are both empowering tools that meet the commonality of self-expression. Both are processes "in which…

This research sets out to unveil the potential enrichment of initial narrative writing processes in a group of EFL 5th graders through the implementation of picture books as useful tools which can be used to shape the natural ability of telling an event or a sequence of events systematically of EFL students at this level. In this qualitative…

Reflection can form the basis for powerful dialogue between the arts and literacy as we seek interpretive and expressive fluency across modes. Through deep, cumulative reflection we make aspects of our world and experiences more perceivable, and open them up for artistic expression and aesthetic inquiry. Such reflections are also the catalysts for…

There is increasing usage of creative writing in the ESL/EFL classroom based on the argument that this pedagogy develops writer's voice, emotional engagement, and ownership. Within the context of teaching poetry writing to second language learners, the current article develops a scientific approach to ways in which voice can be measured and then…

In this article, we examined whether career writing--creative, expressive, and reflective writing--can increase luck readiness, which is the ability to respond and make use of (career) opportunities. Two 2-day writing courses were taught to third-year bachelor students, one before and one after work placements. In this exploratory study, results…

This research aimed to improve written expression (composition) skills of 5th grade students of an elite private school. The research was designed under the paradigm of action research. A total sample of 39 students' from the same grade was chosen for the study. The baseline assessment was carried out to explore the pre-intervention writing skill…

It is important to find the means by which struggling writers can find success in the English Language Arts. For students struggling with reading and writing, the visual arts may be a way of accessing and expressing their ideas and ultimately opening up a world of creative possibilities. This article explores drawing and painting as a pre-writing…

The collection of 580 provocative writing prompts in this book is designed to release students from standardized writing assessments and encourage student research, reflection, and exploration. Seeing creative and expository writing for English and other subjects as multidisciplinary opportunities for self-expression, the author of the book…

Argues that teachers often mislead students into believing that writing poetry is an act of self-expression that focuses everyone's attention on the author, rather than a demanding art that produces a piece of writing separate from the author and deserving of its own attention. (AEA)

Explains how a teacher asks her students to write on topics close to their hearts and how she, in turn, writes her own heartfelt essays and shares them with her students. Contains one such essay, in which the author describes how she narrowly escaped serious injury when, as a teenager, she jumped on a moving vehicle. (TB)

Interviews Therese Craig, a drama educator at the University of Alberta, Canada, who discusses the nature and rationale of journal writing, as well as applications for its use in the classroom. (HTH)

Describes the experience of a teacher and his students on Writers in Electronic Residence (WIER), a computer network available to schools in which students post their creative writings which are then discussed by professional writers, students, and teachers. Makes a case for using computer technology in language arts classes. Discusses some of the…

In an attempt to understand what expressive writing means to themselves and to their students, teachers should explore and reflect on various questions regarding expressive writing theories and practices. For many, self-expression is the basis of all serious writing and an important stage in any act of learning, so it is essential to uncover the…