Although one in five state-educated children in England speaks a language other than English at home, there is little space in the National Curriculum for the expression of this linguistic heritage. In this article, we make the case for facilitating multilingualism in the primary classroom through translingual creative writing, which involves…

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…

Describes a poetry writing assignment that teaches students the importance of place and objects in expressing emotions about a childhood memory. (RL)

Argues that asking students to write in concrete images about specific events and places serves to emphasize the importance of writing from detailed personal experiences. (RL)

Uses poetry and poetic prose to remind readers of the power of poetic language. Discusses the author's experience as a poet and her work with teachers to bring poetry into children's lives. (SR)

Suggests using jump-roping rhymes and rhythms as an energetic way to guide students to a basic understanding of poetic principles. (MS)

Emphasizes classroom study of poetic patterns and images to enable students to see how poems work without overwhelming them with terminology. (MS)

Describes an assignment in which students are taught to develop poetry using the ideas and words found in newspaper or magazine stories. Includes model poems. (HTH)

Describes a poetry writing exercise that used photographs as a stimulus. Presents some poems produced by this exercise. (JL)

Healthy competition and longer writing projects helped to overcome some of the difficulties associated with the long residencies of visiting writers in elementary schools. (RL)

Describes using self-reflective synesthetic writing exercises (which prompt students to think metaphorically about crossed senses--taste of clouds, smell of anger, etc.) in creative writing with high school students. Notes how such writing allows a reader/teacher insights into students' lives and personalities. Includes student sample poems. (SR)

Presents a series of exercises aimed at helping students generate lines and ideas for their poetry. (MM)

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)

Teachers teach literature to help students expand and develop their image-making powers, "to imagine, conceive, fancy, picture," to think. To get students involved in literature, especially poetry, Robert Frost's poem, "The Witch of Coos," is particularly useful because it is so immediately accessible. In order to help engage…