This book captures the diversity and richness of writing as it relates to different forms of abilities, skills, competencies, and expertise. Psychologists, educators, researchers, and practitioners in neighboring areas are interested in exploring how writing develops and in what manner this development can be fostered, but they lack a handy,…

Form, content, and style are stressed in this quinmester program in the creative writing of short stories. The program, which is offered by the Dade County Public Schools, is designed for students who wish to improve their writing skills in order to compose a structured short story. Among the learning activities suggested by the program are…

Eight ideas to motivate children to write. (CM)

Children should be encouraged to write on subjects that interest them; their own experiences and observations are their best sources of material. (JD)

A series of papers dealing with the development of writing abilities, focusing on: the child and his reader, the functions of writing, genuine communication, the importance of writing differently for different purposes and audiences, and the growth from the expressive to more specialized and differentiated kinds of writing. (EH)

Brief individual conferences between teacher and student during the course of writing a composition helps the student to clarify his or her thinking on the topic, thus improving writing skills and developing enthusiasm and pleasure in written communication. (JD)

Author believes that all forms of communication are enhanced by the use of similes and he writes the entire article in similes to prove it. (RB)

Presents suggestions for teaching students about poetry by using pets. The article recommends discussing poems about pets, writing with rhyme to describe pets, writing free-verse sketches about pets, collaboratively describing pets, and studying line breaks by writing one-line descriptions of imaginary pets. A reproducible teacher page offers two…

The beginning creative writer usually needs to learn the distinction between creative writing and purely informational or reportorial exposition. This can often be accomplished through writing assignments incorporating the concepts of New Journalism--the method of rendering realistically, from the point of view of an outsider who has temporarily…

Getting students involved in the process of heightening, which is really the transforming of experience and self-expression into fiction, is a basic factor in teaching the writing of fiction. This process of heightening involves two devices for communicating "felt life": concretization and dramatization. In teaching these devices, prewrigting…

Based on actual, successful teaching and writing experiences, this book provides practical information on writing for children and teenagers. Part I, "A Practical Guide to Publication," includes discussions of (1) the writer's work habits and writing techniques; (2) characterization; (3) dialogue; (4) creating atmosphere, suspense, and emotion;…

The drawings of Saul Steinberg can be a workable way of introducing the student to composition. Article explains how to overcome the getting started" problem. (Author)

Presents two children's poems about candy, by Dorothy Aldis. The article describes a teaching unit on the poems, the poet, and her use of end rhymes. Activities include writing rhyming words, writing rhyming poems, rhyming a recipe, and creating collages. (SM)

How to use old magazine and newspaper pictures to help students learn to write realistic dialogue and speeches that characterize. (RB)