Presents an activity to connect language arts, social studies, and technology in a meaningful way while encouraging students not only to read for details but to "read between the lines" and draw conclusions about a historical figure's inner thoughts and personality. Notes that the biopoem is a simple 10-line poem with a specific, easy-to-follow…

Presents the idea that students should develop different writing styles. Encourages writing poetry regularly. Focuses on the need for a student to develop a prose style from his or her culture. Encourages students to develop professional, academic writing. (PM)

Notes that sociocultural theory establishes that understanding the concepts that govern discussion in particular contexts is crucial. Considers which different instructional arrangements might affect students' conceptions. Asks students to write about the discussions they had during a unit on contemporary poetry. Varies the format of the…

Suggests that if adolescents are going to get hooked on poetry and read and write more than an occasional sample, they need to have teachers share with them poetry they will enjoy. Considers a study by Karen Kutiper of middle school student poetry preference. Presents conclusions from this study along with a list of the 25 most popular poems. (SG)

Presents some poems the author has used with students, the prompts they considered, and the poems they wrote in response. Concludes that educators must take advantage of opportunities where students can share their poems so that they, too, can experience the power of the written word. (SG)

Discusses Linda Sue Park, the 2002 Newbery Medal winner, and includes excerpts of an interview with her. Notes that her diverse writing career began at an early age. Discusses writing Korean "historicals" and researching her other books. Identifies mentors as an important characteristic of both her life and work. (PM)

Details a creative writing project based on "zines," which are independently created and published personal magazines. Notes challenges addressed in the project, such as composing an engaging introduction and choice of language in relation to audience. Concludes that the students were enthusiastic about the project, and were interested…

Examines ideas about the literate and the illiterate, the tutored and the untutored in the poem "Answer," by Mary Oliver. Suggests that if educators want students to read carefully and analyze conscientiously, then the works they study have to matter to them. Discusses universal literacies, literacy in school and out, classroom discourse and real…

In response to Lanham (HE 527 588), the author interprets student responses to a poetry course illustrating such responses as disorientation, confusion about the course's purposes, anxiety about ability to succeed, and resistance to teaching. Also suggested is more faculty interdisciplinary involvement. (DB)

College teachers often believe students have progressed beyond the need for illustrations. Formal higher education stresses abstract linguistic and logico-mathematical intelligences and neglects others, such as spatial intelligence. Engaging as many learning styles as possible helps students learn through all their capabilities. Drawing for…

Illustrates the power of responsive teaching and how one teacher used a modern poem about cruelty to address a recent incident of her own students' cruelty to a classmate. Notes that the class responded with compassion, tolerance, and a sense of caring for those who are different. (MG)

Reviews the literature surrounding the use of personal/creative writing as an adjunct to group therapy. Several writing exercises, including a stain glass poem, personal logo, and epigram, as well as client responses, are discussed. The article concludes with suggestions for using writing with groups. (Author/TE)

Presents a letter written by a professional writer (and a former high school and college teacher) to a young female student who has started writing poems. Discusses why and how she writes. Urges the student to continue writing. (RS)

Reviews two instructional resources which encourage the use of poetry in the elementary classroom as a unique genre with its own purposes and value. Uses the six criteria (explained in earlier columns) to detail how the resources were selected. (MG)

Shares 12 steps to using found poetry as an introduction to a unit on poetic composition. (MG)