Discusses the reclusive life of Emily Dickinson, recounting the discovery of Dickinson's poems after her death. Concentrates on the problems Dickinson's sister encountered in securing an editor. Contends that Dickinson's poems were distorted by editors and critics, and includes the original version of "Because I Could Not Stop for…

Examines the readability levels of two current children's periodicals and two nineteenth-century periodicals. Finds the language skills used by children writing poetry and letters to the editor have not declined over the last century. Finds nonfiction and recreational fiction articles to be more difficult in the nineteenth century. (RS)

Uses Martin Jamison's "Rivers" to illustrate a reader-response approach to poetry. Describes the process of students creating their own "poems," while analyzing the author's poem. Concludes that this approach encourages the necessary personal connection required for poetic involvement. (JAD)

Describes how students can use the computer to study and create clone poems (altering original Spanish-language poems by substituting words and expressions), and how students can gain a deeper appreciation of the original poem's poetic structure and semantics. (CB)

Shows how a teacher used paintings as a basis for writing exercises designed to teach students about the subjectivity of interpretation and the importance of visual imagery. Describes a number of specific writing assignments and classroom activities involving description, interpretation, drawing, poetry, and research papers. (TB)

Describes how a teacher shared her love of poetry once a week with a class of seventh-grade students who hated poetry, and how, in a few short months, students who had hated poetry for years became poetry lovers. (SR)

Describes two courses utilizing modern American fiction, poetry, and drama in which vivid depictions of the disasters wrought by excessive drinking are found. Posits these as examples of how literature that addresses problems related to drinking and alcoholism can be used in a focused way in alcohol education. (LKS)

Discusses the use of creative writing in second language classrooms, focusing on techniques that can help students construct their own poetry and poem-like creations in the target language. Maintains that student poetry can help enliven the classroom experience and allow students to express their own ideas. (39 references) (MDM)

Examines five poems by Robert Frost that illustrate Frost's interest in science. The poems include allusions to renowned physicists, metaphoric descriptions of some famous physics experiments, explorations of complementarity as enunciated by Bohr, and poetic formulations of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. (20 references) (MDH)

Describes the participation of a small Catholic school near Philadelphia in the AT&T Learning Circles Project, which involved networking with schools in several states. The integration of the telecommunications project with the language arts curriculum is discussed, including creative writing about local food and historic places to share with…

Discusses how two first grade teachers collaborated to create a poetry unit as part of their reading/writing workshop. Presents sample minilessons and poems written by students. (PRA)

Describes the way one teacher utilizes a variety of activities by which the power of language is analyzed and fostered among students of English. Describes methods for making dictionaries, playing with words, and chanting poetry. (HB)

Four classroom activities for French language instruction are described, including: an exercise in dramatics; word play using poetry and music; study of the relationship between gestures and speech, using comic strips; and the writing of a short story based on real train schedules and destinations. (MSE)

Suggests using poetry such as James Maxwell's "To the Chief Musician upon Nabla: A Tyndallic Ode" as a vehicle for learning physics. Discusses the physics concepts alluded to in the verses of the poem. (MDH)

Presents tips for teaching English-as-a-Second-Language students. Suggestions, complete with information on materials required, include preparing dialogs, poems on feelings, and sentences that grow. (LB)