This curriculum guide for the teaching of composition contains more than sixty lessons for use with third and fourth grade students. Each lesson contains a statement of purpose, a resume, a list of materials, and directions for teaching the lesson. The major sections for both third and fourth grade are: (1) "Let's Pretend with Things,"…

This guide to a quinmester workshop course in creative writing emphasizes both content and style. Short stories, poems, plays, and informal prose are the literary genres involved. Performance objectives, rationale, learning activities, field trips and resource personnel, and lists of student and teacher resources are provided. (DB)

In stimulating students to read, study, and appreciate poetry by having them write poetry, it is helpful to devise ways to show off student work. Three ways of displaying student poetry which have proved to be successful are the publication of a class poetry magazine, the collection of one-line metaphors on a single subject (some of these…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress uses a variety of test items and scoring techniques in measuring the writing achievement of three age groups--nine, thirteen, and seventeen year olds. This document discusses the holistic scoring of essays, including mechanical correctness and grammatical usage; the primary-trait method of scoring,…

The discipline of writing well is fundamental to the concept of writing as a liberating activity. (JH)

"Scratch,""Scribe," and "Scribble" are three strategies for teaching writing at any grade level. They are short, ongoing activities that do not require grading. "Scratch" concerns spelling, "Scribe" dictation, and "Scribble" the writing process. (SJL)

Contains examples of student work in dialog, either imitating literature or telling their own stories. Shows how to use this activity with other activities to develop and to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening. (RL)

One Hundred Forty-Two freshmen at a college of education in the Leeds Area were given a battery of tests and questionnaires designed to gather information about their performance in tests of written English and their responses to divergent thinking tests. (Editor/RK)

Uses students' responses to poetry as a tool for developing writing skills and literature appreciation. Matches literature materials to students' levels of experience. (RL)

The "theme approach" to language teaching involves many language skills. This paper discusses the area of track and field as a possible theme. The students research the topic, interview sports personalities, and write up the interview, thereby using all the basic language skills. (CFM)

Outlines ways to encourage students to think of writing as an act as simple as talking and gives practical suggestions for encouraging writing in the classroom. (SRT)

Analyzes radio program in which host Garrison Keillor fabricates fictional community of Lake Wobegon, thus addressing another fabricated community, the baby boomers. Concludes Keillor's persona moves from nostalgia and bitterness to acceptance of conditions of community, reflecting and encouraging a passive, uncritical approach toward community…

Describes a project for fourth graders based on a book by Shel Silverstein. After the teacher read and discussed the book with the students, they acted out the story and wrote original versions. Next, a professional painted an impressionist painting of the story. Finally, the students made their own paintings. (CB)