Reviews a videocassette, two sound filmstrips, and one set of computer courseware; all intended to motivate students to discover and release the stories within them. (ARH)

Eleven fifth- and sixth-grade learning-disabled students composed and revised stories using handwriting, dictation, and word processing. Dictated stories differed from other formats on product measures such as length, quality, and grammatical errors. Differences between handwritten and word-processed stories were found on the process measures of…

Notes that although fiction writing is a somewhat problematic part of upper elementary/middle school writing, it is important for children to be able to compose good fiction. Suggests two methods to benefit young writers: (1) expose them to a wide range of good fiction, and (2) preserve their right to create personal fictions. (NH)

Reports on the effectiveness of the use of creative writing in English to increase cross-cultural understanding, based on a study of Japanese businessmen reading portions of English novels translated in Japanese and Thai. (Author/CB)

Reexamines Maurice Sendak's first children's book, published in 1956. Finds it to be filled with the characters, themes, and psychological concerns that were to become hallmarks of the writer-artist's mature works. (NKA)

Contrasts the very popular and enduring Nancy Drew series with the host of imitators that appeared after the initial success of the Drew series. Points out that the Drew books were focused mysteries with only tenuous ties to realism but that imitators usually copied the outlines of the pattern but either overlooked or weakened important parts of…

Provides (1) background information showing how the sun, earth, air, and water work together to create weather; (2) six activities on this topic; and (3) a ready-to-copy coloring page on the water cycle. Each activity includes an objective, list of materials needed, recommended age level(s), subject area(s), and instructional strategies. (JN)

Provides background information and student activities on bird nesting, singing, finding a mate, incubating eggs, and raising the young. Each activity includes an objective, recommended age level(s), subject area(s), list of materials needed, and procedures. A ready-to-copy student worksheet is included. (JN)

Examines the novels of two African writers to determine the nature of the black African women's experience. Attempts to determine how this experience can be analyzed in depth and breadth by progressing through four feminist perspectives: (1) personal, (2) social, (3) multicultural, and (4) spiritual/philosophical. (Author/SA)

Offers a method for teaching English using biographies in conjunction with creative writing assignments, for example, writing a short biography of another student in the class. (SRT)

Presents a classroom exercise in literary analysis that requires students to imitate Ernest Hemingway's writing style. (DF)

Explains reasons for eliminating the requirement of "personal" writing from the curriculum in adult classes. (EL)

Expresses the belief that young children need poetry as a means of experimenting with language and as training for the later exploration of literature. (AS)

Describes a writing course that involves students in such experiences as remodeling a house, writing a fiction story for a "Redbook" editor, and studying Hopi Indians. (EL)

This article describes a variety of language arts activities for the classroom that can be done without duplicating masters. Children use materials such as the newspaper, telephone book, and advice columns for creative writing activities. (DF)