The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the reader is not entranced immediately. This lesson examines types of leads in prominent children's literature and asks grade 3 to 5 students to try their own hand at writing leads. During the two 40-minute lessons, students will: discuss their reactions to the leads from the…

For an instructor of freshman composition at the University of Michigan at Flint, faith-based writing topics offer particular challenges and sometimes intersect in troubling ways with her own prejudices and personal history as a teacher and as a person. But if handled correctly, she believes that a teacher's interaction with students about…

This book explores the intersections of creative writing, composition, feminism, and critical theory in ways that speak powerfully to each discipline. It offers provocative considerations of writing and teaching, side by side with practical features including sample assignments and ready to use classroom strategies, as well as a glossary of terms…

The borders that separate and connect different cultures often come into sharpest relief when the focus is on themes and motifs found in the literature or the visual arts of several lands. With the Internet, students can discover such points of intercultural contact for themselves, crossing borders that can lead them to a broader perspective on…

This lesson plan highlights one episode in the "Divine Comedy" to provide students with an introduction to Dante's poem. After a brief introduction to the opening of the "Divine Comedy," which portrays Dante as a pilgrim guided by the poet Virgil on a journey through the Christian afterlife toward God, students read Canto 5 of…

Anthologists and editors prepare the way for poetry readers, selecting works that reward close reading and assisting interpretation through annotation. But on the Internet people can return to poetry in its native state--one set of words among many others competing for appreciation--and read with fresh eyes. The learning objectives of this lesson…

The data gathered for this study supports the hypothesis that using journal writing, as a follow-up to reading literature, would improve second graders' ability to comprehend texts. The study compares the effects of journal writing and language-related activities on reading comprehension. Two groups of second graders were pre- and post-tested in…

This 27-minute videotape joins a third-grade class as they discover local history by looking into the community for ideas, by exploring their families and neighborhoods for oral history, and by writing as a way of recording what they learn. It shows how teachers think about how to use language skills for learning and how to make use of local…

Writing assignments involving newspaper portfolios or analyzing the content of a film (animated or live action) are interesting because they help students become involved with course content and improve students' critical thinking. A study examined writing assignments of these types from 21 students taking two sections of a course on child…

Discusses several terms used to denote cultural diversity and their implications. Emphasizes the importance of intracultural variations to an understanding of multiculturalism. Describes two assignments that give students in a graduate business communication course experience in researching various aspects of culture, exploring issues cultural…

Describes how art-making and writing intersect in a sixth-grade art classroom. Discusses how writing about art-making promoted reflection and thinking, and was essential to the learning in class for both students and teacher. Offers brief notes also about art in the language arts class. (SR)

Describes a nine-week South Dakota history unit for junior high school students that incorporated writing for learning. Describes the eight writing assignments that were the key activities of this unit. Concludes that writing helps students comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. (SR)

Analyzes a large-scale professional communication project, exemplifying the type of projects that graduating students will be expected to collaborate on or to manage successfully. Discusses implications for teaching managerial communication to Masters of Business Administration students and recommends ways to integrate real world tasks into the…

Describes numerous teaching\writing activities used in a teacher's high school history classes that are based on using writing as a means of teaching and learning, and on an understanding of the importance of continual (formative) assessment. Describes "initiative" assignments, process and reflection assignments, and research assignments. (SR)

Advocates using scrapbooks as a genre for getting reluctant writers involved in writing across the disciplines of English and social studies. Provides examples. (PA)