The debate about standards seems already to have narrowed the focus of English teaching. Author outlines ways in which teachers might counter the charge of English being a soft option. (Editor)

Ruby Lee Norris describes a successful creative writing program called Invisible Stories which used slides, music, and stories to stimulate student writing. (DD)

Children's literature can provide children with the inspiration they need to do creative writing. (DD)

Discusses types of evaluation appropriate with elementary school writing. (AA)

Presents a poem, "Henry and Edith in Casper," and discusses the composing processes that led to its creation. (SRT)

After participating for 14 weeks in the Purdue Creative Thinking Program (which fosterd divergent thinking abilities), behaviorally-disordered 11- and 12-year-olds (N=24) scored significantly higher on verbal (written expression) subtests of the Torrance Tests of Creativity than a control group of behaviorally-disordered peers (N=24). (Author/CB)

Suggests using jump-roping rhymes and rhythms as an energetic way to guide students to a basic understanding of poetic principles. (MS)

Emphasizes classroom study of poetic patterns and images to enable students to see how poems work without overwhelming them with terminology. (MS)

Argues that it is time to return figurative language to the classroom. Claims teachers should teach writers more figures, regardless of the approach to composition instruction. (MS)

Notes playing surrealist games called "Dialogues" provides authentic sources of irrefutable images. Claims that schematically the games are the exact reproduction of the psychic process invariably involved in every kind of creation and thus prove beneficial to break the blocked state writers sometimes face. Provides a list of games.(NH)

Explores the extent to which technology has affected creation and production in modern poetry and concludes that originality of expression has not been lost in the medium of newsprint or advertising text. (DF)

Five writers/teachers explain their philosophies about editing student work for publication. (DF)

Identifies novels as emotional histories of peoples in different times and places that are popular because they educate as well as stimulate. (CRH)

Describes writing folders (used to hold children's personal and creative writing efforts for an entire school year) and how they may be used effectively. (FL)

Describes a teaching sequence in which students are taught to write as if they were readers and read as if they were the writers. (HOD)