A computer program titled "The Bald Headed Chicken," written for the Apple IIE and Apple IIGS, is described. The program enables primary-level students, as well as limited-English-speaking students, to manipulate graphics and text to create their own stories which can then be saved on disk or printed. (Author/JDD)

A teacher describes activities sparked by the cycles of nature, "round trips," which become evident in autumn. This round trips concept is used to teach sequencing skills in reading, to hone observation skills in creative writing, and to spark interest in animal behavior. A reproducible story-writing sheet is included. (IAH)

Four alternative strategies to enhance learning-disabled students' learning and improve their self-concept include creative writing, peer tutoring, creative teaching, and behavior modification. (DB)

Comparison of the written stories of 96 learning-disabled and 96 non-learning-disabled students found significant differences at grades 3, 4, and 5 in students' inclusion of a complete story grammar. No differences were found at grade 6. (Author/DB)

Eight direct scoring indices of written expression were intercorrelated, factor analyzed, and used to predict holistic judgments of writing samples of 172 middle-school students in compensatory/specialized education programs. Strongest predictors of holistic ratings were percentage of words correctly sequenced and percentage of correctly spelled…

Describes three exercises which use creative spelling in student-generated advertising, poetry, and dialect. (MM)

Describes a collaborative writing activity, designed to promote free and creative writing, in which groups of students each write one section of a collective short story. (MM)

Presents an assignment in which students use their study of poetry to think critically and write creatively. Describes how students synthesize inferences about a poem to write character monologs based on the poem. (MM)

Describes an activity that develops student writers' individual voices, even when collaborating closely in a writing workshop. Notes that the writing workshop allows students access to each other's writing processes and encourages consensus on revision directions. (MM)

Presents an assessment rubric that allows teachers to consistently assess children's work over time. The rubric focuses on 3 features of writing (surface features, inner layers, and creativity), within which are 18 specific competencies. The article describes how to use the rubric to assess creative writing. (SM)

A creative writing program for disadvantaged women in Chicopee, Massachusetts, is described. The program's effects in empowering the women resulted in the women making a number of specific changes in their lives. Reasons for the workshop's success are discussed, as is the power of the arts to effect social change. (DB)

This article recounts a learning experience at the Kansas State School for the Deaf in which students invited an author of children's books about deaf children, Jean Andrews, to visit and participated with the author in developing her next book. Students also wrote their own books, and received feedback on them from Andrews. (DB)

States that teachers who view themselves as writers experience the same sort of mental changes that regular writers do. Explains that attitudes about writing change, and higher interest in all things relating to writing increases. Argues that keeping a portfolio of writings is beneficial in the development of writing skills, even in writing…

States that having students write poems while listening to a cassette tape of "Earth Spirit" by R. Carlos Nakai has been a remarkably successful exercise with students in grades 2-12. Discusses exercises in which the author reads three poems while the tape plays, and the students then write poems of their own. (PA)

Describes several methods by which practicing English teachers enhance the instruction of literary terms in the classroom. Focuses on the actual methods used in an English class, including "theme seeds" and the fostering of metaphoric thinking. (HB)