This study evaluates a self-management procedure for teaching adolescents with learning and behavior problems (BP) to improve completeness, accuracy, and neatness of creative writing homework assignments. Students were taught behavior change fundamentals, self-instruction, and how to set and work toward goals. Results from two BP high school…

Suggests titles and learning activities to promote the use of children's books in the elementary school classroom. Language arts topics addressed include language skills; vocabulary enrichment; distinguishing between reality and fantasy; the concept of point of view; poetry; creative writing; and reading. (six references) (LRW)

Describes a three-week interdisciplinary summer workshop in visual arts, drama, and creative writing for talented middle school students. Regular faculty and community artists taught poetry, theater arts, batiking methods, watercolor painting, and ceramics. An evening showcase presentation for parents and friends concluded the program. (LS)

Examines early literacy practices in the Montessori classroom. Suggests that there is a need for more integration across the domains of reading and writing. Proposes that the think, write, share, revise, publish, and final-share process in written story creation can provide children with meaningful literacy opportunities as they relate to the…

Proposes the use of poetry field trips to provide students with actual experiences on which to base their writing on nature. Provides examples of students writings. (MDH)

An integrated topic approach (on Theseus and the Minotaur) was used to develop creative writing skills of children (ages 12 and 13) with health- and stress-related disorders at a special school in England. Three elements of the topic (presentation, action, and interaction) were developed through which individual assessment, collaboration, and…

Four K-3 teachers (Brevard County School District) described their experiences using whole language programs. They had in common a child-centered attitude; an initial experience of frustration followed by encouragement from the children's excitement and involvement in learning; and an approach that began with the writing process and moved to…

Suggests a teaching unit for U.S. history in which students research topics and write pulp magazine short stories. Provides detailed teaching model, including background information on pulp magazines, and classroom procedures for a four-week activity. Offers guidelines for plot outlines, format design, and evaluation criteria. (NL)

Notes that teachers can make writing assignments more acceptable by using innovative techniques. Suggests that using letter writing for research projects is a good motivational technique. Asks students to assume roles of persons of a specific historical period and write from the first-person perspective. Includes sample letter. (NL)

This article focuses on the process of promoting academic achievement for second-language learners by imaginatively connecting expository comprehension. The goals of this article are: (1) to increase understanding of instructional strategies among teachers at all levels that impact on reading comprehension in the content areas for second language…

In this replication study, supplemental writing instruction in strategic planning was used to improve the story writing ability of young writers with learning disabilities (LD) and poor writing skills. Six 2nd-grade students with learning disabilities who experienced difficulty with story writing were taught a strategy for planning and writing…

Most children's books are filled with pictures, yet when schools design curricula to teach writing, they often ignore the role of visual images in the writing process. Historically, methods for teaching writing have focused on text. Even relatively recent techniques like brainstorming and story webbing still focus on verbal information. In some…

Teaching at Essex Community College in Maryland has offered several English instructors endless possibilities for program development. Two such public programs developed by one instructor are "The Why of Sports" and the Creative Writing Forum. The former involved six programs and an art exhibit showing the connections between sports and…

In a beginning level creative writing class called "Narration and Description," two student-written stories were collectively peer edited during each session. The class was required to read the student texts before class, critique them, and, with the guidance of four assigned student facilitators, discuss the texts with the author and…

Synectics is the use of thinking in metaphors, or figurative language in general, to see the familiar in unfamiliar ways or the unfamiliar in familiar ways. W.J.J. Gordon and his Cambridge Synectics Group isolated ways to think metaphorically by using artistic problem-solving mechanisms most people possess in their experiential background. This…