Details some of the activities undertaken by members of a high school English department who began exchanging their own writing with each other. Argues that this is a stimulating and learning experience that improves both writing and instruction. (HB)

Novelist Mary Lee Settle reminiscences about growing up in an Appalachian coal mining town and how she uses her life experiences as a back drop for developing stories and characters for her novels. She discusses family history, coal mine violence, and the proud heritage and culture of Appalachians. (LP)

Describes a two-week bilingual poetry writing unit that combined a creative writing class and a Spanish class and that compiled a classbook of students' poems in the two languages. (SR)

Describes using an open-ended personal-inquiry instructional model to teach fifth- and sixth-grade students how to author interactive multimedia stories using HyperCard. (SR)

Describes one teacher's methods for introducing to secondary English students the concepts of book design and gift books. Outlines the methods by which English teachers can have students design gift books for friends and family members. Argues that this activity fosters family literacy. (HB)

Describes a four-week poetry workshop for fifth and sixth graders that tied into the school's focus of study of ancient Egypt and Greece. Describes how the author read poems by Keats and Shelley to the students as they drew pictures while listening, and then wrote poems in response to their own art work. Includes 12 poems written by students. (SR)

Discusses publishing on the Internet by young authors. Describes "fan-fiction" Web sites where fans write passages that link to characters in popular books, television shows, or movies; fan-fiction inspired by the Disney film "Newsies"; posting short stories on Web pages; poetry, book reviews, and other publications; the attraction of the Internet…

Discusses young teenagers' adoption of animal personas in their creative writing classes, and the way these classroom activities follow Montessori principles. Considers both the role of imagination in the animal identification and the psychological and pedagogical significance of the underlying development of unconscious kinship with Earth and its…

Describes two class activities which used a computer software program to allow junior and senior high students to discuss and create on computers, electronically, in real time. Describes an online discussion in a large group, as well as a pairing activity in which two students worked together online to create an original poem. (SR)

Describes some of the writing stimuli used to help middle school teacher candidates with their own un-learning as they gain more confidence and insight about authentic writing. Encourages teachers to trust the process and muster the courage they will eventually need to model literacy in their own classrooms. (SG)

Examines the creative writing of third- and sixth-grade students for gender differences when provided with story starters that introduced either a male or a female character. Finds that identifiable difference and trends related to gender and age appeared in the stories, reflecting the pervasiveness and power of sex-role stereotypes. (RS)

The conjunction of poetry therapy and family social work is briefly discussed with respect to philosophical, theoretical, and professional issues. Noting the scope of poetry therapy, fourteen techniques applied to family therapy are examined. The limitations of poetry therapy and new directions for practice and research are noted. (KW)

States that the Progressive Novella Project for high school students involves the collaborative writing of a 35-50 page novella. Explains that prior to the actual writing process, students are educated in the basic elements of fiction writing. Describes the division of labor into groups. Comments that the results of the project are invariably…

A study examined the relationship between structured imagination and creativity in story writing among 108 undergraduates. Subjects produced paragraphs that were meaningful/original, meaningful/non-original, or non-meaningful/non-original. Results showed that groups 1 and 2 wrote psychologically meaningful stories significantly more than group 3…

Describes how college students are flocking to programs that teach them how to produce fiction and poetry, and that schools are adding majors and concentrations to meet the demand. (EV)