Offers suggestions from six contributors regarding a variety of classroom activities, including the use of high interest-low vocabulary books with gifted and average readers, an exercise in sequencing, a Halloween project to improve students' grammar, a technique to improve students' dictionary skills, and methods for helping students write books.…

Reviews the sequential steps followed in teaching basic composition at the University of Alabama. Discusses traditional teaching techniques, word choice, and types of writing, and describes alternative teaching techniques. (DR)

Describes an approach to evaluating creative writing in which the teacher acts as an editor and grades according to contracts set up during conferences. (MKM)

Creativity should be developed in students, especially through the teaching of literature. Composition assignments that draw upon students' personal experiences and observations help to develop literary creativity, cognitive activism, and independence. (Author/AV)

Argues lack of encouragement starves the young poet. Describes a teacher's effort to bring an appreciation of poetry and the writing of poetry into a classroom of 9-12 year olds. Suggests specific exercises in using metaphor, comparisons, wish lists, dreams, humor, and rhythm. Also suggests classic poetry for motivating students. (SD)

Discusses adolescent anxieties, rebelliousness, and media preferences in the 1990s, especially Hip Hop, and relates today's trends to past trends, from Sinatra to Break Dancing. Suggests classroom activities using music and music videos: analyzing fans; providing biographies, discographies, lyrics; writing reviews of albums and videos; studying…

A survey of 69 authors of novels written as dissertations and 31 doctoral programs that have accepted dissertation novels is reported. Issues discussed include reasons for choosing this genre, factors in successful completion, program standards and procedures, assessment, previous or subsequent publication, and student satisfaction. (MSE)

This article describes one poet/teacher's program to explore and cultivate student creativity, intuition, and imagination through a series of visual, verbal, and psychological exercises. Visualization, free-writing, association, variations on other poets' work, and memory mapping are among the creativity exercises employed prior to actual writing…

Describes a class novel writing assignment and points out its obvious benefits to the students' understanding of the novel genre. (RAE)

Reports on a study of eighth graders who were given a series of lessons in which they were asked to write narratives about themselves. Suggests that "lifewriting" helped students, especially English-as-a-Second-Language students, to understand themselves and their pasts better and helped them to become more engaged by the possibilities of writing.…

Gives an overview of how one English teacher uses students' inherent understanding of film by asking them to write movie scripts. Advocates the use of screenwriting in the classroom. Details numerous reasons for such methods, and describes eight specific suggested class activities employing script writing. (HB)

Encourages counselors to incorporate poetry into student counseling. Client poems many times serve as a way to uncover student concerns. Reading and writing, particularly in free verse, can often accelerate the counseling process. (RJM)

Tells the story of "Jim," a 10th-grade student in "general" English who did nothing in a class until the teacher noticed his creative writing talents. Explains how an assignment to write an autobiography led to the teacher's discovery that Jim is a poet. Notes that Jim went on to complete the course and to complete high school. (TB)

Discusses how teachers can intervene to help elementary students make thoughtful decisions about their writing topics, noting that advocating student choice does not mean abdicating the role as classroom manager. The article describes choices that writers make and explains how to handle difficult situations. (SM)

Describes creating for the National Archives Public Education Department a historical drama, "Second in the Realm," based on the story of the Magna Carta. Demonstrates the effectiveness of historical drama as a teaching tool. Explains the difficulties of writing such dramas and provides guidelines for overcoming these problems. (NL)