This paper is about a writing and literary translation program called Poetry Inside Out (PIO). Students in the PIO program study poetic form and structure, figurative language, and the fundamentals of literary translation in an extended workshop format. During a typical Poetry Inside Out workshop, participants read, discuss, translate and recite…

There is nothing worse than hearing moans and groans when writing time is announced to students. Motivation for writing begins when students' interests are mixed with opportunities for creativity. This article presents an idea shared by a writing coach who found a way to spark students' interest in writing by developing recipes for more…

Describes how one teacher got elementary students excited about writing poetry by providing them with simple rules and structures and encouraging them to take chances. Strategies included having each child contribute one line to a poem, discouraging rhyming (which is difficult and blocks creativity), encouraging them to write freely, and having…

In June 2008, the Department of English at the University of Minnesota partnered with the Minnesota Spoken Word Association to inaugurate an outreach literacy program for local high-school students and teachers. The four-day institute, named "In Da Tradition," used spoken word and hip hop to teach academic and creative writing to core-city…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a philosophy of education for the gifted and place that philosophy within the framework of practical education. The paper sketches the philosophy--language arts must be taught in a way that emphasizes the wholeness of the language experience--and discusses two key points: (1) If language arts consist of…

Letter writing in a "Dear Abby" format can encourage your reluctant writers to dig deeper into books by dispensing advice to troubled characters When this author's triplet daughters were in the fifth grade and wrote the advice column for their school newspaper, she discovered giving advice can motivate reluctant writers. This realization prompted …

The greatest advantage of teaching English as a humanities subject is in the way it encourages children's natural abilities to express themselves creatively in words and to empathize with others. The history of the creative movement in Great Britain is traced through various literature. (PP)

Describes a course that integrates abstract biological concepts into narrative contexts to make science come alive for apprehensive nonmajors. Simple and creative methods of conveying information--such as humorous, light-hearted analogies to lighten the mood--reduce the abstractness of the material and alone can effectively relieve anxiety and…

A product of Hawaii's Poets-in-the-Schools program, this second volume of a compilation of essays and poems addresses diverse artistic and educational concerns about poetry writing and is divided into two sections. Section I consists of essays by three of the poets who were involved in the program: (1) "Evaluating Student Poems" by Tim…

Proving the efficacy of Hawaii's Poets-in-the-Schools program, this collection of descriptive statements by some of Hawaii's leading poets and teachers of poetry, and accompanied by illustrative poems produced by classroom pupils, describes the theories that were generally accepted as a working basis and the related methods each writer used in the…

A second grade teacher describes how a difficult student with learning disabilities blossomed over the course of the school year. The article examines her whole class approach and presents strategies for including such a student in creative writing activities. (SM)

This essay focuses on a project that involves the integration of various electronic media and traditional classroom activities with the purpose of creating and maintaining a creative community. This evolving hybrid learning project seeks to integrate not only college classrooms and electronic environments, but also various communities of writers,…