A mastery-based learning model has limited value in secondary English classrooms, particularly as it relates to writing instruction. Kelsey Hammond and Chelsey Barber argue against the focus on standardized benchmarks that are tied to mastery-based models in favor of an approach to writing that is explorative, personal, and imaginative. The rise…

In this paper, we show how children's creativity manifests in literary aesthetics and how they explore moral subjects as a result. Literary aesthetics involve a range of artistic elements or expressions within a textual work. Writers may use aesthetic properties to express individual appreciation or how people view the world, often in relation to…

The first part of this article considers the challenge of supporting pupils to write creatively about the natural world. It examines a text by a gifted young writer: "Diary of a Young Naturalist" by Dara McAnulty. It asks what the challenges might be for pupils who may be motivated to model their writing on McAnulty's, but have limited…

This article considers the experience of a literary professor working to maintain connections and creativity--as well as model pedagogy--in the context of Fall 2020. The author created invitations for undergraduate and graduate students to reflect on experiences and engage with texts/course readings, using poetic and visual choices for composing.…

The traditional academic research paper isn't always the best form in which to judge student writing. When students are given a choice in form and genre, their true talents and creativity can be unleashed. Miller offers up classroom examples and ideas on how to let students express their creativity in writing literary papers, research papers, and…

Contemplative pedagogy is part of the larger emerging field of Contemplative Studies. Louis Komjathy (2018) has observed three characteristics shared by various aspects of Contemplative Studies: practice commitment, critical subjectivity, and character development. This paper uses these three characteristics to describe and define a…

The purpose of this article is to share how the authors supported kindergartners' and first graders' developing creativity through stories they composed in writing and art. Over eight years, the authors explored ways to use picturebooks as mentor texts to help students explore how the authors and artists create meaning multimodally. This article…

English language arts teacher Zachary Wright describes how he uses "Mad-Lib"-like templates to help his unconfident writers (which is most of his students) see precisely how to do things like write a thesis statement, extract examples from the text, and structure a coherent essay.

The article focuses on creative uses of storyboarding in teaching and learning. The first step invites participants to individually brainstorm and identify a memorable short story which could either be real or fictional. It then provides them with a template of a six-scene project and invites them to simply sketch their short stories. The second…

Creative book design connects learning in visual arts and language arts. Explore the benefits of bookmaking and specific steps to create a variety of book formats with children. Examples of imaginative books, such as accordion, flip, paper bag, and pop-up, are shared.

Creativity allows to see things in a new way--to go beyond the information given, recombining, thinking in unconventional ways, using little known or neglected means. To be clinical, it starts in the frontal lobe, that part of the brain which has the boundless capacity to dream up things. Feeding one's creativity both in the classroom and away…

The youth slam poetry movement is growing in Houston. Writers in the Schools (WITS) is helping youth explore their truths through performance poetry and the renowned Meta-Four Houston program. Spoken word, slam competitions, and performance poetry bring people together to share stories and listen to our tomorrows. Performance poetry encourages…

Whether novice or experienced, writers must come to terms with the daunting task of filling up a blank page, or screen, in an effort to produce writing. Student writers are no different. They enter teachers' classes having confronted similar difficulties with discovering what it is they want to say. In seeking to help students, they devote…

Knoblauch and Brannon might suggest I pry loose the grip that ancient rhetorical tradition has on my modern classroom, but I'm not convinced I can so easily abandon the ancient rhetoricians. Learning to embrace the different, more creative, and less frequently acknowledged elements of this tradition may be the way for me to go instead. The ancient…

LEGO blocks have been played with by generations of children worldwide since the 1950s. It is undeniable that they boost creativity, eye-hand coordination, focus, planning, problem solving and many other skills. LEGO bricks have been also used by educators across the curricula as they are extremely motivating and engaging and, in effect, make…