This article describes an instructional lesson the author developed to help students use parody to read and write original poetry. The author begins this article with an introduction to parody and a rationale for using it as an instructional strategy. Then, he describes materials and procedures he used and he shares samples of student writing. He…

In teaching a research-writing unit, the author has asked her students to research and write a persuasive speech, a multigenre paper, an I-Search, a historical and comparative connection to literature, a country brochure, and a social criticism essay. While she found benefits and disadvantages in all of these assignments, the author was…

Discusses term paper writing as an academic exercise whose origins are obscure and whose end is self-delusion. (Author/GB)

Presents five excerpts from student essays (resulting from extensive in-class coaching and computer lab time) that were based on an article from the December, 1991, issue of "English Journal." (HB)

Discusses how powerful the letter is as a form and vehicle for writing, particularly because the language of letters is the closest to natural speech and represents casual spontaneity associated with conversation. Suggests practical ways of including letter writing in the classroom and provides sample letters as illustration. (KEH)

Describes a writing assignment in which students rewrite literary classics or fairy tales from a new perspective (i.e. making an originally minor character the protagonist, or putting the original story into a different century). (MM)

Asserts that the "Advice to Writers" project, encouraging students to articulate what they do when they write and to share those perceptions with fellow student writers, is an effective way for students to reflect on the writing process. (MM)

Describes a poetry teaching method in which prereading strategies are used to spark interest and focus on those devices students are expected to learn. Presents samples of poems students wrote imitating devices in the model. Notes that, although not all students became fans of poetry, they developed an appreciation for the poet's task. (RS)

Presents a high school student's story about fishing, analyzes the story, and provides study guide questions for students intended to amplify the reading. Invites "English Journal" readers to use this story and study guide in their own classrooms. (JG)

Argues that the five-paragraph-essay structure is a valuable teaching tool but cautions that composition teachers need to ensure that their students don't perceive it as an end in itself. Illustrates how students can learn the principles of effective composition and apply them to any writing task by making necessary modifications. (KEH)

Describes an approach to literacy instruction for immigrant students based on two novels. Focuses on the immigrant experience and teaches both cultural and "school" literacy. (MM)

Discusses how writing response groups improve students' writing even when the students resist extensive between-draft revision. (MM)

High-school English students learn to analyze short stories by being given a situation the actual author has used and writing scripts to develop the plot and situation. Only later are they assigned the story to read and discuss. In Nold's experience, they develop both imagination and heightened critical awareness. (PD)

Describes how a teacher uses Stanley Kunitz's poem "The Portrait" to help students write poems full of concrete, sensory images about deeply private experiences. Presents examples of student poems. (RS)

Describes an exercise to elicit student interpretations of Robert Wallace's poem, "Ungainly Things." (MM)