Describes five writing activities for college writing courses: (1) a documented opinion paper exercise; (2) breaking writing rules; (3) trip reports from absentees; (4) case studies to promote writing for particular audiences for pragmatic purposes; and (5) an organizing strategy for studying, using a chart format. (SR)

Describes an undergraduate women's literature course in which students write in journals. Argues that the course may resolve conflict between feminist teachers, who dislike some theorists' uncritical view of feminism, and theorists, who dislike the taint of male philosophy in feminist teaching. Suggests that course interaction can bridge these…

Describes writing exercises that stimulate learning while not burdening the instructor. Discusses simulations in which students are asked to write a diary entry about the daily experiences of a 75-year-old, to formulate a marriage contract, and to write a letter to a friend describing the student's worst job experience. (KO)

Offers 17 exercises combining writing and painting, each with its own theme and goal, and all designed to show that close observation is fundamental to the effectiveness of both visual and verbal expression. (SR)

Describes an activity for primary school students, combining writing with computer-art quilt-making. Provides a bibliography of quilt books. (MM)

Describes a pre-writing dialogue prompt, a word association activity, and a writing assignment that draw upon students' memories of saying good-bye. (MM)

Four case studies evaluated the use of self-recorded word counts of freewriting in grade one, two, three, and four classes, under both loose and restricted time limits. In each case, the number of words written in a session increased over time and this increase accompanied improvements in the expressiveness of the freewriting, with little evidence…

A teacher describes use of a three-phase freestyle writing activity to encourage students with disabilities to develop independent expressive written language. Students develop their skills by writing for brief periods, first whatever comes to mind, then a self-selected topic, and subsequently a teacher-selected topic. (DB)

Describes a simple introductory in-class writing assignment that serves to clarify the multiple issues involve in effective letter writing of the persuasive type. Examines the diagnostic value, the lesson learned, and objectives served by such an assignment. (KEH)

Describes how elementary teachers can get good results using invented spelling in the classroom. The article presents the history of invented spelling and whole-language learning, then explains how to use core word lists, avoid sloppy drafts, conduct conferences, teach spelling effectively, and create a balance between writing and spelling. (SM)

Identifies research contributing to teachers' understanding not only of what it means to teach composition but how it might be implemented in a meaningful and productive manner to improve students' writing. Concludes that a variety of meaningful writing tasks contribute to student growth, writing instruction is a shared responsibility, and the…

Shows how a writing exercise requiring students to write to themselves five years into the future has a dramatic effect on them and helps them, perhaps for the first time, to think about their futures. (TB)

Despite the positive long-term physiological and psychological effects of exercise, many young adults between the ages of 12 and 21 years do not participate in regular physical activity. With the time constraints and other challenges in teaching and assessing students, physical educators need realistic strategies that will help in their efforts to…

One of the best ways to enrich students' social studies experience is to include assignments in which students interact with social studies content and skills. In this article, the author explains how teachers can use writing exercises to encourage such interaction. She describes the following writing activities: (1) acrostics; (2) haiku; (3)…

This article describes developmentally appropriate activities that can be used in large physical education classes (40+) to teach students about physical fitness concepts. Students should learn the "hows" and "whys" of being physically fit, including health- and skill-related fitness knowledge and the Principles of Training. Some activities in…