Argues that reintroducing the classical principle of imitation based upon single, model sentences can be highly beneficial by allowing the student to practice handling the sentence, directing attention to grammatical constructions, enlarging vocabulary, improving spelling, and filling the mind with mature standards of prose. (RS)

Describes a writing exercise which helps students understand the distinction between mere proofreading and actual revision. (MM)

Given that writing should be an instructional vehicle in almost every curricular subject and that college students should learn to think while reading and writing effectively, what techniques might help a hypothetical history instructor challenge students to learn something new while answering essay questions? This article provides some sample…

Describes how a short exercise in designing greeting cards for a "Teacher Appreciation Day" helps student identify and analyze the four components of rhetoric--purpose, content, persona, and audience. Includes samples of students' greeting card messages. (MM)

Explains how to "carve" a text, rearranging or omitting words without altering the basic message. Notes that this exercise helps students become aware of how language can be manipulated for meaning. (MM)

Describes the Semantic Analysis to Writing (SAW) framework in which students engage in a modified semantic features analysis of thematic words in a story, identify specific story events that relate to the definition they are constructing, and organize the material for a written response by ranking the supporting evidence. (RS)

Suggests metaphor is a linguistic tool for discovering meaning and a fundamental form of understanding. Recommends instructing students to produce and analyze extended metaphors by composing biographical portraits. (MS)

Describes an experiment conducted with students in grades two through six and grade nine. States that the focus was on writing about old age. Reveals stereotypes about the elderly. Discusses how students were encouraged to write about the aging process and their feelings about aging. Concludes that aging is thought of as a major human concern, but…

Describes an eighth-grade teacher's decision to heed innervoices and make time for poetry in her classroom. The class began by reading fun-filled, picture-book poetry; enlisted the help of school and town librarians in finding compelling single-author works and anthologies; and finally wrote "recipe poems" together. (Contains 27…

To teach effectively and reach as many students with varying learning styles as possible, a combination of teaching and learning styles may be more productive than a single approach. This article presents a five-phase instructional process for integrating small-group discussion, reading and writing from text guides, and writing activities to…

Presents three writing exercises ("quick plots,""fairy tales: traveling," and "what did Shakespeare see when he closed his eyes?") designed to be completed with a group of people. Notes that the exercises can help students create solutions to the problems they run into when writing fiction. (RS)

Describes metaphor as being alternately an "ornament" or a powerful way of knowing. Focuses on the latter definition, so that teachers may better discover their tacitly held beliefs on writing, learning, and teaching. Offers examples of teachers using metaphor in writing. (PA)

Twenty-three associate degree nursing students completed writing-to-learn microthemes (very short writings that summarize, support theses, solve dilemmas, etc.). Compared to 23 controls, achievement data showed significant improvement in content learning. (SK)

An approach to persuasive writing is presented for English-as-a-Second-Language classrooms. Activities include discussion to activate past experience, connecting experience to purpose, constructing the argument, extending the argument, supporting the argument, and examining and evaluating alternatives. (12 references) (LB)

Discusses the development of voice through a specific free-form poetry-writing experience. Suggests a method for teaching poetry that draws heavily on poets from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Shares evidence that this approach to teaching poetry can be the starting point for students developing writers' voice, and suggests ways to move…