Stresses the importance of using imagery when having beginning writers write poetry. Discusses additional techniques of stressing the unusual, continuation words, the five senses, and repetition of a word or phrase. (MG)

Describes Sustained Silent Reading and Writing (SSRW), in which students write nonstop for five minutes about that day's silent reading. Notes that students using this strategy begin to use metacognitive strategies to increase their comprehension and make evaluative comments on what they read. (RS)

Outlines a series of activities using story writing to teach first grade students about story structure. (MM)

Describes how creating "mythical machines" can develop students' technical writing skills. Describes how students work in groups to produce documents for various purposes related to their machine. (MM)

Describes several assignments and activities that focus on writing for "real-world" purposes, including writing to pen pals, government agencies, and for children or the elderly. (MM)

Discusses "crazy world" stories, stories that are dramatic, usually violent, and contain no clues to the motivations of the people involved. Suggests how these stories can be used in the classroom to discuss the motives that news stories ascribe to actors. (MS)

Proposes that freshman writing instructors incorporate the form of writing practiced by the social sciences. Notes that this form constructs an intellectual bridge that leads from a limited "I"-oriented perspective to the academic discourse community. Gives three examples of writing strategies adapted from the social sciences. (RS)

Writing strategies encourage beginning writers to collect, explore, and focus ideas. This paper presents a rationale for fusing the word processor with the writing process and offers a series of pre-writing strategies, such as brainstorming, clustering and chunk writing, to help learning-disabled writers begin writing. (Author/PB)

The assignment of frequent, short, specific writing tasks related to reading assignments encourages active reading of the text, does not overwhelm poorer readers, and teaches important lessons about proof, quotation, and economy in writing. (MSE)

Describes several activities using postcards as writing prompts at all classroom levels. (MM)

Describes three writing activities designed to link literature, technology, and the visual and performing arts. (MM)

Contends that using writing in mathematics will not only make mathematics students better writers, but will also make them better mathematics students. Offers several writing activities for a mathematics class. (MS)

Presents 18 writing stimulus ideas that are intended as jumping off points for student writing and are based on poems from "If I Were in Charge of the World (and other worries)" by Judith Viorst. Offers some general suggestions for using poems in the classroom. (SR)

Discusses four ways to incorporate writing into math and science instruction: content journals, written conversations, letter writing, and informal reports. Includes a chart describing 20 additional kinds of writing that might be incorporated into science and math learning, including directions, advertisements, biographies, lists of facts,…

Offers 2 favorite writing activities for the computer lab: (1) students write about 100 words of the beginning and end of a favorite fiction book, while another student fills in the middle; and (2) students choose from 1 of 3 plot twists, write at least 5 sentences, and then write 3 more plot twists for the next student. (SR)