Argues that children are as deep as the ocean, with secret places inside of them waiting to be opened. Notes that it is powerful for students to learn they can make sense of the world through words, and describes inviting them into poetry as they read poetry, create poetry packets, and write and revise poems. (SR)

Discusses how students of both sexes in a third-grade class used popular culture to scaffold their stories--they (1) aimed at audience reaction, often using argument and shock; (2) incorporated their favorite writers and curricular topics into their pieces; and (3) by year's end, merged the talents of both genders into a higher form of literacy.…

Describes a teacher's experience of teaching a class entitled "Testimony, Magical Realism, and the Carnivalesque" which focused on the invention of aesthetic means to counter dominant, silencing discourses of power. Explains that students were asked to select a story from their own lives and were required to tell the story in three…

Suggests that discussions on approaching poetry must begin with addressing the role of the classroom teachers and the attitudes about poetry that they bring to the classroom. Discusses a few general suggestions as to how poetry may be approached in the classroom. Discusses a poetry writing sequence which helps students explore images and…

Urges writing teachers to cultivate the students' own expression of diverse or alien ideas, not just accept these diversities. Stresses that educators cannot expect young students of Hispanic or other cultures to initiate an open, creative exploration of themselves without an atmosphere of complete acceptance. (MG)

Discusses writing apprehension from the tutors' point of view, drawing on observations recorded in journals. Suggests that research and discussion about writing apprehension can form an important focus for developing a tutoring course. (MM)

Finds that experience and education can produce extensive changes in the style and content of men's and women's writing, eliminate the dominance of gender-based writing characteristics, and help students develop a variety of styles. Suggests that instruction can help students develop varied, androgynous styles important for job-related…

Findings are reported from a longitudinal study, involving 8- to 10-year-old students in England, which evaluated and analyzed student writing samples. The writing samples were elicited by tests intended to produce two kinds of writing: a story and a description. (IAH)

Describes students' attempts to use rhetorical analysis to study the professional communities they intend to enter. Asks whether analyzing discourse conventions can help students feel like initiates in their chosen profession, and explores how such analyses might contribute to writing-across-the-curriculum as a whole. (RS)

Discusses the "Adopt a Country" project, in which high school social studies students each prepared a first person narrative about a developing nation. Reports that students examined conflicts in their chosen countries in a follow-up assignment. Argues that the project increased student understanding of the global village. (SG)

Presents a case study of poetry writing in a fifth grade classroom. Shows not only how writing and reading come together but also how children come together with each other and with published poets. (RS)

Argues that practice in writing resumes and business letters helps composition students gain self-confidence, build self-esteem, and improve writing skills. Examines ways to enhance the writing process, such as using a college career placement office to contextualize resume writing, peer criticism of student work, and brainstorming to develop…

This paper describes the WRITE UP strategy for helping emotionally disturbed students overcome fears of creative writing, organize their thoughts and improve their writing skills. The writing process is covered from subject selection and brainstorming through composition to editing and the final draft, with grading seen as a teaching tool. (PB)

Explores one kindergarten teacher's insights gained through the writing of her students. Shows that students were gaining a wealth of knowledge through meaningful engagement in literacy processes. Shows how, by recognizing the power of learning from young children, she gained greater insight into emergent literacy development and informed her…

Describes a multiage first- through third-grade classroom where the development of children's voices and their writing can happen slowly, in its own time. Uses children's poems to show how children discover the craft of writing through listening to other writers (fellow classmates and authors) in the ongoing process of hearing their own voices and…