Based on eight months of observation in Japanese classrooms, this book describes a Japanese technique of writing instruction, called "seikatsu tsuzurikata" (life experience composition), and shows how it can be successfully incorporated into American classrooms. A foreword by Kenneth S. Goodman focuses on the technique's importance both as a teaching method and as a grass roots teacher movement that gained widespread acceptance in Japan following World War II. Part I of the book, the introduction, describes the research base drawn from elementary school classrooms in Japan. Part II gives a history of the seikatsu movement and its philosophy and historical background, showing how it stresses writer-based writing education, self-actualization, and community building. Part III deals with teacher-student interaction, including getting students to write on simple personal topics, and using journals and the "akapen" (red pen) to highlight and positively evaluate writing. Part IV is a guide to using the method, from lesson plans and the use of poetry to introduce seikatsu, to five steps for smoothly integrating it into the classroom. Part V places seikatsu curriculum within larger educational contexts, revealing its similarities to current language arts education theory, how it can be integrated with American educational systems, and what it has meant to Japanese education. Part VI looks at international perspectives on the movement. Many examples of student writing supplement the text. The bibliography lists English and Japanese references separately, and is followed by indexes of writing samples and of names and subjects. (SKC)