Each year, seventh graders at Woodlawn School in Davidson, North Carolina, learn about Japan through a compilation of literature, history, and art. They are introduced to a wide range of ideas and materials: they study the Heian and Tokugawa Periods as well as modern Japan, the code of the samurai warriors, haiku and its components, and Japanese…

Although interest plays a large role in motivation and confidence, we need a clearer understanding of how teachers and classroom practices can influence students' interest for the act of writing. Rebecca L. Lipstein and K. Ann Renninger studied the perceptions of 178 students in grades 7, 8, and 9 to develop this understanding. They offer…

Describes a seventh grade class project that incorporated language skills and creative writing in making a monster magazine. (GB)

Describes using published journals and books written by adolescents to spark seventh graders' journal writing. (SR)

Presents a day-by-day account of a beginning filmmaking course for a seventh-grade class. (MM)

A teacher discovers that the practice of collecting samples of her students' compositions motivates their writing and yields other instructional assets. (RD)