This activity offers students a way to engage in cover letter writing, familiarizing themselves with the style and content of these documents in a creative, fictional scenario. Students will both prepare letters and evaluate them, with options to vary the gamification of the activity included. During the debrief, students assess their experience…

Getting students involved in the process of heightening, which is really the transforming of experience and self-expression into fiction, is a basic factor in teaching the writing of fiction. This process of heightening involves two devices for communicating "felt life": concretization and dramatization. In teaching these devices, prewrigting…

Some 60 activities in language arts for use in the out-of-doors are described. Categories for these middle school activities include oral activities, factual writing, fictional writing, and poetry. (JC)

To examine the textual features that distinguish descriptions and fictional narratives in the products of eight- and nine-year old writers, a study analyzed 14 compositions (seven descriptions and seven fictional narratives) written by 14 third grade students. The samples were rated by two qualified professionals working in writing research,…

CraftPlus[R] is an integrated learning package that consists of a K-8 spiraling, core writing curriculum based on explicit Target-Skills instruction; professional books; grade-level Curriculum Guides; sixteen workshop and classroom demonstration DVDs; and a CD with student samples and other classroom support materials. The grade-level Curriculum…

Valgardson discusses his attitudes toward his work and toward the teaching of writing. (RL)

CraftPlus[R] is an integrated learning package that consists of a K-8 spiraling, core writing curriculum based on explicit Target Skills instruction; professional books; grade-level Curriculum Guides; sixteen workshop and classroom demonstration DVDs; and a CD with student samples and other classroom support materials. The grade-level Curriculum…

The use of historical fiction in schools in the United Kingdom can help develop language skills and encourage a curiosity about the past. Major historical events contain drama and tension, and an imaginative story about an historical event captures children's emotions and intrigue. Historical fiction is a literary genre where opportunities exist…

Designed to develop students' abilities to follow directions and organize and write their thoughts, this junior high level activity involves students in creating a dream person using magazine or catalog pictures and then writing a biography of this person. Materials include teacher notes, follow-up suggestions, evaluation procedure, and a…

CraftPlus[R] is an integrated learning package that consists of a K-8 spiraling, core writing curriculum based on explicit Target Skills instruction; professional books; grade-level Curriculum Guides; sixteen workshop and classroom demonstration DVDs; and a CD with student samples and other classroom support materials. The grade-level Curriculum…

Intended for teachers, students, and writers, this guide provides exercises for improving writing techniques and using literary devices. Following an introduction, the six chapters deal with the following techniques: (1) describing place, including observation and exaggeration; (2) describing people, including "inside/outside" portraits and…

THIS BOOK IS INTENDED FOR USE WITH STUDENTS WHO CAN PROFIT FROM INSTRUCTION IN VIGOROUS AND COLORFUL WRITING. EMPHASIS IS PLACED UPON SHOWING THE STUDENT THAT HIS OWN EXPERIENCE IS RICHER THAN HE MAY SUPPOSE AND UPON HELPING HIM TO DRAW FROM IT. THE FIRST SECTION OF THE BOOK CONSIDERS THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SUBJECT, THEME, OBSERVATION, SENSORY…

CraftPlus is an integrated learning package that consists of a K-8 spiraling, core writing curriculum based on explicit Target Skills instruction; professional books; grade-level Curriculum Guides; sixteen workshop and classroom demonstration DVDs; and a CD with student samples and other classroom support materials. The grade-level Curriculum…

The main thesis of this book which describes a pupil-centered curriculum is that students should use language more than they customarily do. The curriculum is based on a "naturalistic" approach "whereby students learn essentially by doing and receiving feedback." Consequently, most of the book is devoted to guiding the student from a posture of…