Shares successful teaching tips from six teachers. (MG)

Discusses ways in which a ninth grade advanced placement English teacher adapted her teaching methods to an obviously talented writer. Notes that teacher and talented student have entered a new dimension, not only of ownership but of voice--the writing zone. (RS)

Describes how a teacher overcame her students' reluctance to write poetry by showing them slides of people, places, and things in their school. Describes how small groups of students brainstormed ideas and wrote simple poems. (RS)

Describes various magazine columns or syndicated newspaper columns which engage secondary school students as thinkers and writers. (MM)

Argues that the most important thing that teachers can teach their students about writing letters is to write in a way that reflects the writer's personality, ideas, and visions. Notes that student letter writers should also practice thoughtfulness and good manners. (RS)

Describes a biography-writing project that links research to literary discourse. Notes that the power of literary discourse supported the research project and tapped students' energy to write. (MM)

Describes a way of using history to teach poetry in the English classroom. Argues that coupling history and poetry is a powerful way to teach both topics to students. (HB)

Describes teaching methods and techniques found to be useful by practicing teachers, including midsemester written evaluations of teachers by students; telephone conversations and poetry; reading journals and assigned reading materials; grammar handbooks aimed at students, not teachers; and student conferences with their writing teachers. (HB)

Provides a number of classroom activities, including skits, which foster creative thinking and bring vigor to the classroom setting. Relates how, in one class, students were given the opportunity to collaborate on skits in lieu of the final exam. (HB)

Discusses how English instruction has changed in recent decades, and questions whether the changes constitute a real "paradigm shift." Outlines the historical discussion regarding the changes as paradigm shift. Shows how paradigms have often come into sharp opposition through cultural exchanges. Advocates a constructivist paradigm. (HB)

Argues that writing centers have the essential function of critiquing institutions and creating knowledge about writing. Explains how this function has clear implications for what tutors should know and how they should be trained. Enlists Antonio Gramsci's theory of culture to analyze traditional composition teaching and research. (HB)

Describes how graffiti is a useful analogy providing a fresh source of power for reimagining the function and purpose of writing centers. Explains the necessity of defining writing centers as a subculture. Identifies a distinct writing center discursive style that mediates between official classroom pedagogy and unofficial writing center praxis.…

Describes methods for teaching student writers basic principles of organization. Argues that teachers should help their students learn the process of discovering organizations appropriate for their material instead of merely teaching traditional forms of written organization. (HB)

Claims that teaching writing in a computer-assisted classroom is often fraught with unforeseen and often unnecessary problems. Lists 10 commandments (and 9 helpful hints) for composition instructors using computer-assisted classrooms. (HB)

Describes teaching methods and techniques found to be useful by practicing teachers, including "Using 'What Works for Me'"; and "Song Lyrics to Teach Grammar." (HB)