The Quarterly

Vol. 24, No. 4, 2002

"Don't Begin Sentences with But" Is a Writing Myth
By George Dorrill
In this brief essay, George Dorrill takes on the age-old struggle around this controversial conjunction....

Any Tilt Will Lose the Game
By Kathy Thomas
Thomas is forced into a difficult position when a student expresses resistance to an assignment in a confrontational manner....

Beyond "Pink Is a Rose"
By Michele Fleer
When poetry writing proves a challenge for her second-graders, Fleer turns to group poetry writing....

Book Review: Is That a Fact? by Tony Stead
By Kim Douillard
Kim Douillard reviews Is That a Fact? Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3, praising author Tony Stead for his conviction that primary students can compose a variety of nonfiction texts and for the useful techniques he offers....

Book Review: Rethinking High School, by Daniels, Bizar and Zemelman
By Nick Coles
Nick Coles reviews Rethinking High School: Best Practice in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership by Harvey Daniels, Marilyn Bizar, and Steven Zemelman....

Creative Copying, or in Defense of Mimicry
By Rebecca Dierking
A student question about the difference between plagiarism and mimicry leads Dierking to a deeper understanding of her students' need for clarity....

On the Use of Metawriting to Learn Grammar and Mechanics
By Douglas James Joyce
As a means of dealing with basic grammar and mechanics problems, Joyce's students examine their own writing problems in a reflective, informative way that increases familiarity with writing resources and reduces the frequency of errors....

Projectors, Bell Curves, and Midday Showers
By Jane Hancock
A poem by Jane Hancock....

The Breakthroughs that lead to Breakthroughs
By Amy Bauman, Art Peterson

The Poet
By Karen Brown

Thursday Mornings
By Tina Humphrey
Humphrey advises new teachers, "Don't lose yourself....

Where Does Spite Fit Into the Rubric?
By Anna Moore
Wondering how—or if—her feelings toward a student should play into an evaluation of the student's grade, author Moore offers readers an honest look at a teacher's struggle....

Who, What, When, and Where of Writing Rituals
By Ann Dobie, Harriet Maher, Connie McDonald, Kathleen O'Shaughnessy
The writers identify such categories as environment, time, and behavior as variables in writing rituals and touch on the importance of ritual in reducing anxiety, increasing fluency, and increasing power and control....