| Summary: | Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1988. Education Includes bibliographical references. This study was undertaken to investigate children's literature as a major resource for enhancing the creative writing potential of young children. A major premise is that children learn to express themselves in writing most effectively through exploring and modelling the writings of others. The review of the literature indicates that there is a strong relationship between the study of children's literature and creative writing development. The literature examines how the study of children's literature promotes writing development in areas such as form and pattern, content, motivation, and vocabulary development. -- The result of this study was the production of a handbook designed to foster the use of children's literature in creative writing programs. A sample selection from the handbook was given to two teachers to use with their grade two students. A description of the procedure followed, the observations made, and the effective results of the activities are discussed, along with some of the writings of the students. -- The introduction to the handbook provides a rationale for the use of children's literature in writing programs. Also presented in the handbook is a list of suggestions which teachers will find helpful as they pursue in their classrooms the writing activities mentioned in the handbook. The major portion of the handbook consists of the presentation of several prose and poetry selections with ideas for incorporating and applying them in creative writing programs. Each prose selection is presented with a brief annotation, an introduction which points out the strengths of that selection for writing development, a detailed description of some writing activities which can be suggested to students, and, in most cases, a bibliography which can be used to further enhance the same strengths presented by the selection discussed. Each poetry selection presents the poem itself with suggested activities, based on the form, pattern or content of the poem.
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