Creating the Joyful Writer: Introducing the Holistic Approach in the Classroom

Creating the Joyful Writer: Introducing the Holistic Approach in the Classroom is aimed at educators who want to go beyond traditional approaches but don't know how. Schiller emphasizes physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and environmental elements (that is, the whole person) rather than just the intellect. She details background, historical development, and philosophical explanations for holistic education, including a timeline of key people and ideas. Teaching activities provide a context and exigency for writing and provide learners with the opportunity to use multiple intelligences.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Background and Influential People Chapter 2 Creativity: A Holistic Route to Writing Chapter 3 Contemplating Great Things in Soul and Place Chapter 4 Walking in the Spirit of the Medicine Wheel: Learning to See What We Normally Do Not See Chapter 5 Write Your Own Ending Chapter 6 The Connected Self Chapter 7 Visioning in Silent Community Chapter 8 Screenplay Writing Chapter 9 Info-Commercial Chapter 10 Cave Art: Is It Literature? Is It Writing? Chapter 11 Finding Your Community's Literature Chapter 12 Creating a Life's Legacy Chapter 13 Music and Dance to Inspire the Pen Chapter 14 The Writer's Scrapbook Chapter 15 Voice and Identity: The Sound of Respect Chapter 16 Writing the Outdoors: 3 Days in Nature Chapter 17 Appendix A: Interesting Holistic Schools Chapter 18 Appendix B: Rhetorical Aims and Organizational Strategies

About the Author :
Susan A. Schiller, Ph.D., is a professor of English and member of the graduate faculty at Central Michigan University, where she teaches composition, American literature, film studies, and English education.

Review :
Susan Schiller delivers a blend of theory and practice that is stimulating to readers and useful to educators in K-12 and college classrooms alike.... The chapters are focused to help teachers integrate writing activities with other ways of knowing, such as music, art, dance, nonverbal communication, and acting. Schiller's instructional ideas place equal value on writing to know or discover, writing to show or demonstrate, and writing to connect to the self or to others.... Creating the Joyful Writer invites readers to use chapters separately or as a part of a larger, integrated writing program. Schiller's research, creativity, and organization make this book a great resource for educators of all levels. I admire the way Schiller’s book broadens the possibilities for helping people write. One of the benefits for teachers is how, instead of focusing on instruction, she focuses on ways to set up unusual, interesting, and adventuresome settings in which people will find access to their own sources of creativity.