"Problem-Based Learning in the Physical Science Classroom, K-12" will help your students truly understand concepts such as motion, energy, and magnetism in true-to-life contexts. The book offers a comprehensive description of why, how, and when to implement problem-based learning (PBL) in your curriculum. Its 14 developmentally…

Social-emotional skills provide a critical foundation for learning and wellbeing in early childhood and beyond. In this article we present specific teaching strategies that teachers can implement within the context of supportive, responsive relationships to foster young children's developing social-emotional competence. The teaching strategies…

Blocks are not just for play! In this article, Nicole Andrews describes observing the interactions of three young boys enthusiastically engaged in the kindergarten block center of their classroom, using blocks in a building project that displayed their ability to use critical thinking skills, physics exploration, and the development of language…

Recent research has revealed new information about how preschoolers develop an understanding of counting, and offers exciting new strategies for teaching. These new strategies encourage children to problem solve and use reasoning to understand quantities and how counting works rather than simply providing them practice with counting procedures.…

Sixty-five fourth-grade, fifth-grade and sixth-grade teachers in the Midwestern United States participated in professional development opportunities designed to increase their mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge over a two-year series of workshops. Through the use of pre-tests and post-tests assessing content knowledge and…

Students will benefit from this unique preschool framework that integrates individually appropriate practices, literacy activities, play, and explicit instruction into content area lessons. Included are chapters on Oral language development; Phonological awareness; Early reading and writing; Print concepts; Instruction in content areas; and…

This activity booklet is designed to help preschool teachers and caregivers prepare preschoolers to deal with issues of self-esteem, problem solving, health and safety awareness, and crime, drug, and violence prevention on developmentally appropriate levels. It provides background information on drug and violence prevention for 4- and 5-year-olds,…

This curriculum guide presents a model for instruction in drama and theater education that integrates dramatic art in the elementary curriculum and addresses the developmental needs of all students. Part I outlines curriculum goals related to skills, attitudes, and understanding. These goals are to: (1) create and evaluate drama and theater…

In order to promote critical thinking in young children, particularly children ages 5-8, teachers need to understand skills and dispositions of critical thinkers. This paper discusses these skills, dispositions, and the appropriate classroom climate, within the context of pedagogy, along with learning activities for kindergarten and primary…

This document is comprised of four publications of the early childhood section of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: (1) prekindergarten standards related to social and emotional development and approaches to learning; (2) a teacher's guide to early social and emotional development and approaches to learning; (3) a…

This book provides teachers of infants and toddlers with an in-depth guide to infant and toddler development, theories of growth and development, and best practices in early childhood education. The chapters are: (1) "Innovations: Infant and Toddler Development," looking at the underlying principles of developmental and interactional…