Designed to present communications problems faced by the elderly and to assist classroom teachers to develop activities for dealing with them, this booklet begins by examining stereotypes of older persons which minimize and distort communication with them. It outlines common misconceptions about the elderly, centering on their state of mind, health, capacity for work, interest in life and sexual activity, and financial condition, and it notes that despite television's capacity to serve a number of functions for the elderly, it reinforces such stereotypes in advertising and programing. The second part of the booklet provides exercises for use in a unit on communication and the elderly, designed to restructure patterns of communication that manifest or reinforce negative stereotypes about older persons and the aging process. Exercises are grouped in the following four sections: diagnosing attitudes toward the elderly; examining the various media (television, magazines, and children's books) for positive and negative stereotypes toward the aging; encouraging empathy with the elderly regarding their communication difficulties; and encouraging intergenerational communication. A list of classroom film, musical, and literary resources is included. (DF)