One of the best tools for sharpening students' problem solving skills can be found in the mystery story, which calls for logical thinking, paying attention to detail, and distinguishing between facts and assumptions. Activities that can help to develop problem solving skills are described along with several references to mystery magazines and…

Use of a checkbook can hook even the most reluctant mathematics students into learning mathematical and problem-solving skills. (CB)

Mathematics instruction can be approached as a cognitive skill, as illustrated by these elementary-level classroom activities. (LH)

Presents suggestions on how to incorporate elementary student decision making into classroom routine. The article recommends teachers be models, provide food for thought, focus on student strengths, introduce decision-making processes, and provide practice. Seven steps to making good decisions and activities to develop decision-making skills are…

Children use creative thinking processes when teachers assign ambiguous rather than specific problems. Suggestions for developing questions that encourage experiential and metaphorical thinking are offered. (DF)

Critical thinking skills that can be applied to reading can be developed through means other than reading. Teachers can launch class discussions of popular films, such as "E.T.," to nurture these skills, a technique especially helpful for children who have difficulty with the printed word. (PP)

A teaching unit on economics discusses basic background information, suggests classroom activities, and lists sources of instructional resources. Reproducible masters for two instructional levels are included and introduce economics law and basic financial management. (FG)

Problem-solving can be an exercise in mystification for some students. Six suggestions are given for presenting word problems in mathematics in ways that make them more accessible and comprehensible for young students. (PP)

Pullout pages provide suggestions for teaching elementary students at all levels about the wonders of human ingenuity. The suggestions help students see that great ideas come from the need to solve real-life problems and that one great idea leads to another, so current inventions help predict future inventions. (SM)

A collection of activities and tips for elementary teachers, culled from material the magazine has published over 20 years, includes cornerstones of classroom management, top teaching strategies, and curriculum classics. A new poster offers activities for commemorating student birthdays and for enjoying the first day of school. (SM)

The article presents several activities designed to sharpen students' listening and observation skills and help them practice finding and evaluating alternatives to classroom conflicts and conflicts they may encounter elsewhere. Activities include solution skits, role playing, reading and writing conflict stories, and making comic strips. (SM)

This problem-solving activity book offers tools for attacking problems in the classroom and beyond (a reproducible card set explaining problem-solving skills, a math problem-solving grid, problem-solving lessons in science, language arts, and social studies, and a poster following scientists as they fight to reclaim an endangered species). (SM)