Elementary students can become good editors by using editing skills during the writing process. Teachers must present and repeat editing topics in minilessons, provide reminders of particular skills that were addressed, teach students to use editing resources, and expect students to develop proper usage gradually. (SM)

Rafe Esquith has taught for 23 years at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in Los Angeles. In a neighborhood plagued by gangs, guns, and drugs, his is a special classroom known as Room 56. Within its walls, children living in poverty play Vivaldi concertos, perform unabridged plays by Shakespeare, and go on to attend top universities. In 2003,…

Author attempted to clarify the concept of "creativity" so that students might become more creative and teachers might realize more effective methods for stimulating student development. (RK)

Children become frustrated in learning cursive writing, says the author, who offers some helpful suggestions. (Editor/RK)

Echoic reading helps in the development of a number of skills. Author examines the subject. (Editor/RK)

When primary students are excited over a weather change, capitalize on it! Article suggested methods for combining learning with awareness of the environment. (Editor/RK)

One of the nicest things about being a student in a class in creativity is in always being "right." The completed creation, the imaginative response, is always a "right answer." Article discussed creative projects and how to develop them while developing an imaginative exploration. (Author/RK)

Thirty activity ideas for school and home use that reinforce reading skills. (CM)

Eight ideas to motivate children to write. (CM)

Describes a class project designed to bridge the learning gap between June and September by creating a bag full of summer learning activities. (SB)

A social studies unit designed to help students learn first-hand how to exert pressure on elected officials. (SB)

Presents ideas for teaching the basics: (1) managing the classroom reading programs; (2) puzzle boxes for practice in the industrial arts; (3) learning historical facts from maps in social studies; (4) experiments in mathematics problems; and (5) linking science and art for understanding. (JMB)

Presents the results of the Best Teaching Idea contest that sparked a response that flooded the editors with entries. Here are the 20 adjudged the best ranging all the way from self-made computers to games made by kids to be played with parents. (Editor/RK)

A substitute teacher's stay in a classroom can be a pleasant, constructive workday or a nightmare of thinly disguised bedlam. Here are some ideas that will ensure that the classroom maintains a productive environment while the substitute teacher takes over. (Author/RK)

Art lessons can teach concepts and develop students' self-confidence when they are encouraged to discuss their work. Activities and suggested questions are offered. (DF)