Of all the possible tools available to help out English language Learners (ELLs) acquire vocabulary, the use of emotions is one of the most powerful because "we are learning that emotions are the result of multiple brain and body systems that are distributed over the whole person". If we go one step further and connect emotions to…

Problem solving is one of the main competences we seek to teach students at school for use in their future lives. However, when dealing with mathematical problems, teachers encounter a wide variety of difficulties. To foster students' problem-solving skills, the authors developed "strategy keys." Strategy keys can serve as material to…

This discussion-based lesson is designed to support Year 6 students in their initial understanding of using letters to represent numbers, expressions, and equations in algebra. The three level framework is designed for: (1) making thinking explicit, (2) exploring each other's solutions, and (3) developing new mathematical insights. In each level…

Enjoyable literacy strategies help elementary teachers reinforce students' mathematics knowledge. This article shares a number of literacy strategies that can easily connect with mathematics. These strategies include word associations, multimeaning word cards, and games. (Contains 7 figures.)

Teachers can build on students' familiarity with and respect for the Harry Potter books to create source-based vocabulary lessons. The idea is to work with the Latin roots that J. K. Rowling uses to create original names for places, people, and magical charms and then to extend students' knowledge through exploration of additional English words…

Skilled reading requires attention to many aspects of print at the same time. Some children demonstrate difficulty in attending flexibly to multiple features of print, often focusing solely on decoding or word-level information. These children often lack the insight that reading is more than decoding; they have a difficult time thinking about…

A mnemonic device is any technique or system to improve or aid the memory by use of formulas. Memory aids enjoyed great popularity in ancient times, but with the advent of literacy, the need for memorization was lessened and mnemonics were not taught regularly. However, recent research in cognitive psychology suggests that mnemonics, taught and…

The paper discusses general types of nonverbal behavior (NVB) and encourages teachers to use NVB influences in the classroom. (Contains eight references.) (LB)

This article presents a novel approach to teaching business ethics to college students by relying on well-known aids to learning new, complex, and/or abstract material. The primary purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to explore some of the reasons why learning the basics of moral philosophies is relatively difficult for many students; (b) to…

Maintains that elementary music programs are an asset to the instrumental teacher. Discusses how the pedagogical techniques used in elementary music programs can be applied to instrumental classes. Analyzes aural learning, movement, hand signs, familiar songs, and phasing and form. Suggests how these can be incorporated into instrumental classes.…

Adapting strategies of invention from the new process-oriented rhetoric, the literature teacher can help students understand what they read through prereading exercises. Presenting students with an abstract model of a text's metaphoric structure, the teacher can spark students' immediate and imaginative response to the model, involving them…

Describes a procedure termed free associational assessment that uses free recall and associational thinking. A sample lesson is provided. (HOD)

Different effects of instructional strategies on recall and comprehension of terms frequently used in formal analysis of art were examined. The study looked at a synthesis of three theoretical positions: dual-coding theory, schema theory, and elaboration theory. Two-hundred and fifty sixth-grade students were randomly assigned to three groups:…

This guide consists of 156 language games and class activities. It is a compilation of the activities used in a first-year German course at the University of Texas at Austin. Each activity is described by level of student experience and within one of three overall categories: materials used (objects, props, cards, pictures, stories), objectives…

Many of the most talented authors and artists of the past and present have shared their thoughts and their gifts with young children through picture books. Many picture books allow young children to explore important ideas and to stretch their minds far beyond rote memorization. Young children absorb knowledge at a very rapid pace. In an age of…