Based on the work of a seventh/eighth grade school teacher and one of his classes, this guide provides teachers and other interested persons with step-by-step instructions for conducting research and interviews to publish a local history of the community. Chapters provide information on the following topics: (1) introducing the topic of local…

The writing and production of classroom publications can become a strong motivating factor in stimulating children to read. Since a wide variety of activities is necessary in compiling a class paper or magazine, all children can be involved. Guidelines should be established and followed concerning titles and themes for the publication, duties of…

This Digest recounts the varied experiences, for both elementary school students and teachers, of producing a classroom newspaper. In the particular instance discussed in the Digest, for the students, it was a chance to collaborate with their peers, to pursue their own special interests, and to see their work published. For the teacher-adviser, it…

Discusses the importance of creative thinking in the geography classroom. Suggests that such thinking can be achieved through the integration of content and creative problem solving. Describes a seventh grade world geography class activity which illustrates this integration. Steps for applying the activity are given and student efforts are…

Describes innovative ways elementary teachers turned watching and producing television programs into active, hands-on learning. Students created a videotaped student book review program, watched the weather channel, viewed public television's after school "Homework Helpline," and tuned into educational programs that could be linked to…

Over the past several years, teachers at the West Virginia University Child Development Laboratory have used the language experience approach to develop the literacy skills of young children. To increase child involvement, a scrapbook project for 4-year-olds was conducted each Wednesday for 1 academic year. Each child received a scrapbook and…

One-fourth of the students in Boston public schools have parents who were born outside of the United States. This guide contains a series of classroom activities, produced by Boston teachers and aides, that are designed to take advantage of the abundant cultural diversity found in Boston schools by encouraging these dual-culture students to share…

The purpose of this study was to determine the reactions of ninth-grade students to a three-week language arts minicourse program offered for three consecutive years at a junior high school in Minnesota. The students registered each year for one minicourse from a selection of approximately six. The courses were primarily activity centered and were…

Argues that a truly learner-centered approach in second language teaching should be concerned with allowing learners a greater role in the management of their learning by providing opportunities for learner choice in the method and scope of study. Reports on experiments in this approach at the University College of Bahrain. (SED)

One teacher's experience using student-written texts as a basis for testing other students has become a good way of integrating the four language skills in a natural progression and in pinpointing students' language weaknesses. Using students' texts has also reinforced the importance of choosing visual materials carefully. (MSE)

Reviews a college freshmen history seminar project in which students wrote, illustrated, and prepared a U.S. history textbook on the 1950s and 1960s. Reflecting on the resulting text, Ramsay questions whether students succumbed to the didactic fallacy; and cites a lack of cohesiveness, but praises the project's value as a teaching exercise. (LS)

Describes how fourth graders, together with first graders, planned, wrote, and edited a book of recollections, opinions, personalized stories, and poems. The article discusses the interviews between the fourth and first grade students, the final editing and production of the book, and the publication party. (SM)

This paper describes two different English programs for international students at the American Language Institute in San Diego, California. One is English for Academic Purposes (EAP), and the other is Intensive English for Communication (IEC). The paper focuses on one teacher's experiences teaching IEC writing after 2 years of teaching EAP…

Four French language instruction ideas are presented, including an exercise in using articles and possessive and demonstrative adjectives; student production of radio programs; a lesson in writing postcards to friends; and a young children's game focusing on recognition and assimilation of written words and structures already learned orally. (MSE)

Provides background on ThinkQuest, the world's largest Internet learning competition. Describes the experience of H.D. Perry Middle School in Miramar, Florida, where students designed a Web site about one of their hobbies--juggling. Includes the 1997 ThinkQuest Category of First-Place Winners. (AEF)