Following the Oklahoma City bombing, fifth graders at a nearby elementary school coped with ensuing uncertainty, pain, and loss. They wrote appreciative letters to fire and rescue workers; shared personal stories with classmates; compiled an anthology of poems, prayers, and stories; attended an assembly to honor parents participating in rescue…

Reports on a public elementary school in Colorado that suspends all activities once or twice a year to become a children's theater. Describes how the whole community participates in the experience. Emphasizes the importance of adult-child collaboration. Relates how the collaborators construct original plays, rehearse and produce them, and finally…

Discusses what is being done at one teacher training institution to train preservice teachers in the area of classroom management. Includes preservice teachers' reactions to this training program. (Author)

The Department of Pediatrics at the Framingham Union Hospital, in conjunction with the Boston University Department of Pediatrics, requires pediatric residents to participate in a school health experience. Two such activities and their effects on children are described. (CJ)

Describes a theater for children and youth on the island of Aruba and the celebration of the project in a youth theater festival. Outlines the goals of the theater project. Discusses the development of the festival plays, the themes expressed in terms of metaphor, and the communication through objects used in the plays. (CR)

Describes a range of responses by elementary and middle school students to educational attempts to provide culturally diverse perspectives, and examines possible reasons. Notes that drama is an effective way to introduce new cultures and ideas. Discusses dilemmas educators face in this endeavor, such as finding and selecting materials. (SR)

Evaluates a small New York school district's efforts to reorganize its two K-5 elementary schools into one K-2 primary grade school and one 3-5 intermediate school, focusing on student, staff, and parent reactions. Although the new arrangement created more focused schools, the intermediate principal misses the energy deriving from the Kindergarten…

In September 1994, a large eastern school system opened a professional development school in cooperation with a local university's college of education. A survey of teachers and elementary school students concerning perceived changes between the 1994/95 school year and the previous year showed that teachers' excitement had not spread to their…

Presents diary excerpts that emerged from two separate teaching experiences with fifth and second graders. Reflects on the author's efforts to communicate the wonder of language and imagination to students. Concludes that by taking account of his own lessons as well as the students' responses to the exercises, the author discovered in a new light…

Describes a two-week unit about Benjamin Franklin, and discusses what happens when 9- and 10-year olds use their own language and life experiences to learn new content. (SR)

Shares the history of a court case in which students are required to announce grades aloud. Suggests that a professional responsibility of teachers is to build trust between those who hold power and those who do not. Contends that peer grading can serve other roles, such as an opportunity where students can feel comfortable learning from their…

Discusses the "Every Pupil Response" (EPR) strategy and its use in teaching basic facts, problem-solving, place value, and fractions. Basically, the technique involves children responding simultaneously to a question by holding up a card, using parts of their bodies, or stick figures. Advantages of EPR are noted. (JN)

Describes a study of elementary students' acquisition of vocabulary, comprehension of content area concepts in science and social studies, and ability to distinguish between fact and fiction in informational books read aloud by pre-service teachers in the classroom. Suggests appropriate uses and cautions considered when informational storybooks…

The 33 modules of a Utah district's successful Resilient Youth Curriculum pilot program provide guidelines for initially working through students' protected exteriors to establish trust and facilitate the resiliency-building process. Students then develop ownership of the program by participating in planning, shaping, and implementing the…

The process of implementing cooperative learning techniques in an elementary school in Montgomery County, Maryland, is described. Discussed are: learning techniques used, such as Student Teams Achievement Divisions, Round Table, Think-Pair-Share, and the Trading Game; student and teacher reactions to cooperative learning; teacher recommendations;…