Presents the T-H-E-M-E-S system for designing interdisciplinary learning activities for middle school students. Participating teachers are urged to think up a monstrous list of themes, hone the list and group themes into three manageable lots, extrapolate selection criteria, manipulate and process themes, expand into activities triggered by…

Describes a project to help students shift from the precision they expect in science to the more ambiguous nature of taxonomy. Students are asked to project themselves 500 years into the future when, as a result of humankind's pollution, there are only 10 remaining organisms. Some organisms are unlike any previously known. Students name and…

Focuses on the Big6 perspective of synthesis--organizing information from multiple sources and presenting the result. Highlights several ways to organize information and gives examples of exercises that use these two aspects of synthesis. Discusses the role of technology in synthesis and the integration of teaching software for synthesis. (AEF)

Education utilizing the Internet is developing in a major way, but there are problems using these new facilities. Gardner's theory of individual differences which consider these problems are examined in detail. Various tools offered by the Internet and the Web are discussed, as are activities associated with all forms of their usage. (Author/AEF)

Students can use Web-based portfolios in technology classes to display classwork and project work. Developing effective websites gives them an understanding of a range of information-age tools, motivates them to do high-quality work, requires self-assessment and reflection, and teaches design skills. (SK)

Investigates out-of-class academic collaboration among students at a polytechnic in Singapore as they worked on collaborative assignments. Data were collected via a questionnaire completed by 232 students, interviews were conducted with 10 lecturers, observations were made of eight student groups as they collaborated on teacher-required work…

Presents information on using analogies in science instruction. Describes the Teaching-with-Analogies Model. Presents an example for homeostasis. (PR)

Provides activities for teachers to use in studying characters' motivation in literature. Suggests books and describes the action and motivation for each; considers evaluation methods that include group activities, individual activities, and writing; and includes a student assignment worksheet on motive. (LRW)

Describes a second grade activity for the ocean-animals unit which uses the Kid Pix computer program. Students research an ocean animal, write rhyming couplets about it, discuss shape poems, draw outlines of their animals, trace the outlines onto a transparency, tape the transparency to the computer monitor, and use Kid Pix to type the poem onto…

To survive the 21st century, schools must internalize new technologies and expand their capacity for using technology to improve teaching and learning. They must adopt certain corporate change principles: examine mental models, think of a different way to think, and continuously improve and refine technology's role. (MLH)

Provides a brief overview of graphic organizers and the research that supports them, then discusses how one teacher used middle school students' graphic organizers for assessment of students' learning throughout a unit on AIDS. Summarizes the advantages found in using graphic organizers, discusses problems and concerns, and concludes that they are…

Presents a learning activity plan for teachers or librarians that helps students comprehend the author's craft element of "point of view." Focus is on first and third person point of view. Outlines student motivation methods, the procedure, extension/application activities, and assessment. Includes an activity worksheet. (AEF)

Explains Fish Bowl, an activity for upper elementary and middle school students to share what they read and a method for teachers to assess student understanding of a book. Discusses benefits of reading aloud a summary of the book, reading a passage from the book, asking appropriate questions, and answering questions. (LRW)

Provides general guidelines for using historical reenactments to teach elementary school social studies, focusing on the French colonization in America. Discusses the use of older student mentors, parent volunteers, and first-person historical presentations. Describes benefits to learners, strategies for reenactment, and evaluation procedures.…

There are two kinds of logical reasoning: "inductive" and "deductive". Inductive reasoning proceeds from effect back to cause, from special case to general principle. Detectives use it, examining the clues and conjecturing the actions that caused them. On the other hand, deductive reasoning proceeds from cause to effect, from principle to…