This telementoring project paired 23 preservice teachers and 13 inservice teachers in an idea exchange and in curriculum materials development. After an initial introductory e-mail exchange, pairs identified a topic for a thematic unit or a literature focus unit that the classroom teacher was currently teaching or developing for the future. Online…

Written expression is a skill greatly needed by children and adults as a means of communication in their daily living. In this bulletin there are suggestions for the teacher who wants to use sound methods in teaching children to express themselves in writing. The authors attempt to show that language arts is an important part of the total school…

Discusses five strategies that school counselors can use to help ethnic minority students with career development. Describes strategies for self-concept enhancement, information giving assessment, decision making, and developing culturally relevant career guidance materials. (RC)

Discusses drama in foreign language instruction, especially as a means of improving oral expression. Two basic approaches are outlined and three techniques that have been used successfully with various age groups are described. (AMH)

Applies key components of the Reggio Emilia approach to Hearts Home, a Houston school: (1) parent-teacher-child interdependence, including home visits, communication, training sessions, and field trips; (2) children's competence; (3) utilizing functional and beautiful learning environments; and (4) teachers as partners in co-construction of…

Describes a field sketch mapping project conducted with a sixth-grade class. The project involved selecting appropriate sites around the school to map, organizing the students, and instructing them about measuring distances and drawing maps. Illustrations include assignments and examples of students' work. (MJP)

Describes a class project conducted by multiethnic, limited English speaking, fifth-grade students. The students produced their own videos as part of lessons they developed about their countries of origin. Maintains that this process increases language and social skills while it develops social studies content. (MJP)

Goals of block building in early childhood classrooms focus on physical, social, cognitive, and emotional development. Reports survey results of the value teachers place on block play. Offers illustrations of task cards to use with blocks in math, language arts, social studies, and science. Discusses guidelines and suggests idea cards and sentence…

Observes the ever-changing relationship between media technology and political coverage and illustrates this through the use of political cartoons. Briefly reviews political reporting from the days of the early republic and hand-printed newspapers to the current era of the Internet. Includes historic cartoons and suggested activities. (MJP)

Describes an assignment where students chart the development of a film or literary character's racial identity according to theoretical models of identity development. Students found the exercise thought-provoking, intriguing, and informative. Includes outlines of the racial identity model and an examination of the issues raised during discussion.…

Describes a fourth grade teacher's interdisciplinary efforts at imparting the joys of archaeology to her students. The students read fiction and non-fiction materials about the physical environments and participated in a series of hands-on learning activities. These involved simulated archaeological digs, personal artifacts, and realia. (MJP)

Briefly summarizes a study testing the efficacy of some of the ideas delineated in the "Handy Dandy Guide for Solving Economic Mysteries." The guide stresses an experiential approach where students solve "mysteries" using their knowledge of basic economic principles. The study's findings suggest a significant improvement in…

Presents essential characteristics and types of cooperative learning strategies for use in elementary social studies. Outlines exercises for forming teams and building team spirit. Points out such methods promote group interdependence and student responsibility for learning and teaching others. Highlights two cooperative group strategies, Jigsaw…

Examines the integral relationship between law-related education and social studies, particularly in the context of values education, ethical reasoning, and participatory activities. Illustrates the complementarity of social studies and law-related education components. Reviews literature on U.S. history and the U.S. Constitution that coordinate…

Presents a lesson plan for a classroom simulation designed to teach about the trade, diplomacy, and warfare in eastern North America during the colonial period. Includes student objectives, instructional procedures, historical background, two student handouts of statistical data, and a map. (CFR)