A group of athletic sixth-grade girls who controlled a central niche on a progressive elementary school's playground were eventually displaced by a few highly competitive sixth-grade boys. Boys could dominate play sites because their taste for large, structured, hierarchical games reflected the school's own preference. (Contaiins 10 references.)…

Describes a simple shopping game that provides an active and entertaining way for middle school students to appreciate what is meant by chemical formulae. (WRM)

Discusses the changes in musical experiences, such as live versus recorded music, as society has developed technologically. Presents a crossword puzzle that focuses on the traditions and musicians of baroque, classical, and romantic music each originating in Europe. Includes the clues and word list. (CMK)

Outlines a class project in which students explore characteristics of paper towels and paper towel advertising. Students design a variety of experiments related to paper towels and their claims. Provides four activities. (DDR)

Appalled at a half-dozen fifth-graders' exclusionary and unsportsmanlike behavior on a new basketball court, a resourceful principal intervened next recess to pick teams and set rules. Everyone was allowed to play. Arguing, teasing, and intimidation resulted in benching. Eventually, about 40 children of both sexes and all sizes were playing in two…

This classroom activity introduces the concept of sustainable development by illustrating how cooperative behavior between people competing for limited resources can benefit all involved. Students thumb-wrestle for candies and cooperating students can get more candy by taking turns as partners rather than competing as opponents. Offers extension…

Cumulates findings across existing empirical research on the effects of violent video games to estimate overall effect size and discern important trends and moderating variables. Suggests there is a smaller effect of violent video games on aggression than has been found with television violence on aggression. (SG)

Explored the role computer games can play in providing learning opportunities for resource-deprived students. After exposure to the games as individuals and in groups, the English as a Second Language (ESL) proficiency of resource-deprived learners showed great improvement. (EV)

Describes how games in elementary school classroom can be used to assess children's mathematical reasoning and provide instruction. Examples of "test questions" to which the teacher already knew the answer and "honest questions" regarding how the student approached the mathematics problems within a game context are given. Games…

Examined impact of cooperative and competitive games on 4-year-olds' behavior over 6 weeks. Found that more positive behaviors were observed during cooperative games than competitive games, and more negative behaviors were observed during competitive games, but only during the first week of competitive games. Found that teachers' warmth and…

This article describes a computer game that supports the development of learners' social problem-solving skills. In a controlled three-group design, the group using the prototype game performed significantly better than an attention-placebo control and comparably to a therapist-directed group on measures of problem solving and engagement. However,…

Examined the effects of using structurally organized tile patterns or diverse objects in various patterns to represent numbers on kindergartners' learning of number concepts. Found that at the level of numerical operations, structured materials facilitate children's choice of non- finger strategies and speed up response time for finger-strategy…

Discusses the organization La Francophonie, which is an international community of people who speak French and convene to address issues. Presents a crossword puzzle that introduces readers to some of the nations involved in La Francophonie. Provides the across and down clues, a word list, and answer key. (CMK)

Presents a learning activity for students in upper elementary and junior high schools that capitalizes on the appeal of the Olympic Games. Using statistical information on the Games, students are asked to generate world maps indicating medal-winning countries. Includes sample Olympic data and maps. (DSK)

Discussion of communicative competence in second language acquisition focuses on a theoretical and practical meshing of simulation and gaming methodology with theories of foreign language acquisition, including task-based learning, interaction, and comprehensible input. Describes experiments conducted with computer-assisted simulations in…