The beginning of the school year is an excellent time for teachers to reevaluate their curriculum and think about what children really need to know. Suggestions for developing innovative and creative teaching techniques in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies are discussed. (DF)

American education must reflect the multiethnic origins of its population. Describes a lesson plan for grades K-6 which uses creation myths and folk tales to develop increased self-awareness and positive self-concept in students. (CS)

Chinua Achebe is one of Africa's best-known and most influential contemporary writers. His first novel, "Things Fall Apart," is a narrative about the European colonization of Africa told from the viewpoint of the colonized people. Published in 1958, the novel recounts the life of the warrior and village hero Okonkwo and describes the…

Zora Neale Hurston's work is lively, lyrical, funny, and poignant, but this consummate literary craftsperson was also a first-rate ethnographer, conducting field work for Franz Boas and for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). "Their Eyes Were Watching God," often acclaimed as Hurston's masterpiece, is perhaps the richest beneficiary…

This lesson shows how the Inca communicated across the vast stretches of their mountain realm, the largest empire of the pre-industrial world. The lesson explains how couriers carried messages along mountain-ridge roads, up and down stone steps, and over chasm-spanning footbridges. It states that couriers could pass a message from Quito (Ecuador)…

The reading program described in this lesson plan extends the study of Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech to demonstrate the ways Native Americans also resisted oppression through rhetoric. During five 50-minute lessons, students will: develop an awareness of both Native and non-Native movements to resist…

Low-test scores in literacy and mathematics have resulted in increased accountability for educators, as evidenced by statewide "high stakes: testing. The push by federal and state mandates, such as the "No Child Left Behind" Act and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) have increased the amount of teaching and…

Microsoft Excel is a sophisticated and flexible reporting, planning, and presentation tool that teachers can use effectively for curriculum prep, class projects, budget planning and reporting, and even as a database. This book, a how-to guide for teachers at all grade levels, provides information on the fundamentals of creating powerful…

This teaching unit is designed to help students in grades 4-8 explore the concepts of geometry in the context of space navigation. The units in this series have been developed to enhance and enrich mathematics, science, and technology education and to accommodate different teaching and learning styles. Each unit consists of a storyline presenting…

This teaching unit is designed to help students in grades 4-8 explore the concepts of scaling and proportion in the context of spacecraft design. The units in this series have been developed to enhance and enrich mathematics, science, and technology education and to accommodate different teaching and learning styles. Each unit consists of a…

This teaching unit is designed to help students in grades 4-8 explore the concepts of scaling and proportion in the context of spacecraft design. The units in this series have been developed to enhance and enrich mathematics, science, and technology education and to accommodate different teaching and learning styles. Each unit consists of a…

This teaching unit is designed to help students in grades 4-8 explore the concepts of algebra in the context of exploring the universe. The units in this series have been developed to enhance and enrich mathematics, science, and technology education and to accommodate different teaching and learning styles. Each unit consists of a storyline…

The NASA "Why?" Files is a free annual instructional distance learning program that integrates science, mathematics, and technology. The program targets 3rd through 5th grade students and uses a problem-based teaching approach. This lesson guide includes four segments, each with objectives, vocabulary, video component resources, career ideas, and…

This practical resource offers more than 40 strategies that teachers in all content areas can use to help students--including English learners and struggling readers--understand new words, phrases, and concepts. Far more than best means of teaching specific words, these strategies will tap students' curiosity, engage and empower them, develop…

The purpose of this book is to give media specialists, teachers and/or teacher helpers and parents a guide to using beginning chapter books to encourage first and second graders to read independently. The book contains in-depth lesson plans for 35 early chapter books. Each lesson contains bibliographic information plus setting, characters, plot,…