The story of John Henry provided the setting for sixth-grade class to participate in a John Henry Day of mathematics experiments. The students collected data from experiments where students competed against machines and technology. The student analyzed the data by comparing two box plots, a box plot of human data, and a box plot of machine or…

A class of reluctant readers and writers responded positively when topics were discussed orally before writing. As writing improved, the author of this article introduced "Coffee House"--themed settings for oral performance of student writing. After modeling her own writing, the author invited students to perform, gratified when even the most…

In 2002, with pressure on students and educators mounting regarding performance on standardized tests, the author, who is an assistant principal at Skyline High School in Issaquah, Washington, and some staff members decided to have a little fun in the midst of the preparation for the state's high-stakes test, the Washington Assessment of Student…

In this article, the author relates how his visits to classrooms across America to speak to children about writing and illustrating books have left him impressed by the creative ways in which educators manage scant resources to motivate students and to develop exciting lessons. He shares six things that he has learned from these visits about how…

The focus in education in the past 10 years has been on proficiency tests. Every educator in the country is worried about providing opportunities for our students to pass the proficiency tests. Teachers try lots of things--open-ended questions, multi-step questions, essay questions--all in an attempt to get our students ready for The Test. But…

As every early childhood teacher knows, providing children with activity and material choices, stimulating multi-sensory activities, and positive support and novel challenges can truly inspire children's love of learning. Now there is the additional support of brain research. Marian Diamonds of the University of California at Berkeley reports that…

This article describes 6 aids for science instruction, including (1) the use of fudge to represent lava; (2) the "Living by Chemistry" program, designed to make high school chemistry more accessible to a diverse pool of students without sacrificing content; (3) NOAA and NSTA's online coral reef teaching tool, a new web-based "science toolbox" for…

To provide potential dropouts with increased opportunities for academic and social success and ensure school and community involvement, the Clinton County School District (Kentucky) has developed a comprehensive dropout prevention program emphasizing the assessment of student needs. This paper describes the program's purpose, target groups,…

Two lessons from a graduate general education course were presented in a live-television format. One group of students was placed in the studio with the instructor and another group in a classroom away from the studio. The classroom was equipped with a monitor enabling students to watch all the action, a telephone to allow them to call in with…

To determine if dance/movement is an effective method for teaching word analysis skills and to encourage creativity, a study examined 69 students from four kindergarten classrooms and 63 students from three second-grade classrooms. Students in each class were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Treatment 1 groups received a…

This compilation of abstracts represents 39 projects that were funded by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia under Adapter Grants (which involve experimentation with instructional methods or techniques) or Developer Grants (which involve the implementation of a uniquely innovative teaching method or other instructional procedure).…

This essay focuses on a project that involves the integration of various electronic media and traditional classroom activities with the purpose of creating and maintaining a creative community. This evolving hybrid learning project seeks to integrate not only college classrooms and electronic environments, but also various communities of writers,…

The articles in this document present ideas for teaching English and the language arts creatively. Topics include a letter writing project in which ninth graders wrote letters to celebrities; an English elective course designed to increase students' creativity; ways of using the newspaper to teach language skills; the value of games in teaching…

Intended for teachers of gifted children, the handbook is organized into teaching strategies with a brief introduction followed by examples for each strategy. Stressed is the use of the strategies to develop the teacher's own creativity. Described are the following strategies: self awareness activities (such as boundary breaking and encounter…

The purpose of the Hilroy Fellowship Program is to encourage and reward elementary and secondary classroom teachers who have developed new methods, approaches, or devices for the improvement of teaching practices. This publication is a compilation of the resumes of innovative projects of the Hilroy Fellowship in 1980. Information on how to order…