Defines metacognition and claims that it is a central aspect of students' steadily improving reading ability. Shows how teachers can teach their students useful metacognitive reading strategies. (HB)

Suggests four exercises to undertake prior to the actual reading and study of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest" in high school English classes. (HB)

Describes a California high school English class's creation of various authentic learning activities to bring Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" to life. For any activity to be perceived as genuine, students must be able to apply what they are learning to their lives; there must be a goal worthy of students' and teachers' commitment and…

Describes multimedia boxes and how they can be used in classrooms. Suggests ways teachers might begin a multimedia box and different ideas for using it. (HB)

It is argued that, although materials are an important form of support to language classroom activities, they also constitute a constraint that can undermine the value of those activities for the processes of learning. (three references) (LB)

Describes a class activity in which children write "news stories" concerning what happened to them over the weekend. Notes that the activity is enjoyable and effective in facilitating literacy. (RS)

Offers observations from a literature-rich kindergarten classroom to reveal that children who are presented with models and opportunities to dramatize literature will engage spontaneously in dramatic story reenactments. (SR)

Describes the work of the Interrelated Arts Program (IAP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, whose multiethnic staff of 18 arts teachers provides varied teaching activities in the schools, many incorporating multicultural education. Offers a sample lesson plan on proverbs, and lists four multiethnic stories for which detailed lesson plans are…

Presents a list of books designed to stimulate thought and lively discussion on feelings and emotions that concern children most. The article offers suggestions on how teachers should use the books in class. (SM)

The quality gap between education products and commercial entertainment has narrowed greatly, thanks to improvements in computer technologies and software. However, as Neil Postman suggests, the printed word is far from passe. If children are educated to understand words and ideas, they can make discriminating choices in the chaotic realm of the…

An eighth grade English teacher in Great Neck (New York) integrated six LEP foreign students into her classroom by using a team approach for the memorization and recitation of the Gettysburg Address. The foreign students were enthusiastically coached by their peers; all profited from studying the language of the address. (DM)

Presents a classroom exercise that can help students focus on the difficulties in defining normal sexual behavior. Provides a 30-item questionnaire on which students indicate whether or not a variety of behaviors are normal. States that students then meet in groups and construct a definition of "normal" sexual behavior. (DB)

This article outlines an eight-week program exploring archaeology in the elementary school classroom. "Relics" from the author's grandmother's attic and contemporary "prepared" garbage bags were studied for insight into the past and processes involved in archeological digs. Famous digs were studied, experts visited the class, and games simulated…

Presents a brief overview of Gestalt theory. Discusses and illustrates six key principles of Gestalt psychology as they apply to document design and graphics. Presents exercise that students may use to improve their understanding of the principles and develop their document design skills. Distinguishes between Gestalt theory and rhetoric. (RS)

Describes a science project about growing seeds for which kindergarten students reported their results both by printing and by making a video. (SR)