This article presents a classroom ethical decision-making exercise designed to help students make reasoned ethical decisions while gaining insight into their own and others' ethical decision-making strategies. During the exercise, students individually analyze an original mini-case, then meet in small groups to reach consensus on the advice and…

When children come to school, they bring with them a common thread they all have their individual names. Children from minority cultures, however, often encounter difficulties for being different; one obvious difference can be their given names. Names that are unfamiliar to other children may cause social tension or ridicule when a teacher calls…

This article reviews federal case law that address a college instructor's right to academic freedom over classroom activities. This review shows that the federal courts have defined a college instructor's academic freedom rights narrowly in terms of the instructor's classroom activities. Institutions have a great deal of latitude to regulate an…

Children at Alcott Elementary in Westerville, Ohio, have a new habit of saying, "I can!" In the last few years, educators in the district have carefully translated the standards in their elementary courses of study into "I Can" statements. During the fourth and fifth graders' recent study of government, the authors of this…

Intended as a an aid to elementary school teachers, this handbook presents a literature unit based on the children's book, "Madeline" (Ludwig Bemelmans). It begins with sample lesson plans, a unit planner, getting to know the book and author, and suggestions for using the unit activities. Next, a section offers unit activities focusing…

Presenting lecture material, an in-class activity, and example transparencies, this paper is the first installment of a 3-part series of lecture/in-class activities that are used to get feedback from students on the effectiveness of teaching strategies in the area of audience analysis and adaptation in the classroom. The paper combines several…

This booklet presents five activities that deal with nonverbal communication. The booklet outlines instructional objectives for the student: to describe nonverbal communication and identify at least three examples; to explain why the face is an important source of information; to recognize and describe environmental factors that influence…

This paper considers political reasoning within a democracy and how mass media may affect that process, as well as how the perspective and method of critical thinking may be brought to bear on the subject of media and politics. Specifically, the paper (1) discusses some ways in which the mass media may affect political reasoning; (2) offers a…

This collection of monologues describes women's roles in theater in 1994 as being "ripe with possibility." The collection includes work from playwrights Gloria Naylor, Harold Prince, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, and Harold Pinter, among others. The collection contains 57 brief audition pieces for women to perform from the 1994…

Intended for both novice and experienced teachers, this book helps English teachers incorporate literature into their curriculum. The book presents three sets of lesson plans that can be used right away or be kept as guides for designing lesson plans in the future. The book shows how literature can help students achieve these goals: stimulate…

This paper describes a classroom exercise used on the first day of class to help students meet each other and to help make them feel comfortable in the class. It also helps improve students' memory and interpersonal skills such as active listening, communication and trust. Originally designed for use by college students, the exercise can easily be…

Popcorn story frames from a multicultural perspective are holistic outlines that in the reading/writing process facilitate comprehension for all cultures learning to read and write stories. Popcorn story frames are structured and modeled in a horizontal fashion just like popcorn pops in a horizontal fashion. The frames are designed for learners…

The bare fact is that the speaker's words are nothing until the listener gives them meaning. The denotation of a word is developed through association with other words. The connotation is the more difficult concept to establish for the critical/comprehensive listener studying word meaning. The common explanation is that "connotation refers to…

Designed to introduce students to the world through nonfiction, this book presents easy-to-follow suggestions for class projects, activities, strategies, and learning centers. The book uses an integrated approach to promoting inquiry in the classroom through the use of quality nonfiction. Aimed at middle grade students and using vignettes which…

This paper presents "popcorn story frames"--holistic outlines that facilitate comprehension when reading and writing stories, useful for outlining stories read and for creating outlines for original student stories--that are particularly useful for elementary and intermediate school students. "Popcorn" pops in a horizontal…