Describes a writing exercise with the "Oxford English Dictionary" that teaches students about research and attention to detail. Describes how the exercise, which involves the student in a set of serial tasks, makes students comfortable with the OED, teaches them how to extract full details of any word, and teaches students to take…

Discusses the development of a living museum of history project in a middle school classroom, noting the pedagogical foundations for such instruction and the students' process of creating their exhibits. Presents sample worksheets for developing and evaluating exhibits. (JPB)

Describes a classroom activity to enhance understanding of how major theorists differ in their conceptualization and treatment of a client's problems. Participants either watched a dramatized play in which prominent clinicians discuss a case, or attended a comparable lecture. Results of a quiz indicate that students who watched the play…

Discusses how reader-response activities combat lack of interest in introductory literature courses. Considers the value of a reader-response approach, activities which liberate students, a student-driven syllabus, and pragmatic concerns. Notes how employing a reader-response approach in the introductory literature course helps maintain the…

Considers how classroom simulations help students master concepts in cross-cultural workplace communication. Notes three problems that face most instructors who wish to incorporate simulation games into their cross-cultural classroom instruction. Discusses how in the creation of cross-cultural simulation games, it helps instructors by solving the…

Reports three English-as-a-foreign-language experiments that indicate that a lexical organization along metaphoric themes or source domains can facilitate retention of unfamiliar figurative expressions. Proposes classroom activities aimed at enhancing language learners' metaphor awareness and at turning this into an additional channel for…

This is the last article in a four-part series on issues that help define or promote a civil society. This article looks specifically at the issue of consensus and seeks to answer the following question: How can a diverse group act constructively to make unified decisions? Describes activities that teach the basic concepts and skills of consensus…

Uses character analysis borrowed from drama classes to work on literary selections. Gives writing assignments to students based on characters from a story. Conducts interviews with the "characters" in class. (PA)

Describes how an English teacher slowed down her class and took out certain activities, in order to put in reflection. Relates how she now requires (and teaches) students to reflect on what the things they read actually mean to them, their beliefs and their lives. Shows students relating to the classics in vivid ways. (SR)

Presents a high school student's description in class of her deep connection to Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," and how it offers a glimpse of the vast interior lives of women. (SR)

A "shop-around" activity for German classroom communicative practice is described. The exercise is a reasoning-gap activity in which the students seek out specific items or use a shopping list to search for and/or acquire using play money. Preparatory exercises, follow-up activities, and variations of the activity for different…

States that toys can be used in the social studies classroom to help elementary students learn and retain relevant content. Discusses how to incorporate toys into the classroom. Lists toys, games, and lesson plan ideas that can be used when teaching history, geography, and economics. (CMK)

Describes a class exercise that attempts to alleviate student anxiety and fear of learning statistics. Explains that the exercise focuses on concepts associated with probability sampling theory and sampling distribution through the use of M and M's candy. Describes the four steps involved and additional considerations. (CMK)

Presents an email correspondence activity designed to supplement existing field-based literacy teacher education experiences. Notes the intent of the strategy is to provide the opportunity for preservice teachers to encounter authentic literacy issues faced by real teachers, and to familiarize preservice teachers with the trials of being a…

Studied the symbolic play that occurs in activity corners set up around toy-objects in Greek kindergartens. Found notable differences in levels of symbolism and complexity of the play. Concluded that the most favored groups were those in which: (1) classroom space was polyvalent, permitting its informal re-organization; and (2) the teacher was an…