Discusses the interaction of several factors that contribute to the success of interdisciplinary teaching teams at the middle school level. Describes importance of planning time, team size, keeping students in teams, designating team areas, and longevity of teaching teams. Considers how these research-based principles can guide the improvement of…

Reports on curricula adjustments after the 1997 Red River Flood forced schools to end the academic year five weeks early. Fifty-seven teachers from five elementary schools in Grand Forks (North Dakota) answered the study questionnaire. Finds that, following the flood, teachers spent more time reviewing material from the previous year and helping…

Introduces an activity involving Orson Welles' radio broadcast of the "War of the Worlds" to teach concepts on planets. Provides a lesson plan for grades 5-8 on "War of the Worlds". (YDS)

Discusses the use of the Internet for teaching Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Studies. Includes descriptions of 16 self-directed lesson plans, as well as a link for access to download and use any or all of the plans. (Author/VWL)

Considers how to incorporate all the components of early literacy strategies into a daily schedule. Describes what occurs during each component and how routines, centers, a rotation system, and classroom management are incorporated through a balanced schedule. Creates a seamless instructional and thematically based environment where the components…

Presents lesson plans designed to enable high school students to recognize ethical issues involving the printed media and to give students practical experience in ethical decision-making using the newspaper as a learning tool. Includes 10 ethical issues and related case studies. (RS)

Presents seven mini-lessons on chaos theory and fractal geometry for use in a high school setting. Examples include the Sierpinski Triangle and Julia Sets. (MM)

In this article, the authors talk about the family and how students think of a family. They discuss a family defined in a law and various styles of families in reality. A lesson plan about "What is a Family?" is presented. (Contains 1 note.)

Recent remarks by Maryland's governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. referring to multiculturalism as "bunk" have rekindled the debate on multicultural studies as "soft" history and social science. Richard Vatz of Towson University, as reported in The Washington Times (23 May 2004), noted that "People support it (multiculturalism) without knowing what it…

Careful planning of lesson plans and units of study is important. Good planning does not mean success in teaching, but it certainly is salient to be well prepared each day for teaching pupils. It is unfortunate if teachers enter classrooms with little to show in the way of being prepared for teaching. Pupils do notice if a teacher is ill prepared…

In this article, the author relates how she and other art teachers developed a "living painting" lesson, an art lesson that incorporates art history and painting. The lesson was developed also in part to help new student-teachers plan a memorable lesson. With the living painting lesson, students will have to choose and recreate famous paintings…

A continuing debate in the field of education asks whether music should be taught as a separate discipline, having value in and of itself, or in conjunction with other subjects, valued only to the extent that it complements the learning of other material. Many contend that music is a frill and that its inclusion in a high school curriculum can be…

This research study examines the instructional practices of 10 middle grades teachers related to their use of manipulatives in teaching mathematics and their control of mathematics tools during instruction. Through 40 observations of teaching, 30 interviews, and an examination of 67 written documents (including teachers' plans and records),…

Paulo Freire developed critical pedagogy in Brazil in the 1960s to teach illiterate adults (or, as Freire calls them, "the oppressed") to read. Freire believed that teaching was a conversational exchange of information between the teacher and the student. He posed questions and problems to his students that caused them to take what they already…

Homophobia and gay-related teasing are already present among young children. This lesson introduces the term "prejudice" and places the concept of homophobia within the context of bullying and teasing with which 8-11 year olds are already familiar. The lesson builds empathy as children think about and discuss how they have felt when they have been…