On November 17, 1995 the following news item appeared in "Time Magazine": "Long-lost cave reveals burial tombs of Maccabees." You (the student) are a journalist who has been asked by your editor to follow up that news item with an in-depth feature a two page spread with text and graphics entitled "The Life and Times of…

The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is a mandated statewide assessment program that targets four core content areas. English language arts, including reading and writing, and mathematics are given to students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10; science and social studies are given to students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 11. The DSTP reading and…

In children's literature not many characters are shown as multidimensional human beings with strengths as well as weaknesses. Instead, both males and females display behavior and traits which reflect stereotypical roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Although there may be segments of society which are redefining gender roles, the female and…

California State Standard 5.5 is delineated as: Students explain the causes of the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War is a great central drama in U.S. history and in the evolution of nationalism and democracy throughout the world. Students should perceive the worldwide impact of the colonies' triumph over British imperial power and its…

This book focuses on devices and systems that transform motion or convert energy. Contents are divided into six chapters: (1) "Appetizers" includes activities that can be done individually to become familiar with the topic of machines and mechanisms; (2) "Concepts" provides a basis for machine and mechanism development; (3)…

In this book a character named Archie and his friends teach science and reinforce alphabet skills. This approach combines reading and rhyming with simple science activities that begin with a list of everyday household materials and come with colorfully illustrated step-by-step instructions. Also provided are explanations of the science principles…

This resource book provides 48 science crafts that involve children in creative and inventive learning experiences. The opening chapter focuses on the construction of a science log that will be used in the colorfully illustrated activities that follow. Four broad topics provide the organization for the text: (1) Earth; (2) Air; (3) Water; and (4)…

Children enjoy listening to bouncy rhythms and reciting catchy rhymes. Poetry provides a rich vehicle for helping children explore how language sounds and works. Such exploration helps develop skills related to language usage, listening, vocabulary acquisition, and auditory memory, while also fostering an understanding of thematically related…

This digest paper presents strategies and activities that can be used to encourage gifted students to develop their individual talents in the language arts. Suggestions for exploring poetic language especially free verse, include ideas for creating group poems and catalysts for creating individual poems. Suggestions for exploring the elements of…

The lessons learned by this book's authors, who observed literacy events in third- and fourth-grade classrooms, altered their vision of teaching and learning. The book shares their observations of how students engage in literacy events and construct meaning within these events, focusing on three factors that significantly influence the…

Synthesizing information on language arts gleaned from research on emergent literacy, early childhood education, and special education, this book underscores what is being emphasized in early childhood teacher accreditation programs--responding to the increasingly diverse needs of young language learners in inclusive settings, working with parents…

This study was conducted during the spring of 1999 school semester to examine the implementation of the University-Middle School E-mail Buddy Project. This project gave eighth grade and college students the opportunity to pair up electronically via e-mail and exchange discourse that focused on such issues as language arts activities and…

This "mini" curriculum unit introduces primary children (grades K-3) to the concept of images presented through the media, primarily advertising through print and on television. The unit is divided into three approximately 45-minute lessons. In the unit's first lesson, students will discuss why they like the particular toy they have…

This lesson plan for grade 3 intends for students to use creative dramatics to demonstrate an understanding of three ways a mountain can be formed; students will also explore the effects of elevation on plant and animal life and on weather in the regions on both sides of a mountain. The lesson should take two to four days to implement. It provides…

The consequences of large state testing are often uniformity of expectations for achievement. The largest impact of higher standards, then, are realized by traditionally disenfranchised student populations, particularly the least affluent who are most likely to bear the yoke of low expectation. This paper advances S. Messick's (1981) fundamental…