This book contains 65 specific activities designed to help disadvantaged students learn to use language more skillfully and develop the ability to function well in the school environment. The descriptions of the activities are referred to as shoe box labs and generally include the title of the activity, instructions for performing the activity, and answers for those activities requiring answers. The purposes of the activities are to inspire students' creativity, fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originally. Taken as a whole, the shoe box activities share certain characteristics: regardless of content and form they can be used by students whenever they feel like it; they do not have requirements that students must obey for any reason other than their own interest; and they contain activities that can be done by individuals or groups. The activities cover such topics as analogies, injustice, foods, commercials, sculpture, animals, state capitals, sounds, and poetry. (TS)