By using a variety of riddle and poetry books, teachers may encourage young readers to appreciate and enjoy the subtleties of language. A list of 30 books involving either riddles or metaphor is provided. (JL)

Presents writing warm-up activities to help elementary students develop and polish their language skills. The warm-up activities focus on detail, descriptive dialog, memory writing, titles, punctuation, and vocabulary enhancement. The activities provide choices, present important ideas, and foster collaboration, responsibility, and trial and error…

An elementary school teacher describes her experiences with language minority students and presents her strategies for teaching the whole class effectively while meeting individual needs. The article offers five suggestions for adjusting teaching to reach all students at once. (SM)

A whole-language approach to science can enhance student learning. Curiosity about science leads to research, reading, and writing. An example of a two-week unit on ants is presented, in which students begin by watching the ants, then organize their thoughts, research ants, write about ants, and create final projects. (SM)

Presents ideas on integrating science fiction into language arts, science, social studies, and math. Suggestions include an interstellar journey, imaginative language lessons, futuristic social studies, extraterrestrial life studies, intergalactic math, and science fiction story writing. (SM)

Teachers working with Asian refugee children describe their approaches to problems involving language acquisition, culture differences, and psychological adjustment. Tips are offered on peer teaching, creating a supportive atmosphere, and English language development. (FG)

This article presents a five-day science unit focusing on fish to get kindergarten students interested in science and ideas for incorporating science instruction with language arts and art instruction. (CB)

The article discusses the links between storytelling skills and history, with particular focus on Black History Month, and also lists resources and describes storytelling activities. (CB)

In a whole-language kindergarten, children learn language skills in a social context. Suggestions on how to develop activities that focus on a different letter of the alphabet each week are offered. These activities tie together all areas of the curriculum. (DF)

Varied exercises are offered for teachers to use in sharpening students' listening skills. (DG)

Suggestions are made for classroom activities to improve children's language skills. (JD)

Describes a project in which elementary school students create a computer-generated time line of milestones in their lives, noting such an activity can give them a good start on writing autobiographies. (SM)

Several examples of classroom activities that promote effective letter writing. (MM)

Special class activities for September are suggested. Historical events that took place during the month, observance of holidays and other special days, and the change in the seasons can provide ideas for launching class projects. (PP)

Fifteen teaching suggestions are offered for elementary language skills activities. The focus is on developing proficiency in sentence completion, alphabetizing, story telling, writing, describing, listening creatively, spelling, and expanding language comprehension. (JD)