The author comments on the need to discuss death openly in the classroom, noting that engaging students with the idea of coming to grips with the fact of their own death can prepare them for living, working, and loving more fully. (SH)

Students sometimes respond to writing assignments automatically, almost as if they were a generic form, rather than by investigating the idiosyncrasies and unexpected possibilities of each assignment. Writing assignments can be structured to help students transcend such habits, shifting the focus from accumulating information to creating meaning…

This second edition merges new ideas in character education research with best practices in schools and districts. The book provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive framework for K-12 administrators, educators, and concerned citizens. It offers easy access to practical and proven methods supported by in-depth rationale. The book highlights…

Over the years there have been different terms for the idea of educating for character. Some of these are moral education, moral reasoning, values clarification, and ethics. But the basic idea of using schools to produce people of good character has been around for many generations. This volume explores the importance of including character…

Teachers and principals need help in combating antisocial behaviors in the classroom. This book shares the key components of "Essential Character Discipline," a positive behavior program designed to help students learn integrity, courtesy, loyalty, respect, perseverance, honor, and self control. The book contains the tools needed to…

To help reverse the underachievement pattern in gifted students, educators should seek out less-evident indicators of strengths and abilities, incorporate those abilities into the classroom curriculum, recognize evidence of a sustained will to learn, and be realistic and optimistic about signs of improvement. (PB)

Considers teachers' perceptions of their role in developing self-discipline in students. Cites a sample code of ethics to help teachers set standards for their actions and attitudes. Provides a developmental view of self-discipline, citing tasks appropriate for grade level groups, and ways of teaching the skills. (DDM)

The author describes activities for use in dealing with stress. Examples are peer resources, role playing, values clarification, and stress contracts. (HLM)

Offering an alternative to traditional language arts methods textbooks, this collection of 20 essays by master teachers is grouped into 4 main sections. Following an introduction, essays in the book are: (1) "Walter" (Vivian Gussin Paley); (2) "Children Become Writers: A Conversation with Two Teachers" (Cyndy Hoffman and Carol…

The teaching of autobiography is recommended as a means of inducing individual and social self-consciousness among college students. This refers to the study of reflective self-presentations of the lives of people especially concerned about social and civic issues, including statesmen, writers, social reformers, public servants, and literary…

Designed for teachers of kindergarten through grade 6, this book contains practical and innovative ideas on fostering literacy generated from discussions with teachers from the United States and Canada, visits to their classrooms, and observations of their interactions with students. The book addresses all levels of learner-centered literacy…

This book discusses research on learning to talk, read, and write and explores activities to support the development of these crucial competencies. The book's discussion of research is divided into two chapters: "Supporting Early Literacy: The Preschool Years" and "Supporting Early Literacy: The Primary Years." Following the two chapters on…

Research and theory suggest that college students' motivation to learn is related to their epistemological beliefs. Faculty can promote student motivation by designing learning activities that facilitate student development of more sophisticated epistemological beliefs. Faculty developers can assist in this by giving special attention to the…

This introduction to computer simulations as an integrated learning experience reports on their use with students in grades 5 through 10 using commercial software packages such as SimCity, SimAnt, SimEarth, and Civilization. Students spent an average of 60 hours with the simulation games and reported their experiences each week in a personal log.…

A developmental model for collaborative learning at the college level, based on the notion of the development of expertise, is outlined. Five stages are described: (1) the learning of rules, techniques, and strategies; (2) applying the techniques and strategies to the particular teaching context; (3) developing competence; (4) becoming proficient;…