Shares ideas for classroom activities based on use of the students' senses. The activities are especially helpful for use with students with no or minimal literacy skills. (EKN)

Charts the many ways teachers can use materials gathered during their vacation travels in the classroom. Details activities built around material objects easily accessible through museum gift shops or local stores. Recommends using newspapers for discussions of politics and economics germane to the area. (MJP)

Describes a high school geography class that emphasized hands-on and experiential learning. The students designed travel brochures, planned overseas trips on a budget, and even produced commercials. One of the more popular activities involved different groups creating poster board maps of specific regions and then combining them for a global map.…

Recommends using "Readers' Theater" as an interdisciplinary approach to social studies. Maintains that the format lends itself to the examination of social issues and current events while it provides opportunities for a variety of learning styles. Briefly discusses Jan Truss' book, "A Very Small Rebellion." (MJP)

Reports on a study that contrasted learning outcomes of students in a class that incorporated computer assisted instruction (CAI) exercises with those of a lecture-only class. Students in the lecture-plus CAI class scored higher than those in the lecture-only class, specifically regarding material covered in the class. (MJP)

Presents a personal perspective of a young teacher from a rural background and his experiences teaching music in an all-boys high school in New York City's South Bronx. Includes brief recommendations for creative and innovative ideas to motivate students and keep them focused. (MJP)

Recalls a week-long field study trip to a reconstructed historic site, Barkerville, British Columbia. Ten years later the participants remembered the experience. The students overwhelmingly agreed that the experience sparked their imagination and created a real connection to the historical past. Includes brief excerpts from the interviews. (MJP)

In an interview, Lucinda Roy, a professor of English at Virginia Tech who teaches online courses in creative writing, the civil rights movement, and literature, discusses the risks and dynamics of this style of teaching and the need to maintain some personal interaction with students. She notes that technology liberates learners, giving them a…

Summarizes a two-week experiment where seventh graders researched and produced map products using both traditional and computer-assisted techniques. Quantitative results showed little difference in learning content between the groups but qualitative results suggested that students prefer the computers. Includes graphical analysis and tabular data.…