Tips to keep students interested during the final weeks of school include: work outside (studying bubbles and writing poetry about nature); put on a show about one subject; play social studies Jeopardy; devote entire days to one subject area; have a teach-the-teacher day, where students and teachers trade roles; and create a video keepsake…

This book shows teachers how to reclaim their students' attention and, in the process, help them absorb information and stay on task. There are over 30 tips that are practical, not always obvious, and well tested. Three parts focus on: (1) "HotTips for Opening the Lesson" (e.g., fill the room with I.D. posters, ask opening questions, get…

This book offers a collection of games for K-8 students that will enliven instruction, boost student motivation, and enhance learning at school or at home. It features in- and out-of-desk activities to motivate and engage students, promote teamwork, build skills, and enhance interactive problem solving. The book includes hundreds of tips on how to…

Recounts how linking "Hamlet" to modern horrors and adventures stimulated student interest in the play. (JL)

The four dimensions of the creative personality--thinking, sensing, intuition, and feeling--are described, as are the creative process (including preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification) and ways in which teachers can assess and promote creativity. Creative classroom environments and teaching methods are detailed. (CB)

This list of practical and useful ideas is compiled from veteran teachers for motivating students, making a dull subject more interesting, or making a difficult subject easier to understand. (MT)

Creative ways to motivate students to read and report on books include having them retell the stories differently, invent products related to the stories, share snacks like those the characters ate, illustrate action from the story, write imaginary conversations between themselves and the characters, and turn the stories into short skits. (SM)

Elementary teachers offer their ideas for enhancing the final days of school. They help students review material, highlight achievements, fill spare time, and create summer plans. Suggestions include making class diplomas, producing action news, making friendship trees, writing letters to their future selves, and preparing summer activity guides.…

Discusses the importance of children's literature in kindergarten math instruction, noting it is rich with opportunities for children to think and reason. The article explains how teachers can find math connections in children's books and then select books. It describes two books appropriate for literature-based math lessons. (SM)

A teacher in an inner-city London school describes how she involves low income, minority group students in learning classics such as Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." Emphasizes cooperative learning and active student involvement using their urban background. (FMW)

When older and younger students are paired, motivation, cooperation, friendship, and self-esteem flourish, and extra learning takes place. The article describes how to match students, presents five cross-grade projects, discusses project evaluation, and offers the option of cross-grade tutors. (SM)

This book presents six units filled with games, hints, and special game variations for teaching elementary school physical education classes. It is intended to help physical education teachers increase the time students are active in class, minimize discipline problems, develop healthy attitudes that lead to a lifetime of physical activity, save…

A Chapter 1 school motivated students using technology and the arts. A partnership with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts helped students develop cognitive and creative skills while working in concrete ways. Using computers, each class chose an artist, developed a class museum, and exhibited at the student-staffed museum. (SM)

This paper recommends edutainment to engage students' senses and get them involved by presenting lessons in a way that makes education interesting and entertaining. Suggestions for creative edutainment include using exciting computer software, joining the Internet, hooking up to cable television, and providing a variety of magazines. (SM)

Suggestions for creating memorable lessons that keep students' attention include the following: relate what is being taught to students' lives and interests, give students choices, show students that you enjoy teaching, include human emotion and human interest stories, reduce students' negative emotions, make lessons interesting and active, vary…