The stars closest to Earth are not particularly remarkable or exciting. They are average stars typical of the spiral arms of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, until recently, most astronomy and Earth science textbooks ignored all but the largest of them to focus on distant, more exotic objects like red supergiants or black holes. The recent discovery…

The authors collaborated on hosting a "Spring Inspire Day." planned and delivered by preservice elementary teachers as a social studies/science methods project. Projects that have authentic application opportunities can make learning meaningful for prospective teachers as well as elementary students. With the impetus for an integrated…

Two articles are presented in this column. "Life in an Auto Factory: Simulating how Labor and Management Interact" by Eric B. Freedman describes a classroom simulation of management and labor relations in an auto factory. Classroom handouts are included. The next article, "Women of Action and County Names: Mary Musgrove County--Why…

Family Math and Science Nights engage students and parents in active investigations tied to the curriculum in a fun, informal environment. Through this program, families actively explore math and science ideas, discover together through guided inquiry, and apply their discoveries to solve a problem at the end. All activities are hands-on, use…

This booklet can help college instructors breathe life into sociology classes by showing students how sociology is "done" in the real world. Twenty-nine exercises demonstrate to students how data are collected, how data are used to support or refute ideas, how data are interpreted, and the questions raised by different methods of research. The…

Three worksheets are provided to help secondary students explore relationships among the areas of a variety of similar figures constructed on the sides of right triangles. The activity is extended to include the relationship among the lengths of the sides of the right triangle. Included are several student worksheets. (DC)

Five exploratory activities arising from work by sixth-grade students are described. They concern geometric ideas and number concepts, including fractions. Illustrations are included. (MNS)

Contends that introducing elementary students to history concepts is difficult because they have few reference points for comprehending change over time. Discusses the use of buttons for an inquiry-based activity designed to heighten student interest and learning. (CFR)

Gives an example of an open exploration using trigonometric relationships in which the law of cosines can be deduced from the law of sines. Discusses the characteristics and value of the exploration process. (MDH)

An 8-day unit introduces middle school students to American inventors and inventions. In separate lessons, students examine the patenting process, women inventors, minority inventors, Native American inventors, the airplane, Thomas Edison, and the impact of inventions on America's growth. A brief outline of daily lesson plans precedes a section of…

Examines the use of spreadsheets for solving equations by the method of iterations. The combination of the spreadsheets and graphical representation is shown to be appropriate both for teaching and learning the method of iterations and for investigating properties of equations. (Author)

Presents a worksheet on graph paper that allows students to determine the perpendicular bisectors of given segments by folding the paper. Students then determine the slopes of the perpendicular bisectors and use inductive thinking to discover the relationship between the slopes of perpendicular lines. (MDH)

Museum objects can be the springboard for exercising critical thinking. There are four main thought processes associated with critical thinking: (1) fluent thinking, the ability to produce many ideas; (2) flexible thinking, the ability to view something in different ways; (3) original thinking, the ability to produce unique ideas; and (4)…

Discusses possible approaches to solving the problem of how many different triangles can be formed on an n x n geoboard and the different geometric concepts utilized to formulate a solution. Approaches include counting strategies, writing a computer program, and using difference equations. (MDH)

Presents two worksheets that ask students to count and classify the triangles that can be formed with a given total number of toothpicks or a given number of toothpicks for one side of the triangle. A third worksheet asks students to identify patterns observed during the investigations. Provides reproducible worksheets. (MDH)