School counselors need creative interventions to engage students in small groups. With students' interests changing quickly, one thing that has remained constant has been a fascination with comic books. They offer an enjoyable and creative way to engage children with stories that resonate with them. Additionally, bibliotherapy is an accessible and…

In this article we illustrate how one teacher used PhET cannonball simulation as an instructional tool to improve students' algebraic reasoning in a fifth grade classroom. Three instructional phases effective to implementation of simulation included: Free play, Structured inquiry and, Synthesizing ideas.

This article features Sweet play math, a "math by the month" activity that involves decorating and making sugar cubes. Teachers may want to substitute straws, paper squares, alphabet blocks, or such commercially made manipulatives as Unifix[R] cubes for the real sweets. Given no allergy concerns, teachers and students alike would enjoy some sweet…

Research has shown that regular physical activity helps to prevent major health problems, such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. However, little research has been conducted on classroom-based physical activity programs for students with disabilities. In North Carolina, the Healthy Active Children Policy was implemented in 2006, requiring…

This article describes how young children's early relationships with caregivers and other significant adults, such as teachers, do far more than introduce and mediate their literacy experiences. These relationships are the experience, and only with time and development do young children differentiate from these experiences the signs and symbols as…

Blending the arts into students' learning of science concepts through role-play and drama is unusual pedagogy in schools. For seven Australian Year Five students seeking extended learning, advanced scientific concepts were learned during the creative process of script writing and production of a science play called "Hectic Electric". A…

A Clemson University introductory landscape design class collaborated with South Carolina Botanical Gardens (SCBG) staff and coordinators of Sprouting Wings to design an exploratory Children's Garden within the SCBG. Service learning provides students with invaluable real-world experiences solving problems and interacting with clients while…

End-of-year student play days are frequently a tradition that provides elementary students an opportunity to be active in a fun, festive environment. Physical educators can use play days as a time to authentically assess their students while the students are enjoying the activities. Those planned by the students themselves have been found to be…

A multicultural model for children in Grades K through 5 to foster skills needed for success is presented. The learning, living, and working (LLW) group work model focuses on three skill sets identified by multiple researchers over the past 30 years as necessary for success in school, relationships, and work. These three skill sets--learning…