The article presents inexpensive activities to teach elementary school students about electromagnets. Students learn to make an electromagnet with a battery, nail, and wire, then different activities help them explore the difference between permanent magnets and electromagnets. (SM)

Calculator riddles can interest elementary students in math. Solving riddles where a numerical answer turned upside down reveals a word answer provides an amusing way to practice mathematical operations and learn about calculator functions. The paper explains how to create word riddles and includes student work pages. (SM)

Presents a collection of activities to help elementary students study ocean ecology. The activities have students investigate ocean inhabitants, analyze animal adaptations, examine how temperature and saltiness affect ocean creatures, and learn about safeguarding the sea. Student pages offer reproducible learning sheets. (SM)

Offers guidelines to help elementary teachers motivate underachievers to work. The article recommends encouraging effort by making assigned tasks realistic, focusing students' attention on their own progress, rewarding all effort, giving all students a chance to demonstrate competence in class, and letting students set their own goals. (SM)

Three graphic organizers are presented to teach students the concept of main idea. One describes how to examine details in an article to determine the main idea. Another explains how specific details support main ideas. The third describes deduction, stressing the importance of expository detail to support the main idea. (SM)

Presents classroom learning activities to help elementary teachers and students learn about and experiment with the sense of taste. One involves tasting an apple while smelling an onion; another involves locating areas of the tongue that respond to salt, sweet, bitter, and sour. (SM)

An activity book presents arts and crafts projects for the special events and holidays occurring during November and December. The section includes class activities, student activity pages, and directions for making several kinds of bird feeders. (SM)

Presents ideas to help elementary school educators teach their students about magnetic force fields by observing how iron filings line up around magnets. The article lists materials needed and offers a student page with suggested student activities. (SM)

Elementary teachers can use folktales to teach story structure. After students read a folktale, they can brainstorm for story ideas, create and revise outlines and drafts, edit their stories in pairs, complete a final version, then construct and illustrate a book. A student page teaches how to plan a folktale. (SM)

Teachers can illustrate the relevance and power of good writing by having students write various kinds of letters throughout the year. The article describes such activities as writing thank-you notes, describing a dream vacation, getting published, and establishing pen pals. A student page is included. (SM)

Presents low-cost learning activities to help teach elementary students about the earth's magnetic field. One project has students make a model of the earth's magnetic field. Another has them experiment with magnetism. (SM)

An activity book to help elementary teachers and students explore the environment offers information and questions about spaceships; an ecology primer and poster with questions; information on animal adaptation with poster and questions; ecological and dramatic arts projects; a script for performance; and suggestions to make Earth Day celebrations…

A collection of activities and tips for elementary teachers, culled from material the magazine has published over 20 years, includes cornerstones of classroom management, top teaching strategies, and curriculum classics. A new poster offers activities for commemorating student birthdays and for enjoying the first day of school. (SM)

Presents storytelling as a way to teach students about African societies. The article explains how to teach storytelling and how to branch out into other related educational activities. A tale from Ghana suitable for bulletin-board use and a student activity page on African proverbs are included. (SM)

Presents guidelines for teaching students about African culture via dances and games and for developing related activities to expand student learning experiences. Student activity pages describe how to do the Ghana national dance and how to play Mankala, a popular African game. (SM)