The Periodic Table of Elements is a valuable resource for chemists and all kinds of STEM professionals. However, it can be initially overwhelming and intimidating to some students. This hands-on lesson introduces abstract concepts in the periodic table through a tangible experience with simple toys and household objects. Students collaborate and…

This issue of Exploratorium Magazine is devoted to languages as a systematic means of getting across ideas. Contents include: (1) "Where Do Languages Come From" (Merrit Ruhlen); (2) "English in Transition" (Rupert Peene); (3) "The Making of English" (Judith Brand); (4) "Try This!"-Become a Word Historian and One Poem-Three Poems" (Kurt…

Explicit instruction in thinking skills must be a priority goal of all teachers. In this book, the author presents a framework of the five Rs: Relevancy, Richness, Relatedness, Rigor, and Recursiveness. The framework serves to illuminate instruction in critical and creative thinking skills for K-12 teachers across content areas. Each chapter…

Proposes an approach to vocabulary development that stresses the integral relationships between words; describes 20 categories of meaning that can be used as a basis for developmental vocabulary lessons; and offers suggestions for the application of these meaning categories in vocabulary instruction in various subject areas. (GT)

To familiarize students with the design and use of classification keys, a simple key for the identification of anemonefishes was devised for use in field excursions for marine studies in the Solomon Islands. During field studies students benefited from a locally produced reference. In using this strategy, students were able to master the…

Argues that the Woesian three domain view of life should replace the five kingdom taxonomic scheme presented in most general biology texts and courses. Presents evidence for employing the three domain scheme and a related activity for classroom use. Contains 11 references. (WRM)

Presents a discussion of interesting aspects of ants that was launched by the author's reading of "The Ants" by Holldobler and Wilson (1990). Describes how the study of the early history of ant taxonomy could be viewed as "entertaining." Their huge numbers and segregation into colonial social systems makes ants good research organisms. (PR)

Reviews the major remedial reading techniques and presents a classification scheme for them. Calls for a greater understanding of the variety of remedial techniques and their role in instructional programs. (FL)

Offers several strategies for implementing cooperative learning in the classroom. Suggests sample exercises including (1) a scavenger hunt; (2) a reaction wheel; (3) cooperative brainstorming and classification; (4) a "pair of pairs" exercise; and (5) a three-step interview. Explains that the examples are starting points that have been used in…

Discusses helping students understand cases and classes through knowledge modeling. Discusses classification and human cognition, and classification and pictorial knowledge models. Provides classroom extension activities. (SR)

Discusses the use of lists and classification in poetry throughout history. Gives examples of lists in verse from Elizabethan to modern times. Offers some basic types and functions of the "list poem." Relates the lists poems of a fourth grade class. (PRA)

Use of a classification system in teaching biology is presented as a concept aiding students' understanding of the diversity of plants and animals. The principles of classification are summarized and six learning strategies are given to show relationships among groups. (CM)

Outlines procedures by which teachers can foster and speed up student vocabulary growth. Discusses three aspects of categorization: word fluency, the list-group-label lesson, and feature analysis. (RL)

Presents nine science activities to help students improve their thinking and problem solving skills. Activities cover the science process skills of classifying, ordering, space-time relationships, inferring, predicting, and elaborating. (MKR)

Describes how teachers can define and create a taxonomy for the instructional media available to them in their classroom. Explains how creating such a taxonomy not only helps teachers see the possibilities of available instructional media, but can be useful in gaining the support of administrators for requests for supplies and training. Describes…