When seeking a more nuanced understanding of sexuality, participants can benefit from hands-on activities that provide experience with the limitation of descriptors and social shaping of definitions. In many sexuality education contexts, participants enter the learning environment with a narrow definition of sexuality. The following game provides…

Many children enjoy collecting items such as seashells, state quarters, and trading cards. Asking students to think about the ways in which similar items differ, how objects can be grouped by a common characteristic, and how groups can be subsets of a larger category leads to an understanding of fundamental mathematics and science concepts: sets,…

Describes an activity in which students learn about sorting and classifying. Involves students determining what animal or geometric figure is on their back by asking their peers yes/no questions. (JRH)

Instructional materials for teaching junior high school students about the Dewey decimal classification system for books and about library catalog cards are presented in this unit from the Greenfield Express Management System (GEMS) program, a California Demonstration Program in Reading. A project overview form from the California Centers for…

Capitalizes on students' interest in driving by using road signs, which are classified by shape as well as by color, to teach about geometric shapes. (HTH)

Learning through play is as natural and important for young children as breathing. With this book, parents and teachers can create toys that help children become more confident, develop their intellect, and encourage play and exploration--all with materials easily found at the local hardware store or home center. Written by two experienced family…

Briefly outlines three classroom activities to (1) promote classification skills, (2) encourage cultural awareness, and (3) provide summer activities for parents and children to do together. (CI)

Provides lesson plans for stimulating children's oral storytelling in preparation for writing, expanding children's curiosity about computers, and extending children's language and communication skills through classifying and grouping materials from home and school. (RH)

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…

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)

Discusses List-Group-Preview, an activity that combines eliciting prior knowledge with guiding students through a new textbook chapter. (FL)

Ten activities classifying buttons are presented. Additional suggestions are given for using children's literature and for how to begin. (MNS)

Describes a project to help students shift from the precision they expect in science to the more ambiguous nature of taxonomy. Students are asked to project themselves 500 years into the future when, as a result of humankind's pollution, there are only 10 remaining organisms. Some organisms are unlike any previously known. Students name and…

This lesson plan is intended for use in conducting classes on plant identification. Presented first are a series of questions and answers designed to convey general information about the scientific classification of plants. The following topics are among those discussed: main types of plants; categories of vascular plants; gymnosperms and…

The focus is on how reasoning can be developed through the study of two-dimensional shapes, their properties, and the relationships among them. Research on children's understanding of geometric shapes is reviewed and activities to develop analyzing and classifying skills are given, with a bibliography included. (MNS)