English practice activities can be a great medium for positive youth development. Worldwide, young people are aware of the increased opportunities available to those with English language skills, creating a high demand for quality English education. As a result, Youth in Development Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) are often asked to teach English.…

The Guide to Blended Learning is an introduction using technology and distance education teaching strategies with traditional, face-to-face classroom activities. This Guide has been designed to assist teachers adopt blended learning strategies through a step-by-step approach taking constructivist and design-based approach and reflecting on…

This article describes games appropriate for teaching spelling skills to underachieving gifted students. One game involves players dribbling a ball to letters attached to sticks driven into the ground, in a particular order that spells a word. (DB)

This paper discusses computer simulation as a tool for teaching about phenomena characterized by a problem to be solved, a task or goal to be reached, a procedure to be learned, or an environment to be understood. Simulation is defined and characterized by an examination of both the attributes that are common to simulations, and a taxonomy…

This collection of palindromes, pangrams, acrostics, word squares and word ladders, visual and numerical puzzles, silly names, and much more is designed to delight, surprise, and challenge both the novice and the expert player of word games. It uses the metaphor of a busy, cosmopolitan city to showcase three facets of words: forms of letters,…

The range of games, rhymes, songs, and exercises for children collected in this book are based on Rudolf Steiner's educational philosophy and are designed to lay the foundation for sound later learning. The book's chapters are: (1) "Learning Aids"; (2) "The Early Years"; (3) "Foot Exercises: Kindergarten or Class I, 5-7…

This book shows parents and teachers how to play learning games based on classic children's books. The book features 14 picture books, from "Harold and the Purple Crayon" to "Blueberries for Sal" and 14 chapter books, from "Winnie the Pooh" to "Charlotte's Web." It provides a summary for each book and then…

Describes a word game developed by a sixth-grade teacher that has groups of students "bid on" and "buy" words, with the object of forming as many grammatically correct sentences as possible. Points are awarded based on sentence length, correct punctuation, and sentence type (simple, complex, or compound). (MDM)

This guide offers more than 100 games from around the world designed to help students explore the fun of learning while developing their higher-order thinking skills. The guide is a compilation of new and traditional games, most of which can be completed with paper and pencil. Each game is classroom tested and tailored to enhance the intelligences…

A classroom game designed to promote critical reading and critical thinking in the English as a second language (ESL) instructional setting is described. The game offers problems whose solutions require the use of language. Students are divided into teams facing a screen. They are shown a passage or dialogue while the teacher reads it aloud. Each…

This discussion of games--particularly computerized games--and their potential in schools addresses several topics: what games are, types of games (free-form, rigid-form, or open-form) and their educational applications, the role of games in learning, student participation in adapting existing games for computer presentation, and special classroom…

Kinesthetic learning experiences for reinforcing mildly handicapped preschool and elementary students' spelling vocabulary are described. Students make letters of the alphabet with their bodies and then spell words from vocabulary lists. Follow-up spelling activities include scrambled letters; spelling baseball; word families; rhyming; consonant…

Describes a project in which students research and describe a career using a book report format and then produce a videotape based on the "What's My Line?" television series. (CLB)

Instructional games can be used effectively when they require active student participation and high rates of student responding. The article describes principles of such games and suggests ways to turn typical games (such as "Bingo,""War,""Scrabble,""Boggle," paper/pencil games, and question/answer games) into active, high-response games. (JDD)

The focus is on providing an automatic way of varying the opponents and setting up a competitive framework that is easy to organize and manage. Eight techniques are discussed. (MNS)