This book offers teachers guidance in the task of lesson planning, providing four instructional design models: basic, integrated, differentiated, and problem-based. The models are progressively complex and nuanced, providing teachers with guidance as they increase their lesson-planning proficiency. The book includes a series of key questions and a…

This manual is designed to help elementary and secondary school administrators to create an Arts in General Education (AGE) program consistent with the needs of their school community. The history of AGE, a program developed in New York City in the mid 1970s, is reviewed. The rationale for the program's underlying concept, that is, that the arts…

This essay examines issues of giftedness and excellence, beginning with classical references to human striving toward the "good," the attraction of gifted children to quality, and the recent discovery of the oldest known cave art with its manifest excellence. Classroom activities related to cave art and language arts, social studies,…

Activities are described for learning about problem classroom behaviors, the impact of one's manner of attire on one's behavior, and personal responsibility for one's behavior. Learning activities include role playing, making math puzzles, writing personal anecdotes, drawing a persuasive cartoon concerning smoking and discipline, and making bar…

This article describes academic activities that can be integrated with Special Olympics training and participation. The instructional activities were implemented in a high school class for students with mild to moderate mental retardation and deal with the subjects of mathematics, reading, health, independent living, and art. (JDD)

Describes the use of computer networks and integrated learning systems (ILS) in education. File servers are explained; operating system software is discussed; hardware differences between local area networks (LANS) and integrated learning systems are described; criteria for purchasing ILS are presented; and initial costs are mentioned. (LRW)

This article discusses steps in incorporating computer technology into activity-based thematic units in a preschool classroom for children with and without disabilities. The discussion focuses on teaching young children to learn together, choosing appropriate software, and selecting activities to generalize computer learning. (JDD)

Principles for effectively teaching writing skills to mildly handicapped and learning-disabled students are outlined, and then three varying approaches are presented: (1) Direct Reading and Writing program, integrating regular class content with writing instruction; (2) self-instructional control strategies to reduce the complexity of writing…

This guide is intended to help people improve their reading, writing, and numeracy skills within existing organizations, services, or community activities. It is divided into two sections. The first gives some background information on literacy in Canada, adult learners, and the rationale for integrating learning into existing opportunities. The…

Based on the premise that educators can make a significant difference in children's lives, this preschool and kindergarten substance abuse prevention curriculum guide informs teachers about basic prevention concepts and provides a plan for integrating these concepts within the context of an early childhood education program. The curriculum is…

E. Paul Torrance's Instructional Model uses an integrated approach to teach thinking skills and creative productivity along with subject content for gifted students. Thinking skill objectives include such skills as developing originality, keeping open, imagining the future, using movement, etc. Two sample lessons apply the model to creative…

Developing and improving learning standards has been an important part of education and the state of New York is engaged in a serious effort to raise standards for students. Learning standards have two primary dimensions. Content standards describe what students should know and understand while performance standards define levels of student…

Using the Civil War as the organizing structure, the teacher's role in developing a coordinated set of learning activities in language arts and social studies is outlined. Implementation of the unit involves engaging students' attention, involving students in an ongoing dialogue about content material, and moving into text material with increased…

This article describes procedures for developing and operating a classroom company, to integrate the study of money and business management into the daily curriculum. The article covers planning, organizing, writing learning contracts, integrating company activities into the curriculum, creating company product ideas, defining company officer…

Pupils need to study grammar that is useful and functional. How much stress should the language arts place upon pupils understanding the eight parts of speech in traditional grammar? Good teaching emphasizes proceeding from the concrete to the semi-concrete in teaching-learning situations, then the abstract phase of learning needs to be…