This study, based on the observation of children (3-5 year olds) following a program of specific physical exercises guided by music, wants to evaluate the effect of movement on body, mind and cognition. It will promote activities and experience in order to 1) build up a healthy body and a healthy mind; 2) prevent obesity as well as type 2…

Executive function refers to the cognitive processes necessary for goal-directed cognition and behavior, which develop across childhood and adolescence. Recent experimental research indicates that both acute and chronic aerobic exercise promote children's executive function. Furthermore, there is tentative evidence that not all forms of aerobic…

Synectics, the making of analogies, was used with learning disabled high school seniors to provide them with a creative process that aids in developing a deeper understanding of literature. After studying Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," the students completed a six-step process and produced a short writing assignment. (VW)

Explains the microthemes technique, which involves students responding to assignments chosen to emphasize various forms of writing and thinking with written products no larger than 5 x 8 inch note cards. Reviews four types of microthemes used at Montana State University, explaining the activity and the writing and thinking skills developed. (DMM)

Compares grammatical phrases to dance patterns and suggests exercises for students that will strengthen and develop their understanding of those concepts. (DF)

Math and science instruction now often includes more brief, informal writing exercises, sometimes completed in class, as a means of helping college students think more clearly. While writing skills are not emphasized, student writing often improves as a by-product. (MSE)

Proposes that college teachers in most of the academic disciplines teach students to write essays in their given subject matter area. Bloom's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" is offered as a guide to organizing instruction and student learning around the demands of well-constructed essay questions. Sample questions and classroom…

Describes SPAWN, a technique for helping teachers make writing assignments in which students must first read, then integrate information from reading with their background experiences, to produce a piece of writing. (FL)

Research indicates that writing can be an important vehicle for integrating all the learning that occurs in a foreign language. However, a number of factors have conspired to displace foreign language writing as a critical skill: the push for oral proficiency, departmental fragmentation, larger class sizes, and heavier faculty loads. Second…

Discusses the rationale and attributes of the whole-language approach and applies it to secondary social studies instruction. Describes assessment strategies used with the whole-language approach and maintains that evaluation of student writing helps prepare them for appraisal in the workplace. (CFR)

Asserts that economics can be taught more effectively at all grade levels using the whole-language approach. Describes the role of teachers, students, and the instructional process in the whole-language classroom. Discusses student evaluation using portfolios and includes a portfolio description table used in an economics class. (CFR)

Asserts that social studies is an integrated field of study that calls for organizing the curriculum in a holistic manner. Maintains that the whole-language movement, which involves thinking about reading and writing as integrated, reciprocal processes, forms a natural partnership with social studies instruction. (CFR)