Describes one elementary teacher's strategies to help students learn spelling using cooperative learning groups. Mixed-ability groups of four children are established, and students take turns being the caller, recorder, reader, and checker. Students retain more because of the amount of repetition. A weekly classroom spelling schedule is presented.…

Elementary teacher describes a two-week project which involved using cooperative learning to teach sixth graders about averages. Cooperative groups worked to find the daily average of a variety of items. Students had real-world examples of averaging to replace standard textbook drill and practice. (SM)

Describes Math Safari, a mathematical, scientific, geographic, informational adventure for fourth grade students. It integrates all curriculum areas and other skills by using information children must find in books to pose math problems about animals. It encourages cooperative learning, critical reading, analysis, and use of research skills. (SM)

The Olympic games can help motivate students to learn geography. The article offers a geography decathlon with 10 events to help students build map skills, multicultural awareness, and cooperative spirit. Each event covers at least one of the five fundamental geographic themes (location, place, regions, human/environment interactions, and…

Presents a collection of fall and Halloween activities for elementary students, including pumpkin poetry, batty bulletin boards (graphing), vegetable variety art, old time radio mysteries, paper doll Halloween safety, career dress-up day, imaginative Halloween writing, and matching animals with foods they eat. A student page offers a Dracula…

Presents suggestions to help elementary teachers organize learning centers and activities around the themes of Peter Rabbit (Grade 1), weather (Grade 3), and bees (Grade 5). Suggestions are given for activities in centers for listening/reading, language arts, computers, math, science, cooperative learning, research, and writing. (SM)