Create a variety of activities related to the country you are studying--Japan, for example--and arrange them by such subjects as art, games, creative writing, maps, dress and greetings. These activities can be tied in with classroom learning centers or stations. Here students make passports, learn about traditional styles of dress in Japan, learn…

Described is a "joke center" where elementary school students not only learned about various kinds of humor and practiced language skills but had a terrific week of laughter as they shared favorite jokes and made up new ones. (Author/KC)

The author taught in an open-space classroom at Argyle Junior High in Montgomery County, Maryland. Here is a candid look at the inner workings of a room without walls. (Editor/RK)

By exploring languages other than their own, children can learn important concepts about the nature of language. The center described here was designed to help a class of sixth graders understand that within their own structure languages assign meanings to symbols arbitrarily and to stimulate interest in the way languages operate. (Author)

Providing opportunities for skill-building, creativity, and reading for content are major objectives of the "funny paper center." This multidisciplinary learning center uses comic strips as facilitators in the classroom. Suggestions are given for language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and art education. (Author/RK)