In this article, Kate Collins begins by explaining how she discovered that "Hamilton: An American Musical," a Broadway show that incorporates a mix of musical genres: hip-hop, jazz, classic show tunes, and show-stopper numbers based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, could be brought into her teaching as a rich resource for her high…

This piece explores conditions that stimulate classroom activities to facilitate creative habits of mind in an effort to motivate educators and students to better understand the complexities of creativity and how to promote it.

Each year, seventh graders at Woodlawn School in Davidson, North Carolina, learn about Japan through a compilation of literature, history, and art. They are introduced to a wide range of ideas and materials: they study the Heian and Tokugawa Periods as well as modern Japan, the code of the samurai warriors, haiku and its components, and Japanese…

Sierra Leone is only one of the more than 50 armed conflicts currently going on around the world. It is estimated that 20 million children were either refugees or displaced internally, and some 300,000 children under the age of 18 were used in hostilities at any given time as government or rebel soldiers, with about one-third reportedly fighting…

Cross-age tutoring, in which older and younger students work together to improve their ELA skills, is not a new concept; Linda D. Labbo and William H. Teale explored it as a tool for poor readers as early as 1990. The author has found that using tutoring with video games also works well. Students have the opportunity to read aloud collaboratively…

High school teacher Penny Bernal reflects on the success of using drama in her English Language Development classroom over the past ten years. She shares various steps for preparing a play as a means of promoting language learning and literacy, such as familiarizing students with language intonations through toning activities, practicing stage…

Discusses how one teacher used word play to turn writing into an entertaining and imaginative sport. (ARH)

Explains how student-constructed "aliens" were used to generate writing and to encourage the development of writing skills. (JL)

By awakening her creative life, Melissa McClain was able to help students do the same. Based on the experience of bringing her singing and guitar playing into the classroom, she concludes that "the most effective form of professional development begins with the self."

Joseph Coencas shows scenes from films to help special education students improve their visual and auditory skills, build confidence in their abilities to talk about and analyze the components of a narrative, and feel comfortable engaging in class discussion and writing. He also encourages students to pursue their interests in subjects they have…

Relates why a teacher continues to enjoy teaching, despite trials. (DI)

Enumerates dodges so effective that an unprepared teacher can carry away kudos, not boos, from his or her students. (JL)

Describes how a teacher sparked her students' interest in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" by having them conduct a classroom trial of the play's lead character. (JL)

Describes a successful class in Russian and Soviet literature. (JL)

Describes some creative teaching "gimmicks," such as a professional microphone, a speed spelling machine, a tachistoscope, and an electronically programable advertising sign. (MM)