A simple lesson on magnetism can foster childrens' natural enthusiasm for science and set the stage for discoveries that parallel those of famous scientists. (JD)

Children use creative thinking processes when teachers assign ambiguous rather than specific problems. Suggestions for developing questions that encourage experiential and metaphorical thinking are offered. (DF)

Describes discovery learning, a teaching method that encourages students to use inductive reasoning. Students explore and experiment using the skill or idea being taught; they determine rules, make generalizations, and discover concepts. The teacher acts as coach, advisor, and reinforcer. A student page offers a discovery learning game on capital…

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)

This paper answers several frequently asked questions about constructivism, including how to define it, how to plan the curriculum, how to assess student understanding, what to do with the information, where to begin, how students work in a constructivist classroom, and why constructivism is important. (SM)

Students need to be able to classify mapping devices, map purposes, and code forms so that skills learned on one map setting can be readily transferred to any map using the same techniques. (MB)

Suggestions are made for overcoming these common learning problems: (1) can't stick to a task; (2) trouble organizing time and space when starting or finishing a task; (3) trouble dealing with verbal information; (4) visual and visual-motor difficulties; (5) trouble understanding spoken language; and (6) trouble memorizing. (JD)

An imaginative teacher should encourage students to view history as a process in which they act a part, rather than concentrate on teaching them dead facts. (MB)

The ninth installment of the Science in a Box series (self-contained, hands-on activities for students grades three and up) presents activities for learning to use the sense of touch to determine how different objects conduct heat. All projects in the series are inexpensive and easy to assemble. (SM)

Ordinary household appliances can be used in the classroom to inspire unusual research, artwork, and problem solving. Suggestions on how to organize and collect materials to develop an appliance science unit are offered. (DF)

Elementary school children need hands-on experiences to understand science concepts. Computers can be used to store and analyze data collected by students, but educators seem to agree that students need to manipulate data themselves to really comprehend their discoveries. (DF)

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.…

Presents classroom learning activities to help elementary teachers and students learn about and experiment with the sense of taste. One involves tasting an apple while smelling an onion; another involves locating areas of the tongue that respond to salt, sweet, bitter, and sour. (SM)

Presents ideas to help elementary school educators teach their students about magnetic force fields by observing how iron filings line up around magnets. The article lists materials needed and offers a student page with suggested student activities. (SM)

Presents low-cost learning activities to help teach elementary students about the earth's magnetic field. One project has students make a model of the earth's magnetic field. Another has them experiment with magnetism. (SM)