ELA Guidebooks is an English language arts curriculum for core instruction. Made by teachers for teachers, the guidebook units ensure all students can read, understand, and express their understanding of complex, grade-level texts, ensuring their readiness for college or a career. Each text collection has a shared idea and contains authentic texts…

The flipped, or inverted, classroom model of instruction has been an effective pedagogical strategy for over a decade (Baker 2000; Lage et al. in "Journal of Economic Education," 31(1), 30-43, 2000; Bergmann and Sams 2011; Wright 2011; Pearson in "Education Canada," 52(5), 2012; Butt 2012; Bates and Galloway 2012). Arguably, to…

"Teaching Bad Apples" is a game developed in 2014 for current and future teachers. It plays much like "Apples to Apples" or "Cards Against Humanity," with each player in turn reading a situation card, followed by the other players choosing their response cards. Each situation, however dramatic or bizarre, is…

This article is written as a tribute to R. Garry Shirts who through his exemplary authorship and publication of gamed simulations was designated "Defender of the Playful". Garry Shirts was the master of creating the "Aha! Moment" in learning through "deep play". Among the many gamed simulations he designed, the…

One study, covering the last 25 years, reports that undergraduates in college complete about 30 percent of assigned work. Would it be surprising--in these days of DVRs, Internet, texting, email, and video games--if high school and middle school students' homework completion rates were even less? What are teachers to do? Comprehension strategies,…

Both teacher- and learner-made computer visuals are quite extensively reported in Computer-Assisted Language Learning literature, for instance, filming interviews, soap operas or mini-documentaries, creating storyboard projects, authoring podcasts and vodcasts, designing digital stories. Such student-made digital assets are used to present to…

This book offers valuable teaching strategies to engage a diverse group of teens in thinking, understanding, and learning activities. It uses classroom examples to illustrate the eight "ENGAGING" factors: (1) Entice Effort and Build Community; (2) Negotiate Meaning; (3) Group Collaboratively; (4) Active Learning and Authentic Assessment; (5)…

Integrating vocabulary games and activities more often into the structure of the day, Thomas B. Smith establishes a word-rich environment for high school students to experiment with unfamiliar words in varying, playful contexts. Smith asserts that giving frequent opportunities for hearing, speaking, and writing in the typical context of the day is…

This article reports on lessons about climate change which pose many challenges for science teachers. The natural world today offers a broad--and dire--catalog of scientific phenomena for teachers wanting to craft classroom lessons on the topic of climate change. As public concern about global warming increases, teachers are carving out a larger…

Ideas for educational games in the elementary school classroom. (M)

This article presents activities for young children in child care settings using boxes of various sizes. Suggestions include making shape sorters and sensory boxes for infants and toddlers, and constructing personal collection boxes, book boxes, games, and playhouses for older children. (Author/KB)

Describes class activities designed for quick and easy use when audiovisual equipment breaks down for social studies teachers. (RB)

Devoted to Greek and Roman mythic contributions to culture and developed to tie in with the 1984 Olympic Games in California, this pamphlet includes exams, discussion topics, vocabulary, and other teaching ideas on the Olympic heritage. Most of the exercises were written by Nathan Reed Mathis, former president of Southland Council of Teachers of…

Advocates hand making games to save money, and tailoring them to meet individual children's needs, introduce new concepts, develop children's interests, and reinforce curriculum concepts. Provides guidelines for identifying goals and creating self-directing games. Includes specific game ideas and supply lists for a variety of matching, board,…

This guide for elementary school students deals with the importance of and the uses of water, especially in the western United States. Topics covered include the importance of water as a resource; the need for conservation; water storage through dams and reservoirs; irrigation; the lack of water in the old West; the uses of water for cities and…