Too many of today's children spend too much time indoors, often interacting with screens. They don't get enough physical exercise. Their learning about nature comes from books and teachers rather than from firsthand exploration of natural phenomena. These issues affect most modern American children, but they are particularly prominent among…

Researchers and statistics educators consistently suggest that students will learn statistics more effectively by conducting projects through which they actively engage in a broad spectrum of tasks integral to statistical inquiry, in the authentic context of a real-world application. In keeping with these findings, we share an implementation of…

A beech leaf, garnet crystals, trilobite fossils--brought by children aged three to twelve transform the science room. Investigates the importance of learning materials that children bring to the classroom at no expense. (Author/RK)

The calculator is used to explore the distributive property of a unary operator over a binary operator. This is an extension of an earlier paper. The emphasis is on student discovery of the property for various combinations of the operators. Instructional material contained in the report include a reference sheet of questions for potential…

Cutout projects, an idea notebook, bulletin boards and displays, and green thumb suggestions comprise another combination of learning experiences for elementary students. (Author/RK)

The unit approach to instruction in the kindergarten and primary grades is considered as an example of learning by doing. In guiding a unit, the teacher must have thorough basic plans but must be willing to let the students substitute their ideas for hers. Part of the purpose of unit work is to let children discover for themselves what process is…

Discovering 3 by 3 magic squares, using numbers 1 through 9, is presented as a learning activity on three different levels. (MP)

There have been few attempts to introduce frameworks that can help support tutors evaluate educational games and simulations that can be most effective in their particular learning context and subject area. The lack of a dedicated framework has produced a significant impediment for the uptake of games and simulations particularly in formal…

This paper suggests a technique for the development, collection, and organization of materials that will aid learning through the use of the senses by building an environmental sense box. England is used as an example of a place that provides many sensory experiences which can be duplicated in such a box. The box can be made from a cardboard…

The calculator is used to investigate properties and characteristics of certain unary operations. These include how a number is related to the number resulting from a unary operation and the result of two unary operations. A discussion of the calculator algorithm to accomplish a series of unary operations is given. Record sheets to summarize…

An example of a lesson involving calculators that focused on calculator use is given. An examination of the traditional algorithm by the students led to student-directed investigations. (MP)

Several kinds of special dice are displayed and the various winning probabilities in games that could be played with them are discussed. Patterns for dice construction are provided. (MP)

Activities for calculating experimental and theoretical probabilities are presented. Worksheets designed for duplication for classroom use are provided. Suggestions are given for additional problems that could be generated from the original simulation, and answers to questions on the worksheets are included. The activities simulate parachute…

Due to increasing energy demands and decreasing supplies, it is important for teachers to provide students with a solid foundation for energy decision making. Activities are presented which offer hands-on experiences with four sources of energy: wind, water, sun, and fossil fuels. (JN)

Some number investigations on the multiplication table are provided by a sequence of four activity sheets. Beginning with examples of triangular and square numbers, the activities lead to the generalization. (MNS)