Coming-out scenarios have been described as potentially traumatic events that change the parent-child relationship (MacDonald, 1983). Little research in the field of communication studies has been conducted on how the process of coming out unfolds within families (Valentine, Skelton, & Butler, 2003). The exercise described in this article…

The stars closest to Earth are not particularly remarkable or exciting. They are average stars typical of the spiral arms of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, until recently, most astronomy and Earth science textbooks ignored all but the largest of them to focus on distant, more exotic objects like red supergiants or black holes. The recent discovery…

One way to engage all students and ensure that they feel valued within a classroom is to provide opportunities for learning that tap into varied intelligences. According to Howard Gardner, "It is of the utmost importance that we recognize and nurture all of the varied human intelligences, and all of the combinations of intelligences."…

In a remarkably brief period of time, humans have developed technology that allows space travel to become a reality. Rockets have been built, energy systems designed, and planetary forces understood. In the activities described in this article, students investigate space travel by designing their own rockets and manipulating variables to determine…

Perfect for self-help and professional learning communities, this handbook makes it much easier to apply the teaching practices from the ASCD-McREL best-seller "Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition." The authors take you through the refined Instructional Planning Guide, so you…

This article, the second of a two-part series, features 11 teaching innovations presented at the 2014 Association for Business Communication annual conference. These 11 assignments included leadership and other-focused communication--detecting communication style, adaptive communication, personality type, delivering feedback, problem solving, and…

Technological tools challenge teachers' pedagogical activities. The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education should help teachers integrate new pedagogical methods into their work. This study explores macro-level computer-supported collaborative learning scripts as a pedagogical method to facilitate collaboration.…

A collection of activities is presented for teachers to help students explore the schooling process, from the overall organization of the school district to the daily aspects of learning in the classroom. (CB)

This color-coded curriculum guide is designed to facilitate instructional planning and help Mississippi's kindergarten teachers develop their schools' instructional management plan. Five broad units of instruction are presented, each of which has been tested, revised, and extended by classroom teachers. The units, which encompass many unit themes…

This manual is intended to assist teachers in implementing a comprehensive approach to teaching academic vocabulary at the classroom, school, and district levels. Using the manual's list of 7,923 terms, school and district teams can choose the most important vocabulary terms they want to teach to all students. All vocabulary terms are extracted…

Presents a model for building a concept-oriented computer simulation which involves five steps: (1) topic selection and resource gathering; (2) developing objectives and lesson activities; (3) selecting and formulating simulation factors; (4) program coding and debugging; and (5) developing student worksheets. Students act as tax advisors in the…

Designed for preschool deaf/hearing impaired children whose developmental abilities range from 18 months through 5 years, this experiential curriculum uses a total communication approach in which language development is promoted in a natural setting. The guide is offered as a framework for teachers to use in developing their own individualized…

This training module is intended to familiarize vocational education teachers with the techniques of small group instruction. It covers the following topics: the characteristics of a small group (participation, cooperation, controversy, and consensus); the benefits of learning in small groups (including promotion of active learning; student…

Presents guidelines teachers may use to develop a series of interdisciplinary lessons on the census for elementary students. Offers rationale for teaching about the census,and outlines social studies objectives that can be met by census activities. Provides ideas for primary and intermediate level activities. (LS)

This curriculum guide to world geography studies in Fort Worth schools includes the following materials: a statement of philosophy and broad goals for each content area; objectives organized around broad content goals or strands which define specific expectations for students, prekindergarten through grade 12; scope and sequence charts;…