This semester-long activity requires students to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses in attempting to take on a personally meaningful health behavior change challenge. This assignment affords them the opportunity to take a deeper look at theory and health concepts learned throughout the semester and to see how it has informed their own…

Descriptions of disciplinary practices can suggest visions of authentic classroom activities. Designing activities that are effective, however, requires an additional framework for identifying a discipline's generative resources -- that is, those learning targets that enable students to make disciplinary sense and progress in subsequent…

In this Voices Inside Schools essay, a veteran teacher shares her reflections on a classroom unit entitled "How Language Reveals Character." The goal of the unit is to help adolescents read and write critically through an exploration of literary characters' language. Beginning by drawing on adolescents' fascination with one another,…

A history teacher describes an activity which involved her seventh grade class in researching, learning, and displaying a colonial craft, in order to learn more about life in colonial America. (AEM)

An activity unit for teaching students how to write a summary and a precis of a written work is presented. Instructions to the teacher for introducing and carrying out the unit are given along with a list of student objectives. Definitions of relevant terms are included. The activities, some of which are to be done individually and some with a…

Presents a hands-on activity, adaptable to various grade levels, to reinforce the mathematical concept of rounding by utilizing grocery store advertisements to demonstrate the concept in a real life setting. Describes the activity on a step-by-step basis and includes suggestions for additional grocery store games. (SD)

Explores summer seasonal weather activities for inside and outside the classroom. Offers instructions for hot days, cloudy and wet days, and rainy days, and include lists of supplies, age appropriateness, and instructions. Activities address the following learning areas: (1) intellectual; (2) physical/health/movement; (3) social; and (4) art and…

An integrated elementary teaching package offers interesting facts about presidents and the White House. Cross-curricular activities focus on architecture, presidential birthplaces, portraits, communications, science, technology, touring the White House, children in the White House, a day in the life of the White House, and a White House birthday…

Chinese folk art, known as "the small skills of carving insects," differs from artworks produced by skilled or highly educated Chinese artisans. Folk art is defined as works that are created by ordinary citizens and that often are items designed for personal use. The designation, "the small skills of carving insects," occurred…

This guide offers suggestions for implementing active learning techniques in the community college classroom. The author argues that, although much of the literature on active learning emphasizes collaboration and small-group learning, active learning does not always involve interaction. It must also involve reflection and self-monitoring of both…

This curriculum supports teachers who want to integrate health education into the early childhood curriculum, introducing health information through interactive activities. The book presents ideas for eight health-related themes. Themes overlap and are reinforced throughout the book. Chapter 1, "My Wonderful Body," discusses three topics: body…

An activity unit for teaching students to identify and use imagery in writing is presented. Instructions to the teacher for introducing the unit are given along with a list of student objectives and definitions of imagery terms. The activities, some of which involve using locally available audiovisual media, include four introductory activities,…

Based on the premise that educators can make a significant difference in children's lives, this preschool and kindergarten substance abuse prevention curriculum guide informs teachers about basic prevention concepts and provides a plan for integrating these concepts within the context of an early childhood education program. The curriculum is…

Regeneration is a new way of thinking about the environment and about ourselves, based on hope, optimism, and the ability of people and nature to renew from within. Regenerative environmental education reaches beyond the classroom and into the student's life and community. This collection of activities provides students with ideas and experiences…

This guide addresses how to make small-group time with young children a meaningful, active, and engaging learning experience for both children and adults. The guide's introductory chapter outlines guiding principles for successful small groups, discusses the mechanical aspects of small-group times, explains how adults find and develop ideas for…