A Family Geography Night (FGN) kit can be used to bring families together, teach about the world, give parents the opportunity to share their beliefs, and participate in the educational system while having fun! Geography is an essential element of twenty-first-century education. More than just maps, geography is the interaction of cultures,…

This book focuses on the interplay between pedagogy and technology, and their fusion for the advancement of smart learning environments. It discusses various components of this interplay, including learning and assessment paradigms, social factors and policies, emerging technologies, innovative application of mature technologies, transformation of…

In "Effective Literacy Coaching: Building Expertise and a Culture of Literacy," literacy experts Shari Frost, Roberta Buhle, and Camille Blachowicz provide more than 50 practical activities designed to help K-12 literacy professionals: (1) Assess the current literacy program; (2) Plan changes that will foster a culture of literacy; (3) Collaborate…

Using steps in constructing a building as guidelines, the booklet discusses elements in developing programs and curricula for the gifted and talented. Addressed are the following aspects: defining the needs of the gifted and talented, locating resources, involving faculty and administration, brainstorming concept areas and goals, and planning a…

A consultant for hearing impaired students describes the initiation of a successful drama program for hearing impaired students (K-12). The program enhances students' communication, imagination, and self-esteem. (CL)

Detailing the development of a sequential career education program for grades 4-12, the report describes the following program components and the techniques used to accomplish their objectives: guidance and counseling model program (grades 6-12), career awareness at the elementary level (grades 4 and 5), career orientation and exploratory…

Offered in this paper are guidelines and procedures to follow for introducing a newspaper-in-education program in the schools. Included are outlines and activities for idea presentation and staff development, suggestions for use of the newspaper in a scavenger hunt, and newspaper workshop ideas. Also included are activity sheets for use in…

This article provides step-by-step guidelines for developing a mentoring program for students with disabilities. The benefits of mentoring, role of the mentor, mentor screening, and program development are discussed. Suggested mentor and student activities are outlined, including communication, reading, leisure, and academic activities. (Contains…

Thirty-three member schools of the Organization of Rural Oklahoma Schools cooperated in the creation of six school networks that participated in a series of electronic "field trips" for rural students. The field trips were actually conference telephone calls that allowed students and teachers to talk with experts in areas such as…

Reponses to four letters from parents and a teacher of gifted children, relating to truancy in a gifted teenager; development of a regional gifted program; strategies appropriate for a primary gifted program; and instructional activities for a parent to use with her preschool age gifted child. (SBH)

The use of contract activity packages (CAPs) in writing an individualized education program for special needs students is discussed. A CAP is defined as including simply stated objectives; use of multisensory resources; creative, sequential material; provision for student developed alternatives; at least three small group techniques; and a pretest…

The author reviews the problems of providing a comprehensive music literature program to general music students and suggests objectives and activities for such a program at the elementary and secondary grade levels. (SJL)

This collection of 43 activities represents an initial sampling of the creative efforts that Vermont teachers are currently making to improve the learning environment of their students. The resources are the outcome of a campaign initiated by the regional service teams of the Vermont Department of Education to collect information about promising…

A number of processes and practices relevant to the improvement of multicultural education are discussed: (1) length of time spent on multicultural studies; (2) orientation of multicultural education; (3) field trips and classroom visitations by outside resource persons; (4) multicultural versus multiethnic instructional processes; (5) class…