This lesson shows how the Inca communicated across the vast stretches of their mountain realm, the largest empire of the pre-industrial world. The lesson explains how couriers carried messages along mountain-ridge roads, up and down stone steps, and over chasm-spanning footbridges. It states that couriers could pass a message from Quito (Ecuador)…

In the past 15 years, a number of information literacy models have been developed to describe the skills needed to successfully conduct research and solve information problems. All of these models are useful and share a common framework that the authors have synthesized into eight major categories of information skills, each with a set of…

Christopher Columbus remains one of the most studied yet the least known of major historical figures. In this lesson, students read excerpts from Columbus's letters and journals, as well as recent considerations of his achievements so that they can reflect on the motivations behind Columbus's explorations, his reactions to what he found, and the…

Children enjoy listening to bouncy rhythms and reciting catchy rhymes. Poetry provides a rich vehicle for helping children explore how language sounds and works. Such exploration helps develop skills related to language usage, listening, vocabulary acquisition, and auditory memory, while also fostering an understanding of thematically related…

This study examined the relationship between the quality of intra-group online collaboration among groups of undergraduate learners on the quality of products produced. The quality of online collaboration was assessed by the instructor and Teaching Assistant with the computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) process assessment tool. The…

The Chinese lunar calendar dates back to the second millennium BC. Unlike the western calendar, which numbers the years progressively from the birth of Jesus Christ, the Chinese calendar is cyclical. Each cycle is made up of 12 years--after the 12th year, the cycle is repeated. The Chinese associate each year of a 12-year cycle with an animal, and…

Designed to be useful for teachers, students, and parents, this resource book contains skill-appropriate, easy-to-follow activities for emergent readers. Noting that helping children become successful readers by developing reading readiness skills and a love for literature requires careful planning and instruction, the book states that children…

Take a cyber journey through the world of science! Presenting more than 150 websites with primary source documents and authoritative data, this versatile book helps educators guide students on virtual scientific fieldtrips in all areas of science, from astronomy, biology, and chemistry to genetics, physics, and space science. Students can meet…

Works of art can be a valuable tool for teaching reading skills, such as visual discrimination, language experience, word recognition, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and other language arts skills. Classroom activities based on art work are described. Sources of art reproductions are noted. (PP)

This paper discusses methods used to differentiate the presentation of mathematics to gifted students in Ontario, Canada. Activities are described that help students to develop structured inquiry, reinforce categorization skills, develop efficient study habits, and encourage probing and divergent questions. (JDD)

Discusses the integration of videodisc technology into classrooms and presents criteria for evaluating the interactivity of videodiscs. Three levels of interactive videodiscs (IVD) are described, and a criteria checklist is included that evaluates skill development, simulation, feedback, the interaction of the student manual with the electronic…

Presents five plans to assist students in information seeking on the Internet and provides examples of activities. Highlights include practicing search skills, learning about a topic of inquiry and/or question answering, reviewing multiple perspectives on an issue, solving authentic problems, and publishing synthesized and/or critiqued information…

Presents ways teachers and caregivers of young children can provide opportunities to promote listening skills in the classroom. Focuses on obtaining children's attention, using group time effectively, identifying different sounds, using music and rhythm activities, and using rhymes and letter sounds. (KB)

This article describes two developmental assessment instruments used by teachers working with students with autism: the Psychoeducational Profile-Revised (PEP-R) and the Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile. Information is provided on administrator qualifications, item administration, scoring, reliability, and validity. One teacher's use…

An after-school computer club was developed in which language-minority children learned to master a series of educational computer games through reading instructions, interacting with peers, and interacting with adult mentors. Results show how an informal educational environment can foster generalizable problem-solving skills that transfer to…