This eight-month study, conducted in a first-grade classroom in the southwestern United States, analyzed young children's playful responses to literature. It focuses on framing a theory that underpins play as a form of reader response, which I term 'responsive play'. It further aims to answer the overarching research question and the sub-question:…

Teaching financial literacy is important at all stages of life, but is often neglected with elementary students. In this article, the authors describe a strategy for teaching financial literacy using the books about Max and Ruby by Rosemary Wells. These books can help introduce the five key concepts of financial literacy: scarcity, exchange,…

Service learning provides pre-service educators with a context for having hands-on field experience and also assists in understanding the theory and practice. This study discusses 7 undergraduates' implementations of learning stations as their service learning with 28 elementary school students. Through thematic data analysis of interviews,…

The use of learning stations is an approach to meet needs of pupils in achievement. Here, pupils may make choices in terms of what to learn. From a learning station, a pupil may select learning activities to complete, be they individual or committee endeavors. Activities might also be chosen on the basis of learning styles. A pupil may prefer to…

The use of learning stations is an approach to meet needs of pupils in achievement. Here, pupils may make choices in terms of what to learn. From a learning station, a pupil may select learning activities to complete, be they individual or committee endeavors. Activities might also be chosen on the basis of learning styles. A pupil may prefer to…

What is environmental print? It is symbols all around. Environmental print is on signs, billboards, packages, junk mail, and everywhere. Young children easily recognize environmental print in their surroundings. Their everyday experiences with print are an important classroom tool to help children connect what they already know about written…

The article provides helpful hints to the teacher who wishes to develop learning centers in his classroom. The author defines a learning center and tells how the center can be managed, how it should be begun, and the benefits it offers to the teacher. (HMD)

Too much classroom work is teacher-initiated, labor-intensive, abstraction-rich, and experience-lean. In contrast, science centers offer students a learner-initiated, discovery-rich opportunity to explore stimulating experiences, especially when second trips are made. Optimal learning occurs with a dynamic blending of abstract and experiential…

Pupils' natural questioning attitudes lead them to discovery in a learning center, in contrast to the lecture method, by which information is forced on students regardless of their interests. This paper describes learning experiences built around rocks. Materials placed in a rock center (rocks, stones, pebbles, magnifying glasses hammers, and…

Presents activities that were used to celebrate "Half-Time Day", the halfway point of the school year. Includes various hands-on ways for children to experience the fraction 1/2, including learning centers and whole-group activities. (JRH)

Information on the values of woodworking for young children and ways to introduce and manage a carpentry center for them are provided in this guide. The following topics are included: (1) the values of woodworking on child development; (2) how the teacher can use the center to provide for the integration, discovery, and development of woodworking…

Explains why free-choice time, also called child-initiated time, is an essential daily part of all Head Start programs. Children have the freedom to initiate their own activities among the learning centers in the classroom, allowing them to develop their intellectual abilities, find solutions to problems, explore, inquire, and become adept at…

Guidelines for establishing and maintaining classroom learning centers are contained in this booklet. The following topics are included: (1) a rationale for creating learning centers; (2) how to orient the children to the new learning center and some important aspects to consider when developing a learning center environment; (3) ways to create…

A study investigated students' perceptions about their interactions while using a Literacy Play Center geared toward social studies with a "time machine" theme. Subjects, 19 fifth-grade students in a suburban elementary school in central New Jersey, were interviewed about their experience and video taped while interacting in the play…

Discusses the thoughtful selection and organization of multi-use, multi-sensory items that hold their appeal as children grow, or that satisfy the interests of mixed-age groups. Suggestions include using real tools, pots and pans, and recycled food containers, as well as "wild" outdoor areas and learning or activity centers. (TJQ)