The article describes a collaborative project co-taught by a creative writing teacher and the theater department's technical director that required students to write an original script and perform it as toy theater or shadow theater.

Reports on an interdisciplinary teachers' workshop procedure for collaborating on theme and essay question assignment writing. Outlines the process of examining assignments and describes the discussion of one assignment critiqued in the workshop. Emphasizes the relationship between assignment purpose and writing assessment and the students'…

Describes an assignment in which ninth graders created a storybook or a textbook for children in grades 4-6 that would link 4 core subjects: math, English, science, and anthropology. (SR)

Describes a project in which students combined personal narratives, drawings, and Japanese woodblock prints. Includes three examples of students' stories and prints. (SR)

This skit is presented as an example of a creative writing assignment that combines humanities with social studies. The author recommends that high school teachers make such assignments for themselves and their students. The teacher is given the same assignment because brushing up on rusty composition skills and direct experience in creative…

This paper describes "The Huck Finn Experience," a high motivation interdisciplinary unit that takes students on a 6-week journey back to the life and times of Mark Twain through the fictional character of Huckleberry Finn. The unit described in the paper was designed for eighth-grade students but could be easily adapted to be successful…

Recommends using time bonding (finding a role model and researching the process and story behind that individual's accomplishments) as a means to interest students in history. Outlines the instructions covering the objectives of the writing assignments. Students researched a variety of biographies including Jackie Robinson and Lyndon Johnson. (MJP)

Describes five writing activities and assignments designed to help students understand the content of social studies and the process of writing. These include student journals, biographical poems, elaborate word games, and creative writing exercises. Illustrative examples relate these to social studies issues. (MJP)

Arguing that whenever new technology is adopted, instructors should always consider the purpose of promoting study. This Digest offers suggestions about using the computer as a study and learning aid. The Digest first discusses independent study, collaborative study, and interdisciplinary work with the help of the computer. The Digest then…

A survey of 200 rural middle and high school teachers in 4 midwestern states revealed that frequency of written assignments was low across all subject areas; that collective pieces (paragraphs, essays/editorials, reaction papers) were used most often; that, except for English teachers, few teachers employed journal writing; and that student…

Describes six activities from the "History Alive" program. These include an interactive slide lecture on the Great Depression, a photographic analysis regarding Mexican and Southwest culture, an experiential exercise concerning life on the assembly line, collages on Chinese belief systems, a response group on women's rights, and poetry writing.…

A high school project growing out of efforts to involve students in a German-American tricentennial celebration and designed to make student-centered activities educationally meaningful to both social studies and German language students is described. The project had the following objectives: (1) to view, through an interdisciplinary approach, the…

Recommends using Chinua Achebe's novel of the 19th-century conflict between African tribal culture and English colonists in a world history class. Achebe's rich narrative, written in a graceful prose, is easily accessible to high school students. The novel replaces simplistic and abstract concepts with those more complex and concrete. (MJP)

Describes an interdisciplinary instructional unit using the historical novel "The Killer Angels" to teach about the Civil War. Writing assignments focused on character analysis from the novel bolstered by outside historical research. Student response was overwhelmingly positive. Includes suggested guidelines for developing an…

Contends that, although the Eurocentric focus in art and literature currently may be out of favor, the lack of a cultural background may hurt students' scores on standardized tests. Describes a teaching plan based on artist John Constable's painting, "Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Garden." (CFR)