This exploratory study introduces the systemic approach and the explicit teaching of a meta-language to provide conceptual tools for students for the analysis and interpretation of multimodal texts. Equipping students with a set of specialised vocabulary with conventionalised meanings associated with specific choices in multimodal texts empowers…

Encourages English teachers to provide surprises in their teaching and to permit students to have the joy of discovery. (DD)

We can revive the spirit of inventiveness by allowing students the freedom to consider the unconventional and probe the possibilities of the "impossible." (Author)

This paper describes an approach to teaching writing through design. Students were asked to design the following items: a dance, an outfit, a toy, a game, and a recipe. As these designs were completed, they were then presented to an audience and time was provided for the students to write about their experience of the process of producing. A…

Presents a rationale for teaching writing in today's multi-media, electronic age and suggests teaching techniques for improving writing skills. (RB)

Modern science programs introduce more than scientific knowledge. They also encourage active student participation in the processes of scientific investigations. However 11 to 13 year olds generally lack the motivation to initiate such investigations. This is partly due to a logical conflict between learning and discovering. What is learned is…

Presents a way of teaching the scientific method through studying the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Asserting that Sherlock Holmes used the scientific method to solve cases, the authors construct Holmes' method through excerpts from novels featuring his adventures. Discusses basic assumptions, paradigms, theory building, and testing. (SLM)

Contains suggestions for improving writing instruction and stimulating student interest in writing. Suggests contest writing, using the poem "Jabberwocky" for vocabulary development, and an activity for structuring creative thinking. (JT)

Shares broad classroom strategies for enhancing academic achievement for all students and discusses the nature and scope of each strategy. (KHR)

Based on the notion that teaching vocabulary extension in isolation makes little impact on students, a three-part exercise, designed to develop students' vocabulary through poetry while providing meaningful enjoyment, uses the poem "The Hawk" by A. C. Benson. In the first class period, students are introduced to both the exercise and the poem and…

Examines the use of spreadsheets for solving equations by the method of iterations. The combination of the spreadsheets and graphical representation is shown to be appropriate both for teaching and learning the method of iterations and for investigating properties of equations. (Author)

Since history textbooks omit and/or emphasize certain data, students are left with a false sense of history. Although the "hard data" presented in history texts is generally regarded as reliable, the selection and organization of that data is inherently manipulative because other data has been excluded. Because authors do not begin with a…

Presents a worksheet on graph paper that allows students to determine the perpendicular bisectors of given segments by folding the paper. Students then determine the slopes of the perpendicular bisectors and use inductive thinking to discover the relationship between the slopes of perpendicular lines. (MDH)

Describes three activities that the teacher can employ to help students develop thinking skills through mathematics instruction: (1) memorization using the technique of chunking; (2) higher order thinking with magic squares; and (3) predicting games. Identifies eight facets of the teacher's role in promoting thinking skills. (MDH)

To help students understand the processes by which they should gather, organize, and write material for an assigned theme, this book presents a series of steps for students to follow as well as some specific guidelines for composition teachers. Theme assignments, procedural steps, sample themes, and questions for classroom discussion are provided…