This study sought to fill the gap in the literature concerning intrinsic motivation in elementary students in Grades 4-6 by examining 155 elementary school students and in-depth interviews with three elementary grade teachers. This study used data collected from the self-report survey called the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory…

While incorporating digital technologies into the classroom has offered new ways of teaching and learning into educational processes, it is essential to take a look at how the digital shift impacts teachers, school administration, and curriculum development. "Academic Knowledge Construction and Multimodal Curriculum Development" presents…

Provides a lesson plan designed to increase student map skills. Objectives are to (1) trace a route on a street map; (2) use symbols for locating skills; and (3) employ mileage scales to determine distance. Includes the procedures and an answer key. (RW)

This lesson plan is designed to give intermediate elementary school students the opportunity to use a highway map to prepare for an imaginary trip to a chosen destination in Illinois or surrounding state. In order to complete the assigned task successfully, students will need to utilize all skills learned during preceding class periods. The major…

Presents a classroom exercise entitled, "Latitude, Longitude, Spell It" designed to reinforce the concepts of latitude and longitude. Teachers divide the class into teams, provide them with a map and latitude-longitude coordinate cards, and ask them to record cities found within a given radius of each coordinate. Includes necessary…

Presents a game for learning about Canada's geography, natural resources, and major highways. Suggests that the activity will help students develop map skills, knowledge of capital cities, cooperative skills, and natural and human-made hazards. Includes instructions concerning game objectives, procedures, and materials. (SG)

This guide, designed for use in upper elementary and junior high classrooms focuses on literary works by authors Cynthia Voigt, Elizabeth George Spear, Katherine Paterson, and Marguerite Henry, as a means of developing map skills and exploring the roads, towns, homes, landscapes, and eras of the authors. The geographic setting of each story is…

The history of a neighborhood vacant lot was undertaken by gifted fifth graders. Investigative skills developed included collecting raw data, categorizing data, and reaching conclusions based on the information. Procedures included observing, listing, looking, sketching, note taking, map making, and interviewing. Findings were published in a book…

A one-day per week pull-out social studies program for gifted fifth graders incorporates theories of John Dewey and Joseph Renzulli (the Enrichment Triad Model) in the study of economics, urbanization, and social organization, as well as participation in community service projects. (CL)

This teaching guide for grades 4-6 focuses on the 1999-2000 United States Mint 50 State Quarters Program, which includes new quarter designs for the following states: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Virginia. The guide includes six lesson plans that fit easily…

A social studies class for gifted and talented students, grades 4-6, was spiced up by a unit on worldwide maps. A summary of the program is presented. (KC)

The activities presented in this handbook are designed to help students envision the locations and landmarks of sites along journeys described in popular young adult literature (e.g., "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,""Born Free,""The Call of the Wild,""Catcher in the Rye,""I Know Why the Caged Bird…

Social studies curriculum is modified for gifted intermediate and secondary students by incorporating strategies designed to foster creative thinking. The strategies are an outgrowth of futures and creativity research and include brainstorming, attribute listing, morphological synthesis, reverse historical chronology, webbing, consequence charts,…

History learning involves more than the mastery of cognitive skills and problem solving, because history learning always takes place within socio-cultural environments, and the material is charged with values and identity issues. This paper presents a theoretical perspective for understanding and designing history learning environments outside of…

Many teachers bring caterpillars into their class for their students to see the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This is exciting and educational, but more can be done using Monarchs across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated butterfly unit for students in grades four to six that starts with identifying the Monarch…