Four steps to helping children discover the reasons for clocks. (Editor)

The ability to measure time means being able to arrange events in logical sequences, predict which kinds of events take longer than others, and understand different divisions of time. Teaching methods and class activities that will help children develop skills and concepts concerning time usage are presented. (PP)

This article presents ten time-saving ideas for teachers. One great time-saving tip is to come in an hour early once or twice a week for grading papers. It is also a great idea if teachers will not give tests on Friday in order to reduce their weekend work.

Strategies are outlined for reinforcing and assessing what students have learned without producing a lot of paperwork to correct. Techniques include paper-free strategies and enriched worksheets that accomplish more with less paper. (IAH)

What's ahead in your world, and how are you going to handle it? What effects are educational developments going to have on you and your children? Five experts in elementary education take short looks into the future. (Editor/RK)

Short, creative thinking sessions can help fill the time between classes while encouraging students to develop all of their thinking processes. Activities are offered that require organizing, imagining, observing, patterning, and questioning skills. (DF)

Describes how an elementary teacher developed a daily writer's workshop. Suggestions for finding time to write include reducing use of workbooks and skillsheets, looking for redundancy in curriculum programs, concentrating on writing for a shortened period of the school year, and creating time-saving instructional strategies. (SM)

A recent study comparing Asian and American students identified three factors that contribute to superior performance of elementary school children. These are: (1) amount of class time devoted to academics and direct instruction; (2) parent support of academic activities; and (3) student effort. The study and its findings are discussed. (MT)

Every day contains those unavoidable waiting periods, but they need not be unproductive. You can convert waiting time to learning with the help of sponge activities---learning activities which "sop up" those precious droplets of time that would otherwise be lost. (Author)

Teachers sometimes try every intervention strategy they can think of to help struggling readers. However, some teachers still feel that they are not getting through. This article presents the reading strategies offered by two literacy researchers Michael Pressley and Nell K. Duke, of Michigan State University.

Presented are activities and teaching strategies designed to make history real to students, to develop in them, first, a sense of personal involvement with the past, and second, a time-sense and historical perspective. Suggestions include use of biography, historical fiction, oral history, genealogy, role playing, and time-lines. (Author/SJL)

A mountain of paperwork can be pared to a molehill when teachers concentrate on diagnostic and testing techniques that minimize written responses. This article explains how to evaluate students in ways that emphasize oral responses, hand signals, and student grading of papers. (PP)

Explains that the amount and quality of talk in the classroom directly affects student achievement and describes how to avoid the initiation-response-evaluation pattern by asking open-ended questions, igniting rich conversations, and increasing wait time with students. The paper also includes Internet resources for boosting talk in the classroom,…

All teachers probably want to save hours of planning per week, as well as create innovative lesson plans that connect with kids. This article presents several teachers who have saved hours of planning by embracing technology in their classrooms. This article also provides several strategies that teachers can use to save a great amount of…