Methods for encouraging thoughtful use of encyclopedias in elementary school report writing are suggested. (LH)

This article shows how kindergarten children who are required to write stories are better speakers, earlier readers, and more careful communicators. The children write or draw their stories to the best of their ability, and the teacher adds conventional spelling. (DF)

Brief individual conferences between teacher and student during the course of writing a composition helps the student to clarify his or her thinking on the topic, thus improving writing skills and developing enthusiasm and pleasure in written communication. (JD)

When children are taught to appreciate the freedom and power of self-expression, they become motivated to master writing skills. Ways of encouraging creative writing in the classroom are offered. (DF)

This article outlines four basic steps in a teaching strategy for the teacher of elementary school mathematics that will accommodate the varying math skill of the students. (JD)

Predicting and questioning are two of the most important skills that children can use to achieve reading proficiency. Strategies are suggested that teachers can use to help children develop these skills. Appropriate reading materials and questioning techniques are discussed. (PP)

Critical thinking skills that can be applied to reading can be developed through means other than reading. Teachers can launch class discussions of popular films, such as "E.T.," to nurture these skills, a technique especially helpful for children who have difficulty with the printed word. (PP)

By insisting that a student master a skill before progressing to a more complex task, a teacher can help that student build a firm foundation for further learning experiences. (JD)

Researchers from the Center for the Study of Reading at the University of Illinois assert that inadequate reading textbooks and the failure to teach reading comprehension in the primary grades contribute to reading comprehension problems in the upper grades. Shortcomings of textbooks are specified and methods for teaching reading comprehension are…

Writing conferences enable student writers to get feedback and make improvements as they write. Both teachers and students see writing as an evolving process rather than as a unalterable product to be corrected. Tips on how to manage conferences and examples of their use with students are given. (PP)

A Brooklyn (NY) district superintendent rebuts arguments against the Chicago Mastery Learning Reading (CMLR) program that appeared in an article in Learning (November 1982). Based on his district's experience with CMLR, the superintendent points to improved reading scores, teacher enthusiasm, and renewed student interest in reading as indications…

Learning activities to help encourage students' consumer awareness and develop their consumer skills are suggested. Objectives include teaching students to: (1) distinguish between wants and needs; (2) understand advertising; and (3) read labels and compare prices. Other information sources and reading materials for children are listed. (PP)