The Moss Point, Mississippi, school district uses a semantic mapping teaching approach called "Writing to Learn" that visually and graphically displays ideas and concepts. Students use computers to work on writing projects, and their achievement scores in the state's reading and writing examinations have increased remarkably. Outlines…

This article discusses the concept of world knowledge and its relevance to intervention processes. Roles of linguistic and physical context in interpretation and levels of speaker experience are discussed. Levels of involvement are related to communication goals, and these principles are extended to applications in the teaching of language skills.…

Experiment 1 suggested that age differences in line-drawing interpretation among subjects between 6 and 24 years reflected changes in short-term memory for features and changes in strategies used to integrate features over space and time. Experiment 2 suggested that older observers were more active in their attempts to interpret drawings and that…

Examined is the situation in which pupils invent mathematics on their own and teachers' reactions to this situation. The assimilation of students' original ideas into correct mathematical concepts is discussed. (CW)

Described are activities involving higher order thinking skills developed for gifted students that can be used for all students. Discussed is a framework for designing activities using Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain and William's Student Behaviors. Sample activities are included. (KR)

Discusses strategies (based on S. I. Hayakawa's abstraction ladder) to encourage connected thinking in student writing. Describes a recent cross-disciplinary workshop seeking to improve student essay writing and evaluation. (KEH)

This article responds to a critique of a study in which an ambitious program of thinking skills instruction was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Concepts of intelligence and thinking skills are explored, the relationship between the two is analyzed, and the impact of instruction on both is considered. (IAH)

Based on a recent study, this article asserts that training programs in classroom testing are constrained by classroom management demands (chiefly student resistance to higher order thinking tasks), the curriculum's overemphasis on broad content coverage, a lack of organizational commitment to strengthening the teaching-testing connection, and…

Think cards, consisting of students' written verbalizations of reading comprehension strategies presented by the teacher, make students aware of the need for using strategies during the reading process and aid them in keeping track of alternative strategies. The paper illustrates incorporation of think cards into a reading lesson involving the…

Discusses religious influences on nineteenth-century voting behaviors. Demonstrates how such historiographic information might be integrated into standard teaching on this period. Contends this integration of religious materials will promote student understanding of the role of religion in U.S. history. Points out that historiographical study can…

Illustrates the use of the writing wheel, a prewriting technique for writing from thesis statements that requires students to create a picture of a wheel. Shows how the wheel can be used in writing paragraphs and how it can be combined with summary writing to produce an integrated term paper. (DB)

Presents 5 activities for the K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 grade levels and for in the home in which students explore the concept of combinations. Each activity includes a lesson plan to investigate a combinatorics problem appropriate for that grade level. Provides reproducible worksheets. (MDH)

Presents two seasonally related investigations involving arithmetic series to develop critical thinking: (1) the number of candles needed for the eight nights of Hanukkah, and (2) the number of presents given during "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Students also calculated the amount of money needed to buy all the presents. (MDH)

Discusses how teachers can use the Socratic method of cross-questioning students to arrive at logical conclusions to help elementary school students recognize and understand differing opinions; question their own beliefs and assumptions; and learn that they can disagree without resorting to violence. (MDM)

A faculty member's experiences with service learning programs at Rutgers University (New Jersey) and Providence College (Rhode Island) illustrate how college student involvement in community service causes them to consider their membership in diverse communities and develop critical thinking skills. Service learning is felt to connect issues of…