Mechanically-minded middle school students who have been studying electromagnetism can construct inexpensive telegraphs resembling Samuel Morse's 1844 invention. Instructions (with diagrams), list of materials needed, and suggestions are given for a simple telegraph and for a two-way system. (DH)

Describes the successful first year of a public communications class at Chanute High School (Kansas), the objective of which was for 10 participating students to research, organize, and present a biweekly, school-oriented television program which would be shown on the local Cablevision channel. (MH)

During their environmental education year, 12-year-old students from Treverton Preparatory School (Natal, South Africa) learn all subjects in an environmental manner. The central theme streaming through the internationally recognized program is the Mooi River. A three-day camping trip and other outdoor activities are included. (MH)

Discusses approaches to science projects designed to eliminate negative reactions, improve topic selection and problem identification, and create excitement. These include creating classroom resource centers, bulletin boards, and student committees to help students develop their projects by narrowing broad topics to specific problem statements and…

This article explains how teachers can develop their own interactive video programs. Suggestions for choosing equipment and developing lessons are given, and the development of a local history lesson using the interactive video form is described in detail. (PP)

The author presents a step-by-step procedure for home economics teachers to follow with their students in gathering information in their own communities about what homemakers do. The information can then be used in planning a program to prepare young people for the occupation of homemaking. (AJ)

This report is an addendum to a previous report summarizing teacher responses to a survey administered to U.S. Classic Master and Participant Teachers in April 2003. It specifically examines the factors that influence whether and to what degree teachers follow up on their experience with Intel Teach to the Future. examines a key evaluation…

This study examines teachers' classroom practices in response to the support for teacher thinking in the materials and designs a systematic research method for observing classroom teaching consistent with reform recommendations and adaptable for use on a large scale. The development of a method to evaluate complex classroom observations that…

The hillbilly stereotype has created image distortions of Appalachian people and culture in mainstream America, in academia, and among mountain people themselves. This paper examines Appalachian student reactions to the stereotype and ways in which students can explore the concept and image of hillbilly and develop their cultural identity.…

Designed to help youngsters with real-world learning, and with being a smart consumer, this book focuses on having students participate in decisions facing consumers every day. The book contends that this is the best way to help students think critically and solve problems. Activities in the book require students to make consumer decisions related…

This article, also available in Spanish, describes what happened when a bilingual kindergarten class in West Liberty, Iowa, investigated a combine. The dual-language Kindergarten program supports content area instruction in both Spanish and English. The first part of the article tells the story of the Combine Project, this class's first project…

In this lesson, students compare imagined travel experiences of their own with the actual experiences of 19th-century pioneers. To learn about the experiences of the emigrants who traveled the Oregon Trial, the lesson asks students to create, as a class, oral stories about contemporary cross-country journeys; they then create works of historical…

Unlike teacher directed experiences that often do not provide children opportunities to take initiative and responsibility for the work undertaken, the project approach allows in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about. Projects are undertaken by a child, a small group of children within a class, or sometimes by the whole class,…

This paper summarizes a round table discussion entitled "Translating Our Scholarship into Practice," which was presented at the 2001 Western States Communication Association meeting. The paper highlights the presentation of four California speech instructors--in their classes the instructors encourage students to participate in…

This monograph highlights the projects that high school and middle level students have initiated when they have seen a need in their communities, researched the need, and then figured out a way to answer the need. The monograph categorizes these state and national award-winning, self-initiated community projects as follows: aiding the…