Presents suggestions for using children's literature to explore elementary science topics and create literature-based science activities. The article describes books that alphabetically tour the world's fruits and vegetables, describe the world through a blind grandfather's eyes, illustrate more than 600 animals and their sounds, and teach animal…

Describes radical pedagogy and observes that an overview of "Teaching Sociology" suggests that few teachers fully practice it. Argues that while professors are free to teach radical theory, radical pedagogy is hindered by institutional constraints. Concludes that radical teachers may benefit from remaining more within the confines imposed by their…

Presents hand-on, standards-based activities in language arts, math, science, and social studies, including a daily almanac; bookmark buddies; word palettes; bowling for numbers; math thought teasers; plant puzzles; fingerprint fun; a travel bureau; and an end-of-the-year bulletin board of people involved in interesting activities. Reproducible…

Music can be a powerful force in the language arts classroom and an important vehicle for teachers who want to lead students into literature. The paper discusses the power of popular music to first attract students, notes how to use other musical genres, describes guided listening, and explains important parallels between poetry and song. (SM)

This K-8 activity helps students visually highlight the lives of notable women using 3-D biography boxes. Students read a biography, create the boxes, fill in all six sides with pictures and information, place one item in the box that their subjects would treasure, and make class presentations. A sample box is provided. (SM)

Presents suggestions for integrating mathematical problem solving into all aspects of an elementary school classroom. This includes taking data from such areas as attendance and lunch counts, numbers of seats needed for an open house, amount of money needed for field trips, and many more. The article offers tips for powerful problem solving. (SM)

Describes 15 types of analogies, their facilitating function in mental processing, the kinds of knowledge for which they are most effectively employed, and their applicability across subject matter. Eight steps for constructing and presenting analogies and types of analogical relationships are included. Prevention of misconceptions is discussed.…

Describes the Detroit Dance Collective, a group of professional dancers who work in K-12 schools to infuse schoolwork with movement, finding areas where curricula link. The group attempts to motivate all types of learners through movement. Michigan officials contend that using dance in the classroom is a critical teaching strategy that reaches…

Describes how teachers at three different elementary schools use jazz to teach students to read, write, and sing. In each case, jazz is used to enrich standard curricula and raise students' appreciation of this music form widely recognized for its rich heritage rooted in African American culture. Literature resources and relevant Web sites are…

In the city where the authors live, located on the shore of Lake Ontario, children have ample opportunity to interact with snow. Water vapor rising from the relatively warm lake surface produces tremendous "lake effect" snowfalls when frigid winter winds blow. Snow piles along roadways after each passing storm, creating impressive snow…

This article discusses the benefits as well as the important considerations that should be taken into account in integrating popular films in health education classes. Use of popular films in the classroom, termed "cinema education," is becoming increasingly popular in teaching health education. As a matter of convenience, popular films are easy…

Media literacy is a topic that is being addressed globally as greater numbers of people become aware of the need to teach audience members how they are influenced by the media. Here, two of its broad categories - captive and voluntary - are identified. Examples of media literacy programs in Canada and Australia are also presented to illustrate the…

Role-play is one of the most engaging instruments for imagining what is not actually present. Role-play can take a variety of forms: student(s) enacting; teacher(s) enacting; and student(s) and teacher(s) enacting together. In this article, the author examines a number of different ways for teachers to incorporate role-play in their classrooms to…

One of the first tasks students learn in chemistry is to pronounce and spell the names of elements and learn their corresponding chemical symbols. Repetitive oral recitation is commonly used to learn this information, but games and puzzles can make this task creative, variable, and fun. Elemental Food for Thought is a puzzlelike activity that…

This column describes suggestions for daily activities in a calendar format. This month's theme is math and more. Among other things, this column features several web sites for mathematics activities.