Presents a crossword puzzle and a word find puzzle. Offers clues dealing with member nations in the British Commonwealth. Includes an answer key for the crossword puzzle. Suggests sources of information on the Commonwealth. (DK)

Discusses the Stock Market Game in which teams of students buy and sell stocks. Reviews information on the costs and benefits of the game and its uses. Examines game strategies through the economics of capital markets. Concludes that substantial costs in class time may be outweighed by benefits in some classroom situations. (DK)

Australian researchers examined a computer adventure game's potential to provide worthwhile learning experiences by videotaping elementary students at play. Results indicated students learned about computers, read, had fun, and solved problems, but the game did not meet specified criteria for a worthwhile educational experience. (SM)

Describes how to use "Poetry Poker," a strategy that allows the student to write a poem by playing cards. Discusses how each student/player is dealt five cards on which are written one sentence of poetry per card and how the student/player then must arrange the cards into the order desired to form a complete poem. (PA)

Presents interactive activities and games designed to help teachers get to know new students quickly and help the students become comfortable with each other and their surroundings as the school year starts. The article addresses how to explore the new environment, handle concerns and conflicts, and work in cooperative groups. (SM)

Offers elementary math-centered recycling activities and ideas on transforming throwaways into valuable classroom resources. The math activities teach estimating, counting, measuring, weighing, graphing, patterning, thinking, comparing, proportion, and dimensions. The recycling ideas present ways to use pieces of trash to create educational games.…

A spelling study expert offers the following strategies for teaching elementary students to spell: making word-sorting games that categorize words by shared characteristics; playing letter-sequencing games; examining how root words and affixes combine to form new words; making spelling meaningful; and linking spelling study with editing and…

Presents a game to capture student interest in probability by giving them an opportunity to explore the idea of various outcomes and the likelihood of the occurrence of one of those outcomes to explain the benefits of using a large sample rather than a small one. (ASK)

Describes how successful teamwork, group decision making and valuable real-world experience resulted from an experiment between two universities to introduce a media buying simulation game into their media planning courses. Relates how students in teams took roles of either media buyers at advertising agencies or media sales representatives at…

Presents a dice game that students can use as a basis for exploring mathematical probabilities and making decisions while they also exercise skills in multiplication, pattern identification, proportional thinking, and communication. (ASK)

Offers ideas for activities that elementary school library media specialists can use in the beginning of the year to welcome students back and reacquaint them with library rules and procedures. Describes songs, group activities, treasure hunts, games, and poster design for older students. (LRW)

Describes research with college students that investigated commercial game types and game elements to determine what would be suitable for education. Students rated logic, memory, visualization, and problem solving as important game elements that are used to develop a model that links pedagogical issues with game elements. (Author/LRW)

Addresses the movement called civic nationalism in Quebec Province (Canada) that allows all people regardless of ethnic heritage to participate fully in the secular and governmental life of Canada. Provides a puzzle that focuses on the people uniting against civic nationalism. Included the clues and word list. (CMK)

Three activities are described to teach campers the importance of minimizing their impact on the environment. Soil Buggy Bingo shows fire's impact on living things in the soil; Food Web demonstrates how everything in an ecosystem is interconnected; and Camouflaging--Field versus Woods shows the difference between wooded and cleared areas in the…

Demonstrates how play can be the catalyst to undertake mathematics. Presents 15 activities on different mathematical subjects such as geometry. (ASK)