A September 1991 National Council for Social Studies report urges that social studies instruction for middle school students should focus on developing young adolescents' self-esteem, personal ethics, democratic values, and concern for the larger world. These values are fostered by using experiential learning, interdisciplinary instruction,…

Presented are 38 environmental education activities for grades K-12. Topics include seed dispersal, food chains, plant identification, sizes and shapes, trees, common names, air pollution, recycling, temperature, litter, water conservation, photography, insects, urban areas, diversity, natural cycles, rain, erosion, phosphates, human population,…

Summarizes research on middle level schools and students that contributes to ongoing debates concerning grade span, school size, grouping of students, departmentalization, curriculum, instruction, advisory groups, interdisciplinary teaming, school-transition activities, extra-help programs, and student evaluation practices in the middle grades.…

Discusses how children's books can engage students in communicating mathematical ideas. Describes situations in which teachers use literature as a stimulus for thinking, listening, writing, speaking, and reading about mathematics. (12 references) (MDH)

Recounts how a fifth-grade class applied the extended case study strategy to study a regional environmental issue, the Timber Wolf Recovery Plan. Students wrote essays; identified involved players' positions, beliefs, and values; conducted a survey of local residents' beliefs and attitudes; and devised a plan of action. (MDH)

Presents a hands-on, exploratory science unit to study the biodiversity of the African tropical rain forest. Students study the vegetation, animal population, and human habitants of the forest. (MDH)

The Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnerships in Health Professions Education, a program designed to increase multidisciplinary, comprehensive, cost-effective primary care teams in communities, uses an organizational structure linking academic medical education with communities. The new structures have resulted in new curricula and other…

An activity in which students describe the worldwide geographic distribution of petroleum, identify and locate the countries that make up the Middle East, and name the countries that import oil to meet their domestic needs is presented. Discussion questions and answers are included. (KR)

Presents a whole language model for teaching social studies that is helpful to students learning English-as-a-Second-Language. Outlines whole-language principles, and provides a lesson plan that incorporates these principles. Points out that such principles draw upon student experiences. (NL)

Argues that student creative writing is stimulated by painting and other visual art. Describes a seven-step process in which students view painting and other visual arts and then write poetry. Includes suggested artworks and excerpts of poetry written by students. (CFR)

The San Diego (California) school-based Project for Attention-Related Disorders helped improve access to care and increase treatment for children with attentional problems. Of 110 intervention children followed for 3 years, 60-70% showed improvement after enrollment, evaluation, and treatment. Medical and nonmedical interventions were helpful in…

Uses space explorations to integrate learning activities in science, language arts, math, social studies, art, foreign language, and physical education. (PR)

The General Secretary for the National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE) in the United Kingdom considers the place of environmental education in the curriculum. Argues that the inclusion of environmental education in the curriculum as a separate subject would add to the nightmare of the stand-alone subject curriculum. Suggests a…

The primary focus of this participant-centered workshop was to introduce the student-centered classroom. Describes the model for the conference and issues addressed which include process as the missing element in the curriculum; peer-led learning teams; integrating chemistry, mathematics, and physics; writing as a learning tool in chemistry;…

A study surveyed staff and student participants in Genetic Robotics, a week-long program linking biology and the visual arts. Staff perceptions centered about interdisciplinary phobias, shifting art-education roles, administrative support, and collaborative efforts. Student responses focused on apprehension/adaptation, attitudes, motivational…