The purpose of this guide is to make available to teachers both curriculum ideas and information about the craft of instruction, and provide information about their adaptation to differing circumstances. Chapter 1 of the guide addresses the "theoretical framework" including the issue of active versus passive learning. Chapter 2 addresses…

This Pilipino teacher's guide is part of Berkeley, California Unified School District Asian American Bilingual Center's effort to foster the total growth of the child. To facilitate that growth, the Center has selected an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum development. Social studies themes and concepts provide the framework within which all…

In 1996, Florida's Valencia Community College (VCC) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. The central aim of the college's action plan was to develop…

This resource book, designed for use with pre-kindergarten through grade 2 students, provides an integrated approach to teaching the curriculum. Through investigation of houses as a theme, students are engaged in whole language activities in art, mathematics, science, cooking, poetry, literature, and dramatization. The guide is organized into…

This curriculum guide provides teachers with materials on African-American history and culture that include some of the most recent scholarship in the field. The activities and resources assembled do not constitute a comprehensive treatment of African-American history, but they do examine many topics within that history. The volume encompasses six…

This paper investigates the thematic study approach in theory and practice as it applies to the elementary grades, specifically to third grade. Part 1 defines the theme study approach and explains the theories and assumptions that support it as a viable approach to teaching and learning. Part 2 examines research supporting the thematic approach.…

Theme study is in-depth research on a topic, issue, person, or content-area idea, in which reading and writing are used as tools for learning. Educational benefits of theme study include motivation, individualization, explorations of relationships, and the encouragement of a lifelong-learning attitude. Based on the premise that theme study is more…

This paper discusses four thematic units that teachers can use with preschool and primary grades, along with examples of activities that can be integrated into each unit. The units include "Land of Many Colors," based upon a book of the same name that tells the story of gingerbread-shaped characters who learn to accept each other even…

Based on the belief that the teaching and learning of language are inextricably intertwined, this book addresses the challenge of providing an integrated language arts program in the elementary and middle school level that bridges traditional instruction and thematic, whole language, or literature-based instruction. The book also presents ways to…

A study examined the extent to which literacy tasks were emphasized within a fourth-grade social studies classroom. Subjects, 21 fourth-grade students and their teacher at a private K-8 elementary school located in an urban area of the east, were observed over a 7-week period as they conducted a thematic unit on liberty. Data included audiotapings…

Elementary preservice teachers (n=185) in a blocked program of methods courses developed integrated thematic units focusing on social studies and science that viewed reading, language arts, and mathematics as tools students use to study the major content areas in the elementary school program: social studies and science. This was a complex task…

This folktales collection includes 35 versions, representing countries and cultures from around the world, of the traditional tale in which a dangerous character knocks at the door and tries to trick the children into letting him inside. The stories are intended for use in homes, schools, and libraries by both children and adults who enjoy sharing…

This collection of administrative, planning, and teaching materials focuses on an immersion approach to engaging learners in whole literacy. The collection's 6 sections are as follows: (1) Role of the Administrator (Mary Dill); (2) Role of the Reading Teacher (Carleen Payne); (3) Batteries and Bulbs (DonnaLynn Estes); (4) Bears (Lois Laase); (5)…

An annotated bibliography of literary works appropriate for elementary students and instructional materials for use with the literature are contained in this teacher sourcebook. Materials can be divided into two categories, historical fiction and works by Vermont authors, and may be used for a thematic approach to literature or for a study of…

This is a handbook designed for carrying out the goals and objectives of Preparation for Raising Educational Performance (PREP), a thematic, remedial program for ninth graders in New York City public schools. The lessons presented in the handbook model an approach to learning which follows the patterns of actual language development: listening,…