This teacher's guide accompanies a packet of five art reproductions based on animals as a theme. The guide offers suggestions for engaging children's attention and curiosity about art and artists, and encourages exploration of the issues these works present through art activities, discussions, learning centers, field trips, and other experiences…

This action research project devised and implemented an intervention for increasing student engagement in the learning process. The targeted population consisted of elementary students in an urban area in north central Illinois. The problem of non-engaged learning was documented by means of observation of class participation, a student attitude…

This paper discusses MIKSIKE, an interdisciplinary study program integrating Web technology designed to serve elementary schools and home-schooling families. Developed by a small Estonian company, MIKSIKE is divided into cross-curricular study cycles that last 3 to 5 weeks. The online program works with a standard Web browser and has three areas:…

This report describes a program for advancing the appreciation, acceptance, and understanding of diverse cultures. The targeted population consists of students in a self-contained second-grade classroom in a large urban industrial city located in the Midwest. The problem of inadequate appreciation and acceptance of diverse cultures was documented…

This book is part of a series of books presenting ready-to-use instructional units on themes typically taught in the primary grades. The topics focus on science, math, social studies or literature, but use language arts skills consistently in each unit. Each book in the series also uses as many frames of mind or intelligences as possible. Within a…

Three activity booklets are presented for implementing Project EAGLE, an enrichment program for gifted and talented kindergarten children. The first activity booklet contains a poem by J. D. Evans titled "In Search of the Xanthus," which describes the search for an imaginary beast that leaves an "X" on the spot where it used to be. The second…

A useful framework for literature-based instruction is the curriculum related literature unit which provides a total resource for content area teaching. Such a unit could be based on the science curriculum, "Exploring the Solar System," and could be developed thematically through topics of space or the solar system. The teacher's initial…

Recent debates among educators about the middle school curriculum involve three concepts: (1) middle school ought to provide a general education school in which the curriculum focuses on widely shared concerns of early adolescents and the larger world rather than specialization among separate subjects; (2) the curriculum ought to serve the…

This report presents guidelines for implementing human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) curriculum with New Mexico students receiving special education services. The guidelines are organized by grade level, noting content themes, objectives, disciplines/subjects, and resources available. The guidelines are intended…

Sharing concerns and interests of New York State educators in the improvement of literacy, this annual journal raises educational issues such as appropriate, effective instruction and assessment for all of New York's children. A central thread found in many of the articles is the importance of authentic or meaningful experiences that invite…

This paper provides a detailed unit plan format for use by teacher trainers in early childhood education classes to teach students how to write integrated thematic unit plans for developmentally appropriate curriculum for young children. The paper first provides the outline for the thematic unit plan, and then explains each of the plan's 16…

The interdisciplinary approach to education applies methods and language from more than one discipline to examine a central theme, issue, problem, topic, or experience, and is utilized in order to enhance the ability of students to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of various disciplines. This guide to developing interddisciplinary…

This workshop, designed for Chapter 1 compensatory education teachers, administrators, and staff, offers alternatives to the widespread use of worksheets. Four strategies for alternative classroom methods are explored: cooperative learning, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching, and theme-based instruction. The following elements are included in the…

This paper, written for counselors and educators, describes a course in guided autobiography (a self-narrative which is structured around important life themes such as family, work, health, love and death) and its role in developmental psychology. A description of the course which is structured around three components, lectures, writing…

Coupling location theory with problem solving in introductory economic geography provides the opportunity to explore the economic alternatives open to society based on the welfare of society. (JH)