Provides a retrospective of Winifred Ward's career; she is credited with being one of the founders of creative drama in the United States. States that Ward wrote many books about theater, taught for 32 years, founded the first national organization for child drama in 1944, and received numerous academic honors. Relates anecdotes told by those who…

Describes an easy, inexpensive way for students to create photographic prints without a camera or film. The prints, or photograms, are made by placing objects on photographic paper, exposing the paper to light, then processing it. For a class of 25, the project costs about $1.50 per student. (SM)

Presents a listing of historical books for elementary school students by author Jean Fritz; includes a poster and a calendar with daily class activities to teach students about famous historical figures. (SM)

Describes an instructional strategy that uses the format, procedures, and rules of the game show, "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" to teach health education. It helps students understand key health concepts previously presented in other formats and use critical thinking skills to determine appropriate options for potential success. The paper…

Describes how one teacher got elementary students excited about writing poetry by providing them with simple rules and structures and encouraging them to take chances. Strategies included having each child contribute one line to a poem, discouraging rhyming (which is difficult and blocks creativity), encouraging them to write freely, and having…

The way in which a mathematical problem was used as a vehicle to introduce the joy of mathematical research to a high school student is demonstrated. The student was interested in learning about other classical problems delighting an eager high school student.

Creativity is viewed in different ways in different disciplines: in education it is called "innovation", in business it is "entrepreneurship", in mathematics it is often equated with "problem solving", and in music it is "performance" or "composition". A creative product in different domains is measured against the norms of that domain, with its…

Science is a story, a narrative, and scientists are storytellers. Teaching is quite possibly the ultimate in storytelling so if one is teaching science he/she is already storytelling. Using a story to set up a science topic is effective. One can engage the brains of the audience, paint the scene, let them realise why the idea or work is important…

Often science teachers perform demonstrations only to discover that students have already seen the experiment in a previous course. Teachers should take advantage of these opportunities to showcase the interconnectedness of different science disciplines. One example of a demonstration used across most science disciplines and grade levels involves…

Families often ask, "What did you do at school today?" when their children come home from preschool. When a child responds with a typical "Play" or "I don't know," it is difficult for families to learn details about their child's program day. But when preschoolers have access to cameras to take photographs of their experiences, they can provide an…

There has recently been a call for more pedagogic comparative research to counter the dominance of structural and policy led studies. At the same time there is also a necessity to provide alternative comparative research to that concerned with global standardizing performance and performativity strategies. The research, on which this paper is…

Foremost in an effective curriculum for students with emotional and behavioral disorder (E/BD) is a high level of engaged time--time spent doing meaningful learning activities. Engaged time (time-on-task) is the portion of instructional time that students spend directly involved in learning activities. Walker and Severson (1992) defined the…

This paper analyses the experience of a teacher and her Year 6 class (10-11 year-olds) over a school year, while participating in a pilot project introducing Personal Digital Assistants as a learning tool. The intervention was initiated and supported by the local City Learning Centre, which was concerned with how best to use technologies for…

Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated September 15th through October 15th, is a great opportunity to kick off a whole year of cultural discovery. This article presents 25 great ideas for Hispanic heritage. These 25 fresh ideas--from Aztec math to Carnaval masks--are easy to put together, and they offer students the chance to celebrate their own…

Because they're quick and fun to read, riddles can "hook" even reluctant readers and keep them coming back for more. Riddles also improve vocabulary, comprehension, and oral reading; enhance deductive and inductive thinking skills; and promote libraries as places for fun. Drawing on her work with children in schools and public libraries, Dee…