Compares textbooks and trade books for elementary grade levels. Recommends integrating trade books into hands-on science during the introduction of terms and examples. Points out the role of book content on elementary students' concept formation. Makes recommendations for selecting the right books for teaching science. (YDS)

Describes the six habits of mind fundamental to the study of history. Argues that a world history course must introduce students to the processes by which historians study the past. Provides suggestions for teaching the habits of mind through the proposed Advanced Placement (AP) world history course. (CMK)

This study examined effects of direct training and observational learning on acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of a first-aid skill for three pairs of preschool children with disabilities (three target learners and three observational learners). All six children learned the skill, generalized the skill to playground and home settings,…

The Home and School Institute's MegaSkills curriculum develops habits, behaviors, and attitudes needed for school and future success. It relies heavily on family responsibility and involvement in education. Teachers are specially trained to foster parent participation. (SK)

A cooperative camp program trained three teenagers with developmental delays to be counselors-in-training (CITs) for a children's day camp. Trainees learned about the basic chain of command at camp, first aid and emergency care, child development, and behavior management. The program was deemed successful in increasing job opportunities for…

Discusses how understanding translation in new ways can enrich language programs and serve today's students' more practical needs, noting that learning to be fluent is not the same as learning to be a translator. The article offers suggestions for preparing students to understand what translation entails and shows how translation can stimulate…

Examines the weak relationship between structural and functional brain development. Maintains that variability is the basic characteristic of normal development, and that involves the ability to construct pluriform strategies and to select the proper strategy in any particular situation. Argues that McGraw recognized intra- and inter-individual…

Individualized activity schedules were successfully used with a 4- year-old child with autism who attended an integrated public pre-school classroom. Graduated physical guidance and a system of most-to-least prompts were used during skill acquisition stages with teacher proximity and level of prompts being eventually faded. (Contains nine…

This article discusses issues that relate to building competence in educators' use of the functional behavioral assessment with students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Emerging content for FBA training is provided, including the essential skills in order to develop FBA competence, along with types of training activities that may foster…

Describes an art activity titled "Art Clue" that is designed for prereaders or beginning readers. Helps students to carefully observe, interpret, and discuss works of art while making connections to three other content areas (language arts, mathematics, and social studies). (CMK)

Too many student governments have agendas focused on social, volunteer, and fund-raising activities, not broader civic responsibilities. In student governments with responsibility for addressing school-community issues, participants may lack needed skills and habits of mind. The importance of advisers, due process, democratic selection, and…

Describes a small-scale research project that considered the roles that students with severe learning difficulties can play in identifying and monitoring their own learning needs and in setting learning targets. (CMK)

Suggests that encouraging students' exploration of and experimentation with different styles of writing can help strengthen their abilities as readers and self-confidence as writers. Provides student examples that illustrate how strong rhetorical models may inspire those who are learning to write English as a Second or Foreign Language.…

Describes research that focused on the acquisition of critical thinking skills by vocational education students in Further Education colleges in the United Kingdom, and in particular on the development of the skills of reasoned argument via practice. Discusses the use of modeling and peer-based critiquing exercises. (LRW)

Presents an art lesson that integrates the study of the Hudson River School with computer art by having students create landscapes using "Fractal Design Painter 4." Offers historical background on the Hudson River School, a group of painters who lived near the Hudson River (New York). (CMK)