This lesson plan demonstrates how to use common animals in your backyard or school grounds to study basic ecological principles with students. An example study uses squirrels for observational study. Includes background information, references, suggested equipment, activities, and observation techniques. (MCO)

Discusses beavers and their geomorphic impacts on their environment. Considers dam building, bank burrowing, and canal building. Suggests using the beaver as a classroom and field trip example to illustrate animals' effects on the physical landscape. Provides a review of published works on beavers in their roles as geomorphic agents. (DK)

Explains how students can learn basic petrographic techniques by using a thin-section collection prepared from the rock units in a geological area under study. Each student defines a particular problem to investigate and is responsible for collecting samples in the field, making additional thin sections, and preparing formal written and oral…

Describes how teachers can improve introductory soil science courses by applying concepts taught in the classroom to actual field situations. Presents a specific example of a field exercise designed to illustrate soil properties and processes with respect to their environmental settings. (11 references) (Author/MCO)

Presents class activities to facilitate concept acquisition in elementary social studies classes. Suggests ways to teach the concepts of family, city, the presidency, and immigration. Methods outlined include field trips, oral history projects, family shield design, letters to past U.S. Presidents, fact quizzes, art activities, and guest speakers.…

Describes five classroom activities or projects used in Canadian social studies classes. Includes discussions of the use of artifacts, a field trip to Spain, a simulation of the Earth Summit meeting, and the application of mahatma Gandhi's philosophy to current problems. (CFR)

Examines the following five teaching techniques that have strong motivational value: (1) study groups, (2) group projects, (3) sharing information, (4) computer-assisted instruction, and (5) field trips. (PR)

Suggests ways to better implement the World Wide Web as a powerful teaching tool. Considers three general educational strategies, each of which taps into different strengths of the Internet as an information delivery system. Describes daily Internet-based exercises, project involvement activities, and cyber field trips. (AEF)

A park ranger describes a program designed to teach preschoolers in a Head Start classroom about bugs, park rangers, and drug awareness. The program was an outgrowth of a vandalism incident at a national park bordering a low-income housing complex. Lesson plans revolve around storybooks with bugs as characters. The program finale brings the…

Argues that the power of technology is its ability to transform instruction by breaking down geographical and logistical barriers; while not replacing actual museums, virtual museums contribute by bringing their collections to students. Outlines a project in which students create their own virtual museum. Includes Web addresses for virtual…

Uses three case studies to examine philosophical and pedagogical issues surrounding the use of laptop computers in outdoor education. Discusses the relationship between nature and technology and the use of computers in education lead to a call for greater recognition of the value of field education, especially in science. Presents criteria for…

In a learning community, students learn to cooperate and make teams work. Past technologies (print, photography, film, and computers) have enabled idea sharing, but are one-way communication modes. Broader learning communities have been made possible through electronic field trips, online mentoring, science investigations, and humanities…

Highlights the importance of including the arts as part of a total Montessori curriculum, regardless of a teacher's talent. Suggests that success in facilitating children's exploration of the arts is achievable via field trips, classroom activities, appropriate materials, and arts integrated into all areas to create an "Art Smart"…

Ag-Ed, an agricultural education project for upper elementary students, was held in conjunction with the Toowoomba Show in Queensland, Australia. Agriculture industry representatives provided 20 interactive agricultural presentations for class groups, which were supplemented with a teacher resource-package containing a directory and 13 sections of…

These three articles offer ideas for teaching social studies to elementary school students. Topics include using primary sources, visits, photographs, and contemporary accounts; collaboration between high school classes and elementary school classes; interviewing skills; online sources for experts; telecommunications-based interviews with experts;…