Describes the importance of thoughtful lesson planning, which will create better lessons and enhance learning and teacher effectiveness, providing an updated lesson plan format that can be used effectively in any teaching situation. The lesson plan format is a direct and pragmatic way to help preservice teachers design learning experiences and to…

Many cherished school curriculum units are intellectually weak and fragmented because of confusion about what students are supposed to learn. A key component missing from curriculum design is the guiding question--the fundamental query directing the search for understanding. Such questions are neither leading nor generic but are succinct,…

Studied the preconditions and obstacles to building network contacts for two teams of five Finnish elementary school teachers each. Results show that breaking traditional patterns of teacher work, especially the tradition of single- handed lesson planning and implementation, results from team work in building a shared object. Results show the…

Describes the TeachNet Project that was designed to explore and maximize the potential of the Internet and other new media for the development of curriculum materials by teachers, for teachers. Highlights include a historical background; sample curriculum units; new teaching methods; students' learning processes; and guidelines for developing…

Explains how a teacher uses the acronym SOAR (Sentences Organized and Revised) as the core of a game designed to motivate a class to revise their work through the promise of popcorn, free time, or snacks for their revision work. Describes a worksheet that forces students to pay attention to various parts of their paper. (TB)

Presents a lesson plan for a block period that involves students in learning how organisms can be classified. (DDR)

Describes a fun outdoor assignment whereby secondary school students form into groups of four or five and learn about the importance of narrative setting by drawing on sidewalks with chalk. Reviews the five basic elements of setting: temporal, geographical, cultural, historical, and environmental. (TB)

Argues that deficiencies in critical reading and thinking skills contribute to errors in problem solving and erroneous conclusions. Describes an activity that is designed to allow students to discover their own errors during an in-class analysis. (DDR)

Discusses current emphasis on individualization and meeting Head Start Program Performance Standards in this area. Assessment of individual needs, evaluation of information and planning practices comprise the individual approach to learning. Documentation in the form of personalized lesson plans provides a record of health, safety, and nutrition…

Describes GEM (Gateway to Educational Materials) that provides easy, fast, and free access to lesson plans, curriculum units, and other educational materials on the Internet. Discusses interaction between users and content providers; GEM versus search engines; how a GEM record is created; and the metadata used in GEM records. (LRW)

This article offers a guide to teaching the history of science to students with learning disabilities and provides a lesson template designed to engage students in a specific science event from the past. Activities including hypothesis testing and an historical role-play teach the vocabulary of natural selection and evolution using the landmarked…

The author of "Tomie dePaola: His Art and His Stories" uses her study of the work and the life of one of the most popular and acclaimed authors and illustrators of books for children today to demonstrate the research process for the classroom. Suggestions are provided for incorporating research into an author-artist study unit or for…

Geometrical representations can help students generalize arithmetic to algebra. Includes several examples including triangle numbers and models of cubes. (Author/MM)

Introduces a unit consisting of two lessons on paper and recycling. Investigates the properties of recycled paper and includes a paper making activity. (YDS)

In this article, the authors describe an activity developed to assist students with constructing their own understanding of Earth's history and provide questions to help teach the geologic time scale. The lesson is aligned to the following National Science Education Standards: Science as Inquiry, Earth's History, and Nature of Science. While…