This article presents BASE (Big ideas, Analyzing areas of difficulty, creating Strategies and supports, and Evaluating the process), a unit-planning process that teachers have used successfully with ninth-grade nontracked math classes to help secondary students with disabilities and students who are at-risk to be successful in a "reform" math…

Provides a number of reading and discussion exercises on issue-oriented questions (such as "overpopulation") that may be used for just about any level of English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. Suggests a role-play exercise in imitation of the television show "Dating Game." (TB)

Reviews the NTTI (National Teacher Training Institute) for Math, Science and Technology model that trains teachers to use video and Internet resources to enhance math and science instruction. Discusses multimedia methodology; standards-based training; program impact in schools; and lesson plans available on the NTTI Web site. (Author/LRW)

Presents a biography of Ashley Bryan, an author and illustrator who is known for presenting the African experience based on oral tradition. Includes ideas for promoting his work and includes an annotated bibliography of his books and sound recordings as well as sources for bibliographical information and relevant lesson plans. (LRW)

Classroom music lessons are not usually a forum for addressing philosophical issues, but they can be. Through music and visual media, music teachers can discuss music with middle and high school students in a way that expands how they think about music and their environment. In other words, music teachers can open up space in their music classroom…

While working with music teachers in training at the university level, the author learned how helpful it can be to model a curriculum that mirrors America's changing demographics. As a Native American who grew up on the Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Reservation, in central Wisconsin, she discovered that Native history and culture were absent from…

Lesson and unit plans designed by preservice teachers who developed their plans using the backward design model or a traditional model of curriculum design were compared. Two independent raters scored 153 lesson and unit plans developed by preservice teachers in two different sections of Educational Planning and Management. The plans were…

This study examined U.S. and Chinese teachers' constructing, knowing, and evaluating representations to teach mathematics. All Chinese lesson plans are very similar, because they are all based on the Chinese national unified curriculum in mathematics. However, the U.S. lesson plans are extremely varied, even for those teachers from the same…

The purpose of this study was to assess physical activity levels during high school physical education lessons. The data were considered in relation to recommended levels of physical activity to ascertain whether or not physical education can be effective in helping young people meet health-related goals. Sixty-two boys and 60 girls (aged 11-14…

Problem solving is an ideal learning strategy, especially for topics that are perceived as difficult to teach. As an example, a format is described for a problem-solving session designed to help students understand the pressure-flow hypothesis of phloem transport in plants. Five key facts and their discussion can lead to the conclusion that a…

Designed for grades 9-12, this lesson plan aims to let students learn how the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution relates to private property and how the power of eminent domain was defined in a recent Supreme Court case. Students will review summaries from Kelo v. New London to gain a better understanding of the case, which dealt with the limits…

In 2004, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation designating every September 17 as Constitution Day and suggesting that all schools teach about the Constitution on that day. There are innumerable websites, countless lesson plans and a multitude of other teaching resources on the topic. Teachers were inundated with brochures,…

This study examines the role of lesson plan design in helping teacher candidates to meet diverse learning needs. The authors studied student teachers who had been taught to use a differential lesson plan to see if they were differentiating in their planning, assessment, and instruction. They concluded that, indeed, lesson plan design does…

Consideration of variations in the gross morphology of concept maps can be helpful in the context of lesson planning by promoting the consideration of the multiple perspectives held by students. The three basic concept map structures are described as having particular utility at different stages of the planning process: (a) chain-type maps…

While almost any educator would agree that students deserve access to equal educational opportunities, many schools still sort students based on test scores or other criteria. There's a better way: one built on offering all students access to the best curriculum. In this first-ever practical book that shows how educators can make detracking work,…