Discusses ways in which classroom communication can be stimulated by encouraging students to talk about their positive emotions and points out the dangers of encouraging students to voice negative emotions. Describes two classroom activities that encourage positive emotions. (SED)

An account of how the author's son began writing as a play activity, issuing tickets to neighbors, attempting to read and interpret signs, and participating in making shopping and duty lists in the household. Includes observational recommendations. (CRH)

"Mental aerobics" stimulates the mind through well-planned, specific, and direct exercise routines. During a lecture, students are asked to tear out a half-sheet of paper and write an immediate reaction to the lecture. This technique encourages inclusion, expression, understanding, thinking, feedback, insight, and comparison. (Author/MLW)

Classroom strategies for helping secondary social studies students develop the following types of creative thinking are suggested: (1) the ability to generate alternative courses of action or alternative solutions in a problem solving situation; (2) the ability to perceive and predict consequences; and (3) the ability to perceive analogies. (RM)

The renewed interest in teaching thinking skills results from concern about the failings of the current system. Some thinking skills programs emphasize cognitive processes, while others are concerned with heuristics, development of formal operations, language and symbols, or thinking as subject matter. (TE)

Attempts to determine whether moderate frustration when applied to normal, healthy children would result in decrements of performance in figural creative thinking. Also investigates the interaction effects of level of academic achievement and sex with frustration on figural creative thinking. (Author/RK)

Presented is a problem solving strategy emphasizing the definition step. Detailed analysis of the process of problem definition is included. (SL)

Technology preserves the Worlds of Art, spreads heritages, and unites people across the globe, time, and diversities. Through inquiry, technology enables individuals to explore inherent values of art and cultural identity in a quest to interpret, understand, and create their own expressions of the world. Art educators realize that technology must…

The major purpose of this book is to introduce teachers (and by that the author means all types of teachers-classroom teachers, administrators, teacher aids, parents and coaches) to various individual and group thinking strategies related to specific questions and activities. This guide is a personal interpretation and critique of those strategies…

A Smithsonian exhibition was developed that looked at invention in an innovative way. It aimed to encourage visitors to make connections between their own lives and abilities and those of inventors. The role of play in the invention process was examined. Play is a universal and familiar activity and can help people find the link between their own…

Being able to recognize a problem and design a potential solution is the first step in development of new and useful products. In this activity, students create a device to get that pesky itch in the center of the back. Once the idea is thought up, students produce a design schematic (sketch). Students are given a variety of everyday materials and…

Social Studies teachers need to emphasize reading instruction across the curriculum; they can consider 11 selected methods to assist pupil progress in reading social studies content. Recommendations include introducing new words from the reading; initiating peer reading and tutoring; having an aid read orally; tape recording the selection to be…

Considering how literature for children provides more than just word recognition skills and thinking skills, this paper discusses several reasons why there should be a good children's literature curriculum in the school setting. It points out how children can experience life vicariously through good literature; how good literature can aid a child…

Purpose of this study was to show the relationship of arithmetic reasoning, critical thinking, fluency of words, fluency of ideas, sensitivity to problems, and general intelligence to literal and critical reading of sixth and eighth grade pupils. (Author)