"Lessons in Character" is designed to promote elementary and middle school students' knowledge about core character education values and, through that knowledge, shape children's positive behaviors and support academic success. It consists of 24 lessons organized around weekly themes, taught through stories, writing activities, and class…

As part of a larger project, a ninth-grade class participated in a year-long exchange of writing with students in an inner-city London classroom. The larger project involved 10 San Francisco Bay Area sixth- through ninth-grade classes exchanging writing with nine inner-city London classes and a Swedish class. Students and teachers in each of the…

At the same time that educators and researchers are identifying ways in which major reform and restructuring is needed in schools, research on student learning in science (and other subjects) from constructivist and conceptual-change perspectives is suggesting the potential for significant improvements in students' understanding of science and…

The program and abstracts of the presentations of the 1991 meeting of the Society for College Science Teachers are the topics of this report. Society officers are listed, a history of the society is provided, and membership information is given. The presentations reflect different topics in the teaching of college science. The abstracts of…

A practicum addressed the problems of low reading levels, deficient writing skills, and poor attitudes toward reading. The objectives were to increase reading levels, improve writing skills, and improve attitudes toward reading and in this process to improve critical thinking skills. The target group was a sixth-grade language arts class of 23…

Given the increasingly multi-ethnic school population and the lack of democratic political traditions in many students' cultural backgrounds, new ways to educate for citizenship are essential. The paper recommends developing multidisciplinary approaches to teaching civic identity and civic writing. It describes how a New Jersey school district…

Designed to encourage self-expression in motivated students--all those who enjoy the adventure and challenge of learning--as well as in gifted and talented children in the upper elementary and junior high school grades, the 16 student writing projects described in this book lend themselves to a variety of applications, such as basic skill…

Combining the expansion of cultural literacy with the development of process-based writing, this book addresses each stage of the writing process, with emphasis on the recursive and overlapping nature of these stages. Numerous related model activities at the end of each chapter show how to develop the writing process, while expanding the writer's…

Enhancing ethnic relations among students of diverse ethnic backgrounds was the aim of this practicum. A specific goal was to aid students in developing positive communication skills needed to enable them to work in collaborative learning groups without feelings of ethnic inferiority or ethnic superiority. Students were taught the vocabulary…

This paper focuses on freshman-level students expecting to major in teacher education. In their long apprenticeship of observation as students, preservice teachers have acquired both a mass of information about schoolteaching and a subjective warrant to teach. In the introductory teacher education course, "Exploring Teaching," the…

This curriculum unit of four lessons introduces students to traditional fables. In the unit, students learn about the qualities that make a tale a fable and read representative selections; they will also engage in storytelling activities and dramatic presentations of traditional and original fables. The following lessons are part of the unit:…

An effective language arts tool for teachers, especially those who teach at-risk, alternative, and special education students, this guidebook is designed to inspire even the most reluctant writers. The guide is organized so that journal topics are followed by non-revealing, non-threatening exercises to introduce writing as a means of expression…

Who is responsible for loss of life and property when one empire is conquered by another? It is the year 1473 A.D., 20 years after the fall of Constantinople. On May 29, 1453, the Eastern Roman Empire came to an end with the military takeover of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks. How could an empire cease to exist? What were the people in and…

Presents results from a study of eight college freshman to determine differences between revising essays on-screen and on-paper. Eighty-one percent of on-screen changes were above the mechanical or word level, often related to meaning and content. Students working on-screen tended to add more information and recreate paragraphs, but sometimes…

This year-long research project encourages student involvement, promotes a sense of mastery, involves the school community, and attempts to provide an incentive for senior Montessori students to continue learning. The curriculum describes the process of choosing a topic, researching, writing, editing, production of the final product, and the oral…