This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

A list of 88 games appropriate for elementary level social studies is presented. Only games which may be played with large groups are included; board games are excluded. Each entry includes recommended grade levels, playing time, number of players, and cost. Addresses for each source are provided. (Author/KC)

Tells about an assignment in a technical writing course, in which students are presented with a hypothetical problem faced by a business corporation; they then work in groups to write memos detailing possible solutions to the problem. (GW)

Describes 24 activities for encouraging response to literature, designed for individual work and for classroom work with pairs, small groups, or the whole class. (GT)

The author presents parachute play activities that teach not only physical skills and teamwork, but mathematics and science concepts as well. He also gives advice on selecting a parachute. (SJL)

Describes group role-playing activities that have been used to teach about education, criminology, and sex roles. Suggests that role play helps students to absorb and retain many of the insights about the issues involved. (DB)

Provides a behind the scenes account of what goes on day-to-day at a zoo. Describes activities that allow students to explore the positive and negative aspects of issues that are raised regarding zoos. (ZWH)

This document guides teachers through the production of a docu-drama designed to raise environmental awareness for primary school children aged 5-9 years old. The play is a narrated account of seven environmental problems and solutions that is acted in mime, rhyme, and song and could be adapted as a dramatic environmental awareness exercise. The…

Energy Smarts Team members are energy conscious students who want to save energy at school and at home. Students in a classroom and their teacher form an Energy Smarts Team. Selected students monitor their building each day at recess, lunch, or after school for lights or other electrical equipment that has been left on. The team members keep a log…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: This exercise replaces the standard, often boring introductory lecture on using the dictionary with a group assignment that encourages the students to observe and analyze the entry for at least one word very carefully. In doing so, the students discover for themselves both the kinds of information…

The educational value of games includes learning to: (1) follow directions and use social skills; (2) review information and use cognitive skills; (3) make decisions and live with the consequences; and (4) become aware of new information. This paper describes how teachers might use small group games to reinforce what is taught in social studies…

Jigsaw, a form of cooperative learning, was researched by Aronson (1978). Later, Slavin (1981) adapted Jigsaw to Student Team Learning and called it Jigsaw II. Jigsaw currently shows the least achievement gains among the various cooperative methodologies. Nonetheless, it is a viable methodology and is useful for covering and reviewing material.…

Presents floor plans and activity schedules for primary grade, middle grade, and secondary school classrooms as a guide for teachers who wish to maximize access to classroom microcomputers through the use of small interactive learning centers. (MBR)