A third-grade teacher and her students used the Foxfire practice of reflection to analyze student projects in reading. Analysis of student comments and levels of participation indicate that elementary-age students are capable of using high-level thinking skills to improve the quality of their work. (LP)

This documentary tells the wartime story of Le Chambon, a tiny Protestant village in France that defied the Nazi occupation and provided a safe haven for thousands of Jews. Using interviews, old photographs and footage, and specially declassified documents, the film [and transcript] examine the difference between being a bystander and a…

This collection of readings in support of inclusive education for students with disabilities offers rationales for inclusion, personal accounts of individuals involved, and strategies for facilitating change. Stressed throughout is the idea that inclusion is an attitude or belief system, not an action or set of actions. The readings identify…

This thematic unit involves 1st and 2nd grade students in exploration of their own unique and special qualities. The interdisciplinary unit connects knowledge related to art, language arts, applied mathematics, social studies, and science. Lesson activities focus on topics of family, friends, health, and emotions. The unit encourages students to…

An advocate of the Natural Approach to second language instruction discusses problems associated with error correction, highlighted in her personal experience when she visited Italy to explore her heritage and use her Italian language skills. After requesting to have her errors corrected by a native-speaking friend, the visitor experienced great…

This guide provides teacher educators and staff developers with strategies to enhance the reflective thinking abilities of preservice and inservice educators. Strategies for reflective thinking are approached at three levels: technical, contextual, and dialectical. Within each level, strategies have been field tested with populations of preservice…

This report presents suggestions for elementary school improvement from the 22 elementary school principals who comprise the charter membership of the National Association for Schools of Excellence (NASE). Each principal has received national recognition for educating low-income students, usually by emphasizing strong school-business cooperation.…

One-fourth of the students in Boston public schools have parents who were born outside of the United States. This guide contains a series of classroom activities, produced by Boston teachers and aides, that are designed to take advantage of the abundant cultural diversity found in Boston schools by encouraging these dual-culture students to share…

The intent of this book is to strengthen the professional role teachers play in curriculum planning and development, a process central to teacher activity and responsibility. Contextual narratives, document analysis, the use of metaphor, personal rules, principles, beliefs, images, and philosophy are all described for use in hands-on exercises.…

This set of materials for a cultural writing curriculum for adult basic education students (5-8 grade level) consists of a teacher's guide and student manual (videotape and an audiocassette complete the set). The materials are intended to develop the adult learners' writing and reading competencies through their active involvement with the…

Nine articles address the topic of professionalism among school librarians. Highlights include personal initiative and suggestions for growing professionally, a professional involvement profile, career and job options, best-ever workshops, professional growth through travel, from librarian to computer coordinator, illustrated booktalks, the school…

Based on "Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo" by Zlata Filipovic, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that historical drama, like other historical fiction, is rooted in history but contains imaginary elements as well; and that the author describes in her diary what it was like to be a teenager in…

Presents two separate interviews on one topic. William Styron and James West discuss West's biography of Styron from the vantage points of subject and biographer. Styron reveals some of the painful incidents in his life and West delineates how these have influenced Styron's work. Includes several photographs. (MJP)

A White reporter describes how she changed careers to teach poor Black and Hispanic New York City public intermediate students, focusing on her top math class. After one difficult year, she left teaching but hopes to return some day because she felt she made a difference for a few students. (SM)

One college mathematics teacher finds that asking students to write brief essays about their attitudes toward and experiences with mathematics offers insight into student motivation, perceptions and misperceptions, and emotional responses. The essay serves as a communication and motivational tool for both teacher and students. (MSE)