To make elementary science students grasp the scientific concepts being taught, teachers must not ignore their preconceived ideas. Instead, teachers must identify misconceptions then help the students test them. The article presents a step-by-step approach that can serve as a model for teaching any science concept. (SM)

Playing make believe (metaphoric play) with elementary students can promote very real conversations about art. The paper explains how metaphoric play can help teach art. After collecting familiar art (posters, storybook art, etc.), the teacher creates reality-based scenarios to promote talk, then encourages students on to more far-fetched…

The authors describe their experiences job-sharing, and offer suggestions about making the decision to job-share, finding a partner, organizing teaching responsibilities and discipline, and presenting a united front to children and parents. (MT)

Math doesn't have to be mysterious--even though its language is strange and its customs confusing. Like any foreign country, it can become familiar through exposure and understanding. Six ways to take the mystery out of math are described. (MT)

Instructions for reproducing two exhibits from the Exploratorium, San Francisco's science museum, are given. One shows students how white light can be made from red, blue, and green lights. The other helps children discover how small time differences allow them to perceive the origin of a sound. (MT)

Antarctica is described. Activities are suggested that include making plans for an expedition to Antarctica. Resources are listed. (MT)

Presents 15 fun math problems which can be used as filler activities when students have completed their regular work. (JMB)

Revisits the "nature fakers" controversy to reveal an approach to evaluating children's literature for appropriate use in the classroom. (JRH)

Although ubiquitous members of schools, few scholars and/or practitioners recognize how custodians'/caretakers' associations with students reciprocally contribute to student welfare and custodian status. This ethnographic study documents custodians' lived experiences while interacting with young children in three socioeconomically different…

This document contains brief descriptions of the elementary, junior high/middle school programs and the approved high school course titles which are provided in Indiana's official Administrative Code Handbook for schools. These descriptions were officially adopted by the Indiana Board of Education in July, 1984. Subject areas included are art,…

The premise behind this document is that a generation gap is opening between 8-year-olds and 16-year-olds in terms of technological respect, ease of hardware usage, and understanding of process tools. Therefore, this publication seeks to develop awareness and skills with data bases, computer graphics, programming, spreadsheets, simulations,…

This book was written as a tool to help teachers of prekindergarten to grade 3 make use of recent developments in the cognitive psychology of mathematical learning. Chapters included are: (1) "The Nature of Children's Mathematical Thinking"; (2) "Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction"; (3) "Oral Counting"; (4)…

This paper compares the old and new curricula of elementary mathematics and natural science in the Republic of China. This study, as the second phase of an evaluation period, tested a sample of the students while they were in the ninth grade and compared them to students who received the old curricula during their elementary studies. The data were…

The objectives of this research were: (a) to identify the content and configuration of critical activity structures and routines in well-functioning classrooms; (b) to trace the origins of routines during the first four days of school; and (c) to identify the mechanisms used by expert teachers to teach students the content, the cues, and the…

Some dos and don'ts and whys and hows for math games in the classroom. (Editor)