This highly regarded work brings together prominent authorities on vocabulary teaching and learning to provide a comprehensive yet concise guide to effective instruction. The book showcases practical ways to teach specific vocabulary words and word-learning strategies and create engaging, word-rich classrooms. Instructional activities and games…

This book provides classroom-tested methods for engaging struggling middle grade readers--even those who appear to have given up--and fostering their success. The emphasis is on constructing respectful, encouraging learning environments that incorporate students' diverse literacies, cultural interests, and prior knowledge and skills into…

Readers Theater is a presentation by two or more participants who read from scripts and interpret a literary work in such a way that the audience imaginatively sense characterization, setting, and action. Traditionally, the primary focus of readers theater is on an effective reading of the script, not on a dramatic presentation. The scripts in…

This book focuses on the childhood and young adult experience of 10 of the American West's most intriguing writers. The book presents autobiographical and other primary sources, biographical sketches, teaching guidelines, and numerous curriculum-driven activities to engage young readers in the works of notable people whose lives were shaped by the…

This publication was developed to encourage United States educators to add a significant Canadian dimension to their social studies teaching. Though there is a growing teacher interest in Canada, teachers are often not adequately prepared. The 10 authors of the articles contained in this volume view Canada from a wide variety of perspectives; they…

This book, part of a series of guides for K-12 teachers who are striving to align lively, classroom-tested practices with standards, that gathers together brief articles spotlighting suggestions for effective instruction. Noting that the upper elementary years are crucial ones in students' literacy development, the book opens with diverse ways for…

These lessons were developed by participants in a 1986 Fulbright Group Project Abroad sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. The lessons were developed cooperatively and are aimed at the middle school student. Lessons include: (1) "The Qin Dynasty" (Marte…

These teacher developed lessons focus on the Civil War's impact on east Tennessee. The forum for develop ling the lessons includes a series of inservice lectures by experts in the areas of Civil War scholarship and interpretation, tours, and hands-on experiences at historic sites in the region. During the week-long program, teachers traveled…

This curriculum packet contains two teacher-developed lesson plans, for use in the upper elementary grades, which focus on urban life. The first lesson plan, "Connecting Downtown" (Michael Gray), studies how engineering and design can make cities more efficient places. It provides a brief discussion on how people travel within large…

This curriculum packet contains two lesson plans about cities and architecture intended for use with students in upper elementary grades and middle schools. The first lesson plan, "City People, City Stories" (Jan Ham), states that understanding architecture and cities must begin with an understanding of the people of the city. The children create…

Intended for teachers of grades 4-8, this book presents eight plays based on classic mysteries by famous writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ellery Queen, Dashiell Hammett, and O. Henry. The excitement of mystery stories offers a great way to introduce young people to the pleasures of reading. The plays in the book have…

The Student Merit Award Program was designed to motivate, stimulate and reward students for their study and achievement outside the mathematics classroom by providing enrichment material on a variety of mathematical topics. In general, these topics are either not found in the standard middle school curriculum or represent a more in-depth study of…

These teacher developed lessons focus on the impact of the New Deal and World War II on east Tennessee. The forum for developing the lessons included a series of lectures by experts in 20th-century scholarship and interpretation, tours, and experiences at historic sites in the region. During the week long program, teachers traveled throughout east…

Based on the belief that language should be the central focus for study in the reading and language arts classroom, this collection presents 10 diverse viewpoints on language study in the middle school and secondary school. The collection is divided into the following areas: studying language through literature and the arts, using writing and…

This curriculum packet contains two teacher-developed lesson plans for upper elementary students focusing on the built environment. The first lesson plan, "The Built Environment--An Integrating Theme" (Liesa Schroeder), offers suggestions for developing a walking tour around the school neighborhood, a historic area, or a city square. It…