As the number of jobs in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) workforce grows exponentially, there has never been a more important time to provide students with real-world learning opportunities that have 21st century implications. Measuring things that matter is a fundamental skill that formulates the backbone of many concepts…

The purpose of this document is to provide teachers with a uniform guide and uniform standards for writing skills, and with general style principles which will provide for an easy flow of student skill development in grades one through six. Included under the major heading of General Skills are: Ten Steps to Better Writing; The Proper Heading;…

This paper outlines the elementary school gifted pupil's need for instruction in research strategies as an integral part of an ongoing unit. A program is described in which pupils select areas of investigation and participate in gathering, organizing, interpreting, and sharing relevant data. (JDD)

Incorporating social studies, science, reading, writing, and the arts, this project encourages students in the elementary and junior high grades to create models of research and create the particular elements of the country through arts, crafts, foods, and dress. If the whole school participates and creates many different foreign lands, students…

Too often students enter high school without being exposed to the research process and are often overwhelmed by the complex task of selecting and narrowing of a topic, developing research questions, writing the text, and appropriately documenting sources. This paper delineates specific learning activities that will simplify the process to make it…

This article details a project for teaching elementary school students to understand and accept multicultural differences. This task is made easier by involving actual international visitors. Students need a considerable amount of background information before an international visitor comes to class. In preparing for a visitor, students can…

Suggesting that now is the time to begin developing the skills and strategies to handle the wealth of information available, this booklet shows teachers how to use a variety of nonfiction trade books to help students in grades 1-6 question, acquire, and use information. The booklet's introductory section describes nonfiction trade books'…

Oral history is a valuable teaching technique to use with elementary students because it provides a sense of self-identity; nurtures a concept of neighborhood; develops research and writing skills; and encourages a sense of curiosity, wonder, and excitement about history. Suggestions for beginning an elementary oral history project are presented.…

Describes how one fourth-grade teacher developed a Web site to build online research skills. The Day I Was Born helps students find interesting details about what was occurring in the world on their birth day. Suitable for grades 4 and up, it provides links to such sources as the New York Times Learning Network and History Channel On-Line. (SM)

This guide for teachers of grades 3 through 8 provides a collection of self-directed projects for either individuals or small groups. Suitable for use in classroom learning centers, the guide is divided into 7 sections. Section 1, Working with Literature, offers activities for teaching reading using novels, student-made novel packets, fiction…

One aspect of children's daily lives--the school itself--is often ignored as a source of readily available data for student activities. School-based research activities that require students to collect, organize, and interpret data are described. For example, students conduct research on how students travel to and from school?

This book contains multicultural "treasure hunts" designed for use by teachers and librarians working with grades five through eight to: develop students' awareness of cultures other than their own; promote student research that requires using books other than an encyclopedia; provide students with annotated reference lists that may be used for…

This book presents a collection of motivating, independent activities that involve animals and plants for use in developing the research skills of students in grades 2-6. Projects included in the book cover various levels of difficulty and are designed to promote higher-level thinking skills. Research components included in the activities in the…

Provides fully developed library media activities designed to be used in connection with specific curriculum units, including physical education, reading and language arts, and science. For each activity, the objectives of the exercise, resources, instructional roles of librarians and teachers, procedures involved, evaluation, and follow-up…

Provides fully developed library media activities designed to be used in connection with specific curriculum units, including art, reading and language arts, science, and social studies. For each activity, the objectives of the exercise, resources needed, instructional roles of librarians and teachers, procedures involved, evaluation, and…