Research suggests that students at all grade levels perform better in school when parents support teachers and become involved in the school's functioning. Surveys indicate that many parents want to help their children but do not know how. Offered are activities that can be shared with parents of elementary children. Suggestions for an activity…

Exploratorium Magazine communicates ideas that exhibits cannot easily demonstrate, extending the museum beyond its physical walls. This issue takes an in-depth look at the science and history of paper. Topics include: (1) Fascinating Facts about Paper; (2) A Closer Look at the Paper in This Magazine; (3) Handmade Paper; (4) Paper Airplanes; (5)…

This series of journals includes volumes 1-4 of "Growing Ideas," a journal of garden-based learning. Each issue provides instructional ideas, horticultural information and a forum for exchange among teachers using classroom gardening to stimulate learning. Ideas in each issue are separated into three sections. The "Green Tips"…

Activities for teaching about the solar system, the earth's rotation, plants, pendulums, and animal adaptation are described. Included are suggestions for building scale models to illustrate the solar system's proportions and the earth's rotation speed, and for using playground swings to demonstrate pendulum motion. (PP)

A joint publication of the New York and New Jersey State Councils for the Social Studies, "Social Science Docket" presents K-12 teachers with resources covering the social science disciplines, including history, economics, political science, sociology, geography, anthropology, and psychology. Each issue includes theme-related and…

Noting that children's questions are usually complex and thereby provide a natural learning context for inquiry-based early childhood education, this booklet focuses on using children's scientific questions as a foundation for planning and creating a stimulating learning environment. Following an introduction, the booklet provides suggestions for…

Designed for classroom use, this publication provides an overview of the first Space Shuttle/Spacelab mission, a cooperative venture between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The main purpose of ESA's Spacelab, which will be carried aboard NASA's Space Shuttle (technically called the…

Designed for students in grades 4-6, the teaching unit presents illustrations and facts about snakes. Topics include common snakes found in the United States, how snakes eat, how snakes shed their skin, poisonous snakes, the Eastern Indigo snake, and the anatomy of a snake. A student page includes a crossword puzzle and surprising snake facts. A…

Part of a series which offers educational resources and teaching techniques related to major social issues to high school social studies classroom teachers, the guide focuses on government regulation. The document is presented in four major chapters. Chapter I explores how economic and political science frameworks can be used to analyze policy…

Reading is one of the disciplines that can be meaningful in integrating mathematics and science. One way to consider the connection between children's literature and mathematics is to consider how fictional literature might influence a child's thinking about the issues that are involved in the scientific enterprises. This document presents…

First in a series which offers educational resources and teaching techniques related to major social issues to high school social studies classroom teachers, the guide focuses on political and economic aspects of health care in the United States. The document is presented in four major chapters. Chapter I explores how economic and political…

Elementary school activities designed for celebraing the significant dates of each school month, excluding December, are described in this compilation. The collection covers birthdays of well-known people, historical events, mathematics, writing, reading, science, history, social studies, art, and cooking. (JW)

This document includes an introduction to the role of government in the production of public goods and services and 3 brief teaching units. The introduction describes the nature of a mixed economy and points out why most people identify the production of goods and services with private enterprise rather than government. It develops a rationale for…

This issue explains the concept of externalities (benefits or burdens which accrue to society when there is a difference between the private cost or benefit of an action and the social cost or benefit of that action). These external or social costs of individual actions are often referred to as spillover costs. Three brief teaching units follow…

This teaching guide begins with an explanation of the role of money in the economy, focusing on its circulation or exchange. The use of money as a unit of account, a store of value, and a medium of exchange are explained. Three brief teaching units are included. The grade K-2 unit, "Money Counts," provides games and activities which develop the…