An internationally acclaimed program that challenges American notions of appropriate early education is the municipal early childhood program in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The town's liberal financial support of child care and citizen membership in school committees indicate strong community support. Parents are involved in school policy discussions,…

Bringing together peer teaching and collaborative learning, this book presents many specific ideas for elementary teachers to use in their classrooms and explains the principles behind the practices. Six diverse scenarios are presented which represent real experiences of teachers and their students at work in successful peer-learning classrooms.…

This collection of class activities is intended to provide approaches to values discussion and clarification at all levels of the public school. Activities are presented for elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school pupils, and for ranges encompassing the entire range or various sequential ranges of grades. Subject areas…

Philosophical and methodological differences exist regarding how best to instruct and encourage young children to read and write. In America, teaching reading and writing to young children has always been an area of controversy and debate, and it remains so today. The purpose of this digest is to review various studies and to identify essential…

An antibias curriculum seeks to nurture children's potential by addressing issues of diversity and equity in the classroom. Goals of antibias curricula are to foster children's self-identity, interaction with people from diverse backgrounds, critical thinking about bias, and ability to stand up for themselves in the face of bias. The first phase…

This Digest recounts the varied experiences, for both elementary school students and teachers, of producing a classroom newspaper. In the particular instance discussed in the Digest, for the students, it was a chance to collaborate with their peers, to pursue their own special interests, and to see their work published. For the teacher-adviser, it…

This digest considers teacher- and child-initiated strategies for enhancing young children's self-expression and creativity. When teachers think about art and creative activities for children, it is important for them to consider that young children: (1) are developmentally capable of classroom experiences which call for (and practice) higher…

Listening is a critical element in the competent language performance of adult second language learners. Listening is a demanding process, because of both the process itself and factors that characterize the listener, speaker, message content, and any accompanying visual support. The speaker's use of colloquial language and reduced forms,…

The essence of a healthy democracy is open dialogue about issues of public concern. An integral part of the training of young citizens, therefore, includes the discussion of controversial social, political, and economic policies. The use of classroom discussions as a pedagogical technique to examine controversial issues is explored by considering:…

It has been reported that very little time is spent in the classroom on environmental education subjects unless the teacher has a special interest in the specific topic of study. This lack of time for environmental education coupled with the lack of adequate time allotted for mathematics and science instruction suggests that integrating the…

Suggesting that students in the primary grades can explore the world around them and practice valuable skills in spelling, reading, writing, communication, and language, this book presents cross-curricular units on "people around us" that reach diverse needs by working through emotional memory, deductive reasoning, and multiple intelligences.…