Describes an approach to assisting seventh-grade students' comprehension of individual texts with a Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE). Includes an outline of the scaffolded reading experience. Describes a classroom study of the effect of using SREs. Finds SREs can increase students' comprehension of short stories. (SG)

Presents the Main Idea Organizer (MIO) to help students who may struggle with writing, reading, and thinking--though in different ways and for different reasons. Describes many different ways the author uses the MIO. (SG)

Offers some advice and help for writing longer works such as a novel or a master's thesis. Discusses novel writing as a classroom project and presents several suggestions for what to write about and how to get started. Discusses novel writing for adults. (SC)

Describes a 90-minute lesson on urban nature writing that was taught as part of a 12-week journal writing course for middle school students. Notes class discussions debating "what is natural" as an inspiration for "urban nature writing." Considers differences in discussion between the grade levels 6-8. Concludes that benefits…

This book captures the power of young people's visual responses to literature. It recounts the experience of a teacher who encouraged her students to respond to their readings through sketched interpretations--and, like pieces of writing, the sketches became a vital part of the curriculum as vehicles for discussion and reflective tools for…

Describes a six-week seventh-grade project in which students create their own continent. The project helps students learn about weather and climatic patterns, use map scales and legends, describe relationships between natural resources and human activities, solve problems, and work effectively in groups. (Author/KC)

Discusses cooperative learning in the social studies classroom, highlighting the Jigsaw Strategy--a cooperative learning technique used to encourage students to interact, exchange ideas with peers, and gain confidence in the learning process. Presents an example of its use from a grade seven unit on Canada's native people. (GEA)

This manual illustrates an interdisciplinary team approach to teaching four academic subjects for seventh grade students. Eight interdisciplinary units are presented that were developed by teachers around two or more of the following subject areas: language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. An introduction to the Block Plan, as it…

Presents a series of lesson plans for a seventh-grade world studies class. The lessons use the discovery of a 5,300-year-old "iceman" in the Austrian Alps as a starting point for a series of simulated archaeological activities. Includes descriptions and drawings of the iceman's remains and artifacts. (MJP)