Discusses the teaching of ecology and environmental education in urban environments by using field trips to city parks, airports, nuclear power plants, water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, incinerators, foundries, and forests. (MKR)

Considers current research on students' intertextual encounters. Examines the relationship between intertextuality and inquiry learning and how developing pedagogy on the basis of these fields provides students with larger arenas in which to make intellectual connections. Evaluates benefits of multitext inquiry by describing how at-risk urban…

This notebook serves as a guide for learning activities in environmental education. Twelve themes are treated in four groups: (1) sense of place includes history and landscape; (2) the natural environment covers air, water, energy, and landforms; (3) the built environment includes architecture, transportation, and housing; and (4) the social…

Describes a grade eight course which focused on the neighborhood surrounding an inner city school. The course's objectives were to have students identify architectural features and their relations to architectural styles; ascertain the dominant style and date of probable period of construction; and make a composite map of the area, showing…

Discusses how an English teacher in an inner-city, comprehensive high school used dialogue journals to bridge the chasm between the teacher's academic intentions and the private and social intentions the students hold for themselves. Suggests that finding ways to connect students' social interests to academic intentions can result in powerful…

There is a mandate for teachers who are trained to meet the needs of the increasingly more culturally diverse populations, particularly in urban schools. General competencies which all teachers of urban learners should develop include respect for cultural differences and a belief in the abilities of culturally different learners. Additionally,…

Noting that one of the biggest challenges facing teachers in the late 20th century is knowing how to help students learn to use a computer as a literacy tool, this brochure shares six ways that one kindergarten teacher successfully incorporated the computer as an informal literacy tool in her classroom. The brochure first discusses the teacher…

Notes how the authors visited a sixth-grade classroom in an urban setting to teach students about jazz using children's literature. Describes how they played the music, talked about its basic structure and unique characteristics, read books aloud about the major musicians, and encouraged the students to experience the music for themselves. (SG)

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…

Included in this module are five activities dealing with energy conservation in the urban environment. The activities include: (1) conducting an energy inventory; (2) the physical nature of temperature, space, and insulation and their effects on energy use; (3) blackouts; (4) the sellers and consumers of energy; (5) energy conservation…

Included in this module are five activities dealing with modes of transportation in the urban environment. The activities include: (1) a discussion of transportation considerations in urban areas; (2) discussion of bikeways and their desirability in the urban environment; (3) the bikeway and the environment; (4) designing a bikeway; and (5)…

Describes teaching "Useful Grammar" to inner-city middle school children in Jackson, Mississippi. Discusses key elements of Useful Grammar: identifying and focusing on grammatical structures; relying on knowledge already possessed; inventing more memorable nomenclature; devising lesson plans and hands-on activities; and having students practice…

Discusses the four-week summer Memphis (Tennessee) Urban Writing Institute, during which a furor erupted over the dilemma of grading. Provide a number of approaches to grading students' writing, including minimalist grading, cassette grading, collaborative grading, and portfolio grading. Suggests that teachers consider the grading dilemma and…

Describes two assignments that attempt to reconcile the history of minority high school and college students in Flint, Michigan. States that the first assignment is a profile paper--an interview of someone in the community. Explains that the second exercise encourages students to see and use their world and their words as text. (PA)

Describes how a first-grade bilingual program in Tucson, Arizona became class pen pals throughout the year with inner-city second graders from Toledo, Ohio. Notes that this would prove beneficial for lessons in reading and writing and would promote their knowledge about their city and state. Discusses how it expanded into cross-curricular lessons…