Tested by vocational agriculture teachers in four states, this teacher's manual is part of an effort to implement the 15-year old Building Our American Communities Program in secondary schools. The manual contains detailed plans and materials for 10 lessons which cover all aspects of designing, implementing, and evaluating a community development…

This guide contains hands-on science activities to connect middle-school students to the traditional knowledge of their grandparents and elders. Because girls often lose interest in science at the middle-school level, and because women in some communities (especially in rural areas) are seldom involved in work with an obvious science basis, the…

Contains suggestions from six contributors, including the use of parents as an audience for beginning readers; outdoor activities to motivate readers; word order recognition exercise; a books-by-mail library service for rural students; using remedial students to read to younger children; and a language arts/social studies project. (FL)

Describes the University of Wyoming's use of audio teleconferencing to deliver coursework to rural teachers and other professionals fulfilling new state certification requirements in early childhood special education. Suggests teaching methods, teacher behaviors, and "classroom" techniques that increase effectiveness of teleconferencing…

As the national war on drugs continues, children and youth are told to "just say no" but are seldom given the information and skills to sort out the mixed signals coming from peers, adults, and the mass media. This guidebook presents examples of three approaches to community "storytelling" projects through which children and…

Amish children are at a disadvantage in the rural public school because of their unique traditional upbringing and multilingual society. One of the greatest areas of risk is language arts. This document provides resources and instructional tips for teachers teaching writing to Amish children in rural elementary schools. The Amish are a linguistic,…

The arts should be considered part of the basic content of any school curriculum. The arts teach us about the central nature of what it means to be human. They are an essential part of the curriculum for all learners across all ranges of abilities and talents in all schools, but perhaps especially in rural schools, where access to museums, the…

The one room school is a challenging educational setting for both teacher and student. Isolation of the school, limited availability of educational resources, and the demanding role of the school as the only formal educational institution within the community are conditions which make classroom efficiency an important consideration for the…

Contributors suggest techniques for teaching kindergarten children to read, celebrating Black Heritage Week, developing critical reading and thinking skills, building a classroom library, motivating young readers, and involving parents in reading instruction. (FL)

This instructional guide is designed for use by Peace Corps volunteers in teaching basic skills to rural residents of Mali through practical activities on school grounds. Four instructional units provide background information, definitions, illustrated descriptions of procedures, data tables, and suggested exercises for teaching in these areas:…

The purpose of this teaching guide is to introduce children in grades 1-4 and their parents to the 4-H program without the long-term commitment of the traditional 4-H club. The 4-H Clover Awareness Program was designed as an after-school program; however, it could be used in other settings such as a day camp. In addition to introducing children to…

The Entry Year Assistance Program of Educational Service Unit #11 in Nebraska is a staff development project to train mentor teachers, entry-year teachers, and school administrators in small, rural school districts. Schools that participate in the program select a team consisting of a mentor teacher, an administrator, and an entry-year teacher.…

This manual was developed as part of a project to identify and serve the needs of gifted and talented economically disadvantaged elementary and secondary level populations. Section I presents a leader's manual for a workshop that discusses innovative procedures for identifying bright children in all cultures and populations. The workshop examines…

This training guide provides guidelines and sample strategies for using the 1989 publication, "The Multigrade Resource Handbook," in a variety of professional settings ranging from teacher training programs to school and district inservice. This guide has been developed primarily for preservice teacher educators working with prospective…

This leader's guide contains materials for conducting a 1-, 2-, or 3-hour workshop to help teachers develop techniques and classroom activities that will address and alleviate student stress resulting from the rural crisis. Resources for the 1-hour program include introductory remarks, a 28-minute videotape about how the agricultural economic…