Children born after 2010 are labelled as members of Generation Alpha, who currently pursue their primary education. Gamification and game-based learning methodologies have gained popularity in the global education sector in the recent past. The goal of this study is to investigate the present state of adopting gamification and game-based learning…

We describe how mathematical argumentation supports curiosity and exploration by sharing a first-grade lesson in which students explored decomposition with subtraction. We also reflect on the conditions that supported the inclusion of mathematical argumentation.

The authors describe the benefits of elementary school gardening experiences and offer suggestions on how to nurture positive environmental attitudes among children through garden-based learning activities.

Successful comprehension is only possible when children draw inferences about ideas implicit or missing in discourse. Supporting inference-making with explicit instruction must start early given its importance in comprehension and knowledge development. However, students who experience difficulties with early reading skills often do not receive…

Successful comprehension is only possible when children draw inferences about ideas implicit or missing in discourse. Supporting inference-making with explicit instruction must start early given its importance in comprehension and knowledge development. However, students who experience difficulties with early reading skills often do not receive…

This article describes a comprehensive framework (iDISC) for the close reading of informational texts for elementary students that may need additional language, social, memory, or behavioral supports. The article introduces concrete tools that are used before, during, and after close reading, including cue-cards, language stems, discussion…

The activity presented in this article is part of a four-part module that centers earthquakes as a common phenomenon that students experience and introduces the idea of a resonant frequency. When the seismic waves from an earthquake encounter a building, the subsequent oscillating motion of the ground causes the building to move back and forth.…

An essential element of creative musicianship is the ability to seek, provide, and respond to feedback. This article presents a method of teaching elementary music students to respond to creative work in a way that is productive and uplifting, using a discussion protocol. Grounded in the work of Lerman and Borstel's critical response and Seidel's…

Typically, vocabulary instruction is associated as part of reading instruction. However, vocabulary instruction is also a necessary component of mathematics instruction. In fact, state and national standards (e.g., Common Core State Standards) require elementary students to communicate about mathematics to provide clear explanations, construct…

Children at the beginning of their formal educational experiences are developing cognitively, socially, and emotionally. However, due to the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, many children are behind in these developmental areas. Self-awareness is a foundation of students' understandings of themselves and the world around them. Without a…

In a highly technological society, teachers need to help students grow as technoskeptical citizens who can think deeply about technologies to consider their collateral, unintended, and disproportionate effects on society. This article presents a technoskeptical Inquiry Design Model (IDM) lesson where upper elementary students critically inquire…

The authors wondered if there was a way to support their reluctant Grades 4, 5, and 6 students in contributing their starting points and strategies and advancing their collective knowledge. They wanted to ensure that the students had the space to develop and take ownership of the strategies they produced through a visual representation of ideas…

The authors provide an overview of teaching war and explore ways to situate these notions in the elementary classroom. As part of this discussion, they offer a guide for selecting appropriate texts for a thematic text set for children involving issues of war and peace.

Culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) that builds on and sustains students' cultural and linguistic practices is important for students' academic achievement and identities. While CSP is applicable to any content area, a critical time to incorporate it is during differentiated reading groups--small-group contexts that provide explicit code-based…

Teachers can make number talks more ambitious and increase learning opportunities for students by debugging errors, promoting multi-student thinking, and orienting to make connections. This article describes the basic number talks routine and examines some common tendencies, such as "Serial Sharing." It concludes with a vignette to…