When the teaching of strategies for understanding literature crowds out a close reading of literary works themselves, something is amiss in language arts instruction, and students lose out. This has become the case in too many elementary and even secondary classrooms today, Senechal believes. Using a strategy-based lesson proposed by Stephanie…

This article presents the authors' critique of lessons proposed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The authors initiate a discussion about content that they hope will play out in schoolhouses and statehouses across the country. They take on a different task: they present a handful of lesson ideas from P21 that could enhance studies…

Describes a fun outdoor assignment whereby secondary school students form into groups of four or five and learn about the importance of narrative setting by drawing on sidewalks with chalk. Reviews the five basic elements of setting: temporal, geographical, cultural, historical, and environmental. (TB)

Describes how a course on censorship taught at an all-girls high school in Tacoma, Washington, drew on current event controversies to initiate discussion. Outlines the course's four units and uses Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" to frame course questions. (TB)

This lesson plan, focusing on an elementary school day in Germany, is intended for use at the elementary level (grades 2-5) and requires two 30-minute class periods for implementation. The lesson plan states objectives, addresses applicable National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) standards, lists materials required, presents a rationale,…

Describes how a teacher used Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's play "Inherit the Wind," dealing with the evolution versus creation controversy, as a medium for teaching censorship issues in a Nashville, Tennessee junior high school Language Arts and Literature class. (TB)

The beginning of the school year is an excellent time for teachers to reevaluate their curriculum and think about what children really need to know. Suggestions for developing innovative and creative teaching techniques in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies are discussed. (DF)