Despite the benefits shown by cooperative learning research, schools foster environments in which students vie for attention and individual achievement. Cooperative learning empowers students and teachers. Cooperation enhances academic achievement and teaches social skills. (BC)

Identifies basic concepts and skills of critical television viewing. Advertisers' and programers' appeals are discussed, and possible critical viewing activities for the elementary school classroom are suggested. (10 references) (MES)

Provides review of related research on the use of songs as a therapeutic interventions with children and presents a case example of the therapeutic benefits of songwriting using a rap style. Sees songwriting as a unique form of storytelling which has received little attention in professional literature. Contends that its therapeutic rewards for…

Includes "It Is No Longer Vocational Agriculture" (Hillison); "Do We Still Need Agricultural Education" (Vaughn); "'Academic' Dimension of Instruction in and about Agriculture" (Warmbrod); "Agricultural Education" (Hillison); "Teaching Elementary Students in Fast Changing Times" (Layfield, Knobloch, Davis); "An Indictment" (Bajerma); and "Ag…

Globalization trends are creating a new world order that in term affects the lives of children. It is importance to maintain an international perspective when addressing the issues related to children's readiness to learn. Both public and private funding are increasingly becoming available to help children begin school ready to learn, even in…

Summarizes growing body of evidence relating small school size at elementary and middle grades to positive student outcomes. Notes that positive outcomes associated with small size relate to teacher commitment and effectiveness as well as student attachment, persistence, and performance. Concludes that smaller, more intimate schools are better…

Maintains that the neglect of elementary school populations in violence intervention programs is related to society's definition of the word "violence" and ignorance about developmental precursors to serious violence. Discusses successful European interventions and suggests guidelines for future research and programs. (JPS)

Describes recent reductions or elimination of recess at the elementary school level. Discusses the benefits of recess for children's intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development. Argues that recess has educational and social values and should not be eliminated from the school day. (KB)

This brief article describes one third-grade classroom's experience engaging in a lesson plan inspired by Larry Yanez's "Cocina Jaiteca" and images of the cheerful kitchen. In the lesson, the students were to draw their own kitchens based on their observations of the many details in Yanez's kitchen example, such as the calendar on the wall,…

This article focuses in on one teacher's kindergarten through grade 5 classroom experiences at Tennessee's Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. While, this teaching range allows the teacher to witness the growth and development of students, as with every school, there are times when young people's attention tends to wander, and the…

This article is written in response to the article published in issue 39.3 of this journal, in November 2005, on the nature of the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum reading tests: "Examining England's National Curriculum assessments: an analysis of the KS2 reading test questions" by Anne Kispal of the National Foundation for Educational…

This article reports on the English National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) and, in particular, on the way in which children aged from 8- to 11-years-old view "interactive whole class teaching". A qualitative, grounded study of both teachers' and children's perceptions of interactive teaching was undertaken, making use of "video stimulated…

Generally, teenage pregnancy is considered a detriment to society. Louisiana has the third highest rate of adolescent pregnancy of any state in the nation. The Louisiana Sex Education in Public Schools Act (1979) effectively prohibits information about the human reproductive system until the seventh grade. The basic "Choices and Changes" program…

Maintains that teachers' use of classroom poetry provides opportunities for children to respond to ideas, feelings, and events. Examples illustrate how poetry offers readers/listeners invitations to participate: invitations to identify with others, gain new perspectives, retell stories, move with the sound of language, and respond to one's own…

Argues that many children have difficulty learning school mathematics because its abstract and formal nature is much different from the intuitive and informal mathematics the children acquire. Begins by differentiating form and understanding and then focuses on young children's beginning skills and older children's knowledge. Concludes by…