While written exercises may serve students adequately on tests, the structures they emphasize can remain elusive or difficult for students to master in conversation. Students tend to interpret their difficulty in applying what they have learned as a lack of language ability, and they can quickly lose confidence when speaking. Producing a target…

Videotapes are a popular medium for classroom instruction. Author reviews 20 recent video releases that range in subject from "Why Doesn't Grass Grow on the Moon?" to "Problem-Solving in the Real World." A list of film distributors is provided. (JL)

Presents instructional unit as example of materials developed for use in FLEX programs. Purpose of unit is to introduce students to German and the culture of the people who speak it, with a global perspective. (BK)

Describes a computer activity (for Apple II) showing junior high students with some programing experience how to make words/letters in original programed poetry move on the computer screen (and gives practice using simple arrays, FOR..NEXT loops, and DATA statements). Includes the complete activity which can be duplicated for classroom use. (JN)

Seventh grade students studied the Victorian period using a 4-6 week interdisciplinary unit that integrated language arts, mathematics, art, science, social studies, music, home economics, parents, and business into the program. The main goals were to help students understand the importance of all curriculum subjects; comprehend how subjects are…

An intensive five-day all-day humanities course on 18th century thought and culture for eighth graders that involved 11 different departments is described. The course helped students recognize that what they were taught in one class could reinforce and illuminate what they were learning in another course. (RM)

The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science in Japan revised its standards for educational materials to be provided in schools and promulgated a new "Standard Educational Materials List" on March 17, 1991. This manual provides information about the new list first in Japanese and then in an English language version. The new list…

In this project, eighth grade students are exposed to black history, literature, music, and art to enhance the understanding of diversity and to establish an atmosphere of tolerance for diversity. Students are asked to choose a personality or significant historical event to research and present to the class. They focus on issues such as prejudice,…

The Paula Program in music for gifted girls in middle schools, developed by St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, is described. How the program was designed is discussed and activities and materials selected for classroom use are briefly described. (RM)

Presents an exercise in which an eighth-grade science teacher decorated the classroom with a periodic table of students. Student photographs were arranged according to similarities into vertical columns. Students were each assigned an atomic number according to their placement in the table. The table is then used to teach students about…

Low vision students can be helped to gain an understanding of map reading and geography by means of products developed by the American Printing House for the Blind. Among those products are a series of eight land form models with accompanying audiotapes, a series of continental color coded relief maps, and 18 audiotapes for the six continents. The…

Describes growth of computer science program in Chetek Junior High School (Wisconsin), from having a single DecWriter II terminal to 14 microprocessors, electronic training devices, and a sequence of computer science courses. Students learn about basic computer literacy, hardware, software, programing, and computer technology. (EAO)

Describes a four-volume reference set for elementary and middle school students called "The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students" edited by William Chester Jordan. Provides a sample lesson which includes library media skills objectives, curriculum objectives, grade levels, resources, instructional roles, activity and procedures for…

Argues effective learning requires suitable resources and that teachers can reap great rewards by establishing cooperative partnerships with local communities to gain access to otherwise unavailable resources. Uses the example of planning, executing, and implementing a Geographic Information System (GIS) in a Canadian urban junior high school…

Junior high schools in three states are currently participating in Science Resources for Schools (SRS), a three-year pilot project designed to link schools with the scientific community. Highlights of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-directed program and program materials are described. Other AAAS educational activities…