Presents suggestions for elementary-level teachers to use at the beginning of the school year, including meet the teacher activities, back-to-school parades, a welcome bulletin board, bereavement coping skills, creative science, math manipulatives, social studies activities, and creative story writing. (SM)

This primary unit uses rainbows to provide young children inspiration for learning in the areas of language arts, science, art, social studies, and math. (MT)

Fourteen examples are given of teacher-created day-long celebrations which are designed to sharpen students' thinking skills and incorporate math, science, reading, and language arts. The special days include Janus Day, Twins Day, Friendship Day, Interactive Reading Fair, Sixties Day, Clash Day, Generation Day, and Back-to-the-Future Day. (IAH)

Recruit the best decorating corps you have for this year's classroom makeover--your students! Not only does involving kids save money and effort on your part, teachers agree that it increases kids' sense of involvement and respect. In this article, the author presents 10 teacher-tested ideas for a classroom that shines with color and learning: (1)…

An intermediate unit to celebrate National Library Week by broadening students' awareness of the library as a resource is suggested. Activities involve social studies, math, language arts, arts, and science. (MT)

Discusses the use of drill in learning basic math facts and provides suggestions for developing good practice in reading for communication at fifth grade and beyond. (Author/RK)

Describes a class project of elementary students and their teachers, and how both learned about tidal zones and the marine life inhabiting them. (RK)

This article presents ideas for turning elementary-level nonreaders into readers. Activities include teachers'"all-about-me letters" to gain insight into students' interests, and interviewing students to document their use of reading strategies. A reading strategy record sheet for the student interviews is included. (SM)

The article presents a video-based unit on camouflage for students in grades K-5, explaining how to make the classroom VCR a dynamic teaching tool. Information is offered on introducing the unit, active viewing strategies, and follow-up activities. Tips for teaching with video are included. (SM)

This article outlines the steps in an art activity on the elements of landscapes and touches on the topic of perspective. In the activity students create three-dimensional secret gardens of their own out of construction paper. The activity is based on Claude Monet's painting and his garden in Giverny (Normandy, France). (SM)

Plans for science units on mold and other fungi are presented. Tasks for primary and intermediate pupils are included. (MT)

Presents ideas for starting the school year in a creative way, including: playing a guess-who detective game to acquaint students with each other, involving students in creating a set of resolutions for the year, greeting students with party hats and a warmup craft activity, and creating individual time capsules with students' personal goals. (SM)

When teachers set a standard and model courteous behavior, students learn that good manners are aspects of caring and respect. The paper presents class activities that put courtesy in context, including role playing, creating comic strips, reading appropriate books, and creating a paper chain marking courteous behavior by the students. (SM)

Presents suggestions to assist elementary teachers in engaging their students in investigating real environments to develop true self-esteem and learn to cope with occasional frustration or negative feedback. One sidebar discusses how much self-esteem is enough. Another sidebar suggests questions to ask before praising a child. (SM)

Presents three activities to help elementary students make connections across the generations. Activities include: interviewing grandparents about the toys they played with and how they spent their time; collecting grandparents' words of wisdom and putting them into a book; and gathering the many names students call their grandparents to use in a…