This social studies curriculum guide is designed to challenge academically talented middle school students, encourage them to acquire and use critical thinking skills, and recognize the importance of global awareness. Areas of study include Latin America and Canada for grade six, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia for grade seven, and U.S.…

This 3-week teaching unit on Japan is designed to promote inspiration and motivation for teaching about Japanese culture to elementary students. The booklet contains course objectives, teacher instructions, a list of instructional materials and films, and a daily outline consisting of class activities and teacher guidance instructions. The first…

This publication presents a set of successfully field-tested teaching procedures for helping children in grades 3-6 generate a working economic system in their classroom. The developer believes that children will learn economic concepts through real, as opposed to vicarious, experience by playing active, rather than passive, roles in learning…

Decribes one poet's experience in a writing residency in a Brooklyn intermediate school. Discusses collaboration with teachers, and collecting and publishing an anthology of student poems. Comments on the positive atmosphere and teaching philosophy of this particular school. (JG)

The Cultural Exchange program in California is a model supplementary social science curriculum available to California teachers. Students start with their own ethnic heritage and then explore cultural diversity at the community, national, and international levels. Graphics, activities, and materials are designed for fourth- through eighth-grade…

This lesson will introduce intermediate students to the Japanese poetic form of "haiku," which is most effectively taught after students have an understanding of syllables. The lesson plan's introductory activity is designed to introduce students to the geography of Japan, as well as Japanese culture through Asian art and music--after…

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to answering questions using information gathered through direct observations,…

Child labor in the United States is the focus of this unit of study for grades 5 and up. This unit contains four elements: (1) a list of documents with their specific archival reference numbers and a brief synopsis of their historical significance to the unit's theme; (2) a set of reproductions of documents; (3) 13 separate classroom activities;…

Suggesting that students in the intermediate grades can explore the world around them and practice valuable skills in spelling, reading, writing, communication, and language, this book presents cross-curricular units designed to integrate language-arts activities into the study of European cultures. The units in the book reach diverse needs by…

Suggesting that students in the intermediate grades can explore the world around them and practice valuable skills in spelling, reading, writing, communication, and language, this book presents cross-curricular units designed to integrate language-arts activities into the study of Central and South American cultures. The units in the book reach…

Suggesting that students in the intermediate grades can explore the world around them and practice valuable skills in spelling, reading, writing, communication, and language, this book presents cross-curricular units designed to integrate language-arts activities into the study of Asian and Australian cultures. The units in the book reach diverse…

Fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms were observed, and a social climate questionnaire and the Test Anxiety Scale for Children were administered. Analysis of variance showed that high-structured classrooms had the most work involvement. Both high child activity and low control by teachers were related to more active deviancy. (Author/RD)

Describes a broad variety of instructional ideas and activities designed to make history come alive for the intermediate grades. These include personal time lines, interviewing grandparents, and show and tell with personal artifacts. Includes a section of activities designed specifically to work with historical fiction. (MJP)

Discusses interviews of third- and sixth-grade students and their teachers regarding their perceptions of what makes a student a successful responder in classroom interaction. Findings reveal that students designated by their teachers as "effective responders" could articulate behavioral and content features of effect response, whereas…

Describes a prototype for the use of local area network (LAN) technology in a sixth grade earth science curriculum. Classroom activities that focus on cooperative small group learning are discussed, coordinated investigations as a framework for scientific activities in the classroom are explained, and possible future work with LAN environments is…