During the 2001-02 academic year, a purposive, national evaluation was undertaken of "Windows on Literacy" and "Reading Expeditions," two new school-based programs produced by the School Publishing Division of the National Geographic Society (NGS). The evaluation sought to determine the efficacy of the new materials for…

A substantial amount of research and curriculum development completed over the past 2 decades can be used to improve the teaching of U.S. history to young children. This digest discusses: (1) insights from recent research; (2) insights from recent curriculum development; and (3) connections of research to curriculum development. The digest…

Discusses instructional approaches to content area reading that are described in ERIC documents. Among the areas discussed are prereading activities; strategies to support comprehension as students read; an integrated approach to vocabulary, comprehension, and textbook organization; and kits of materials for integrating reading skills into content…

Discusses materials available to the teacher who wishes to incorporate creative dramatics, music, art, film, or a combination of arts into language arts instruction. (AEA)

Describes the ERIC system and how teachers can use it. Annotates materials in the system of interest to elementary school language arts teachers, dealing with composition instruction. (HTH)

Intended for teachers, this digest shows that the computer can offer many efficient tools for expression, student control of writing, and instruction beyond the grammar and spelling drills most commonly associated with computers. The digest discusses the goals of the language arts curriculum, the role of the computer in the language arts…

Various elementary school foreign language programs (FLES) are introduced, including, regular FLES, content-based FLES, and exploratory foreign language programs (FLEX), and a description of each of the programs is presented. The following questions are addressed: (1) Where should FLES programs meet? (2) How are FLES and FLEX programs staffed? (3)…

Closed captioning is the process by which audio portions of television programs are transcribed into words that appear on the television screen at the same time as the program. This digest focuses on using closed captioned television for teaching limited-English-speaking literacy learners, and looks at: (1) the educational uses of closed captioned…

The purpose of this essay is to explore contemporary early childhood educational practices related to self-esteem and to distinguish self-esteem from narcissism. After discussing practices and materials that are intended to foster self-esteem but may contribute to self-preoccupation, the essay examines some of the distinctions between self-esteem…

Many school staff and their client communities are concerned about pupil achievement, skills, and attitudes related to science. To respond to these concerns, staff need to determine how they can improve their science programs by modifying the content and skills emphasized in the curriculum, changing and supplementing instructional materials,…

Many school staff and their client communities are concerned about student achievement, skills, and attitudes related to science. To respond to these concerns, staff need to determine how they can improve their science programs by modifying the content and skills emphasized in the curriculum, changing and supplementing instructional materials,…

This digest reviews the recent history of advertising to children, spotlights controversial marketing efforts, and examines the nature of commercial messages directed toward children in public schools. Because of the increase in children's spending power in recent decades, advertisers have closely targeted children as consumers. Advertising…

The first Montessori school was founded in Rome in 1907. There was interest in Montessori's methods in the United States between 1910 and 1920, but these methods were forgotten until after 1950, when a second Montessori movement began in the United States. Some schools with Montessori programs are affiliated with the Association Montessori…

By playing with toys, children sometimes wonder how and why toys do what they do. At the moment of curiosity, interest can be captured and thinking can be influenced. This is a good time to focus on natural phenomena, provoke imagination, and promote scientific thinking. This book presents 53 classroom-tested activities to teach science with toys.…

Picture books are useful tools for teaching many abstract and complex concepts of the social studies at the elementary level. They allow students to develop visual literacy through sustained viewing time necessary for exploration, critique, and reflection on the images portrayed. Numerous examples of picture books are presented to support such…