Concept of cooperative literacy implies an obligation of educators to increase all students' literacy and numeracy skills. Adapting cooperative learning as both a classroom management and a learning strategy helps manifest this responsibility across the curriculum. Two self-monitoring strategies are the Team Tally Sheet (to help students manage…

Presents the T-H-E-M-E-S system for designing interdisciplinary learning activities for middle school students. Participating teachers are urged to think up a monstrous list of themes, hone the list and group themes into three manageable lots, extrapolate selection criteria, manipulate and process themes, expand into activities triggered by…

Although the Holocaust was an assault on Jews, gypsies, and gays, it has universal implications for everyone. This article explains several approaches to teaching the Holocaust, including literature about teenagers facing complex moral issues, interdisciplinary methods, interviews of survivors, field trips to temples or synagogues, research…

Studying global economic system helps middle-school students unravel complexities of world economics by focusing on other countries, their motivations as consumers, and their decision-making processes. By examining interrelationship of economics and everyday life, students can see their place in economic chain. Concepts such as marketing, stock…

Describes a thematic, interdisciplinary, middle-school curriculum that integrates visual and language arts. Curriculum embodies three principles: (1) visual and verbal responses depend on meaningful interaction among the artist (writer), the art object (text), the viewer (reader), and the environment (context); (2) visual and verbal thinking are…

Drama is a way of learning through role playing and problem solving. The dramatic process calls for self-awareness, communication skills, concentration, and group cooperation. A linear drama approach enables teachers to provide drama activities in a comfortable step-by-step sequence. Incorporating drama into content instruction allows students to…

Using a unit on earthworms, this article shows how science and language arts can be successfully integrated in a middle school classroom through hands-on observation, interviewing, and writing exercises. The integration process engages students, uses class time more efficiently, encourages dialog, and improves outcomes and appreciation of the…