Presents an award-winning short story about a middle school student's wistful reflections on his civics teacher and the other students in his class, many of whom were pregnant, poor, or disadvantaged in some way. (TB)

Presents the story of Megan O'Rourke and her family from their life in Ireland, the experience of living through the Great Irish Famine, and their journey to New York City. States that this is a work of historical fiction. Includes a glossary of terms, questions, and activities. (CMK)

Features five poems written by children in five different classrooms in central Illinois. Describes how each class approached their writing assignments in response the attacks of September 11, 2001. (SG)

Offers advice on choosing and arranging various kinds of art work for school literary magazines. (SRT)

This book, a collection of poems by adolescents and adults, is designed to offer teachers a supplement to the standard middle school and high school literature anthologies. Divided into 11 themed sections, the collection mixes more than 100 poems by students in grades 5 to 12 with more than 40 pieces by adults, including well-known writers such as…

Presents a play that gives elementary school students a lighthearted but informative overview of middle school life. The play presents information about curriculum, lockers, physical education, materials, and classwork. Notes student reactions to the presentation. (RC)

This paper presents ideas for and examples of using poetry to teach science at the middle school and high school levels. These poems can be used to teach science lessons because they contain science terms. Students will learn science while defining and discussing these terms and realize that science relates to everything. The poems are "A Snow…

Describes a three-week summer theater program for middle and high school students. Discusses the reconstructing of Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" by students in the class from prior viewings of movie versions of the play and from students' past experiences with the play. Includes the play script as rewritten by the students. (CR)

Readers Theater is a presentation by two or more participants who read from scripts and interpret a literary work in such a way that the audience imaginatively sense characterization, setting, and action. Traditionally, the primary focus of readers theater is on an effective reading of the script, not on a dramatic presentation. The scripts in…

This play, intended for middle school and high school students, uses the historical events of the Macartney mission to China from 1792-94 to illustrate the problems that can occur when different cultures interact. The play describes the first major encounter in which government officials representative of the European Enlightenment come face to…

This 30 to 40 minute drama for secondary school students takes place in the Pennsylvania State House, Philadelphia, on September 17, 1787, the day the Constitutional Convention ended. James Madison serves as the drama's spokesman. The drama focuses on five major points: (1) the Colonial Confederation's situation at that time, which necessitated…

Drama and role playing are effective ways for teachers, school counselors, and other individuals who work with young people to teach and discuss sensitive issues. The eight plays in this publication are designed to help middle school students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and logical decision-making skills. The eight scripts use a…