"Why do I need to know this if I don't want to be a scientist?" is a question middle school teachers probably hear on a regular basis. In an effort to answer it, the authors have tried to appeal to students' varied interests, and thus developed myriad ways to show students how science is a part of their everyday lives. What is described in this…

This study investigated the impact of Readers Theater on eighth-grade students, the majority of whom were reading below grade level. Over six weeks of a short story unit, one class participated in Readers Theater. The comparison group of like-ability students received more traditional literary and vocabulary instruction. Quantitative measures…

Almost all schools offer some sort of theater program, and many towns produce community plays. These events can be wonderful opportunities for children with special needs to gain a sense of belonging, develop social skills, and use their creative imaginations. But often individuals with special needs don't become involved. Why? Perhaps the task…

This article describes a middle-school project that challenged students to design scale models of three-dimensional blocks used in theater programs. Students applied skills such as measurement, proportionality, and spatial reasoning in a cooperative setting. (Contains 1 table and 9 figures.)