For many engineers, writing skills have proven to be almost as important as technical background. Many prominent engineers have found that writing often consumes one-fourth of their time; they are expected to submit reports and proposals and give presentations. Many engineering schools now require either additional writing courses or integrate…

Learning magic tricks permits behaviorally and emotionally handicapped children to become magicians in the eyes of adults, their peers, and themselves. The self-contained classes of handicapped boys in grades 3 through 6 have put on numerous magic shows since 1984. Program objectives include building self-esteem, teaching team cooperation,…

A familiar and effective way to provide classroom practice of foreign language skills in a meaningful context is role-playing. One variation, spontaneous group role-playing, offers a bridge between textbook dialogues and real-world dialogues. Especially appropriate for beginning and intermediate students, simultaneous group role-playing is a…

Focusing on the difficulties primary teachers often encounter when trying to get their students to listen, this article presents two exercises that have proved effective in improving students' listening skills. The first exercise, "The Echoing Fishbowl," provides children with attentive listening experience by putting them in a situation in which,…

This sixth grade teaching unit covers Soviet propaganda, communism, relations with the United States, Soviet geography, Soviet arts, and Soviet life. Unit goals address the above content areas, map skills, and an attitudinal goal of helping students to develop a sense of respect for the life of Soviet citizens. Behavioral objectives are keyed to…

This third grade teaching unit on the USSR covers an introduction to the Soviet Union and its people, its government, daily lifestyles, folk culture, and geography. Skill goals deal with telling the difference between facts and opinions, comparing cultures, and integrating and applying information from various topics about the Soviet Union to…

This is a third-grade teaching unit on large cities (megalopolises) in the United States. The components of the unit are: (1) a content outline, (2) unit goals, (3) unit objectives, (4) activities, (5) unit evaluation, and (6) bibliography. The content of the unit focuses on defining a megalopolis, noting what can be found in it, its special…

This is a first-grade unit of study about the concept of cooperation. The content covers the concept of cooperation and the context in which it is illustrated: through rules in sports, at home and at school; through teamwork in games and projects; and through individual efforts of helping, trusting and sharing. Additional content focuses on how…

This handbook provides an introductory series of exercises for teaching students about those work attitudes which have been identified by employers as success-related. The purpose of the unit is to increase students' awareness to the point where they will have the choice of behaving in such a way as to help ensure their job success. The handbook…

Reprints of 17 studies on approaches to ensuring full participation of handicapped students in the regular classroom are presented. The studies, carried out over a 3-year period, were intended to examine evidence on the efficacy of mainstreaming, with particular emphasis on the role of competitive, cooperative, and individualistic learning…

Teacher selection and planning of appropriate transition activities for preschool age children is discussed in this paper. Teachers are encouraged to use transition time to provide an opportunity for imaginative and creative thinking and to avoid tedious waiting and chaos. Transition activities can be used as a teaching technique to prepare…

Part I of this booklet introduces the concept of the student-centered approach to teaching with a description of the salient features of student-centered activities. These features have characteristics that increase student participation: (1) the ability to create; (2) divergent rather than convergent thinking; (3) exercising curiosity and being…

While group singing of composed songs and the singing that takes place during circle games are the commonest forms of music instruction for young children, children should also be encouraged to engage in free musical play or spontaneous singing. In spontaneous singing, the child creates a song at a moment's notice while engaged in play. Free…

Designed for individuals and groups seeking to organize consumer activities, this guide focuses on how to build consumer competence, how to organize others, where to get training, and how to influence policy makers. Chapter I discusses how to educate oneself for consumerism by using product-rating periodicals, libraries, public consumer agencies,…

"Winging it" becomes necessary when something unexpected comes up and the teacher has to improvise at the last minute. The successful "winger" has to plan ahead. Three factors in the planning are to have an overhead projector at one's disposal; to seat pupils in groups of four from the start; and to collect material from magazines, children's…