Presents activities on the science of garbage to help elementary students learn to save the earth. A rotting experiment teaches students what happens to apple slices sealed in plastic or buried in damp soil. Other activities include reading stories on the subject and conducting classroom composting or toxic materials projects. (SM)

The article presents advice from children's book authors and illustrators about choosing and using multicultural literature, discussing what to look for in multicultural literature and why multiculturalism matters. The article includes lists of multicultural resources for the classroom and of authors who write specifically about their cultures.…

With the increasing presence of computers in the elementary school classroom, it becomes necessary that students know how to type. This article offers beginning typing lessons and games that teachers can use with their students. Particular typing and touch typing software available are also discussed. (JMK)

A teaching unit uses the songs of sailors, loggers, coal miners, and other workers to illustrate how the United States was built in the nineteenth century. Words and music for seven songs are given, along with classroom activities to help children understand occupations and industries during that time. (PP)

This article (1) provides a review of "Anno's Counting House," a wordless picture-story and game that engages children in thinking about numbers; and (2) examines a classroom activity from which children learn that the same data, graphed differently, may support a variety of conclusions. (GLR)

Presents workable strategies for observing, tracking, and reporting student progress in the elementary writing classroom. The article offers tips and techniques for ongoing evaluation (observing writers as they write, conferencing, and student self-evaluation). It also includes a teacher-guided tour of a real Vermont student's writing portfolio.…

A classroom teacher and media expert explain why television reaches students in ways that other media cannot (it brings the curriculum to life, speaks to today's students, and is immediate). The article includes tips for taking charge of the channels. A spring 1992 instructor's program guide lists educationally beneficial programs. (SM)

Most students who lag in reading can progress with the help of both classroom attention and individual tutoring. They do best when reading materials they enjoy and can read at a certain level. This article explains the 10 steps to successful tutoring and discusses what to do if students are nonreaders. (SM)

Presents suggestions for bringing reading and writing to life in the classroom and helping students develop a lifelong love of both. Includes creating a refrigerator door for displaying student work, using digital notebooks, establishing a publishing center, holding lunch-bunch meetings, binding students' writing into class collections, reading…

This primary unit uses rainbows to provide young children inspiration for learning in the areas of language arts, science, art, social studies, and math. (MT)

This study unit contains suggestions for learning activities in the area of computer science. Ideas are provided for creating a computer-interest center, books and references about computers, and class activities. (CJ)

Fifth graders became interested in math by learning about jobs, housing, and transportation costs based on information in the local newspaper. In the process they learned something about the economics of living, and about how mathematics would be important to them in the years ahead. (KC)

Offers six suggestions to help elementary teachers create cross-curricular adventures in learning that begin with science. The article includes a chart on process skills across the curriculum, a list of resources, and suggested class activities. (SM)

Children learn about maps and develop self-confidence in their ability to get where they want to go in a unit of adventurous learning activities. A variety of kinds of maps help children learn about their community, state, country, and the weather. (DF)

Seven forms of intellectual accomplishment are identified; each type forms the basis of a certain learning style. This article outlines how to recognize the characteristics of each form of intelligence and how to supply the materials, activities, and experiences that will reinforce these strengths in students. (IAH)