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This paper presents the theories of L.S. Vygotsky as a conceptual framework for implementing instruction that supports concept development and promotes higher level thinking skills in students. Three major components (i.e., language, scientific and spontaneous concepts, and the zone of proximal development) of Vygotsky's socio-cultural-historical theories of learning are considered. The relationship of these components to the commonalities evidenced in the mathematics and science standards that suggest the efficacy of integrated curricular activity are then discussed. Next, the characteristics of computer-mediated communication (CMC) are presented, and the rationale for its use in an integrated mathematics and science curriculum is discussed. Finally, a current project is outlined that uses CMC as a facilitating technology for an integrated fifth-grade mathematics and science curriculum that is consistent with both a Vygotskian approach to learning and the mathematics and science standards. (Contains 41 references.) (MES)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert