This case study involves one public school in a suburb of a major metropolitan area, focusing on one classroom of first grade students selected from a pool of volunteer classrooms. The first grade class of students, during their regular mathematics instruction, were given three tasks by their teachers designed to elicit a productive struggle…

Young children's relationships with teachers predict social and academic success. This study examines contributions of child temperament (shyness, effortful control) and gender to teacher-child relationship quality both directly and indirectly through the frequency of teacher-child interactions in the classroom. Using an NICHD SECCYD sample of 819…

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention.…

This article documents the challenges that young children face as they move from kindergarten to first grade and the important role that elementary school counselors can play in working with students, parents/caregivers, and teachers during this critical period of development. Research- and practitioner-based recommendations for effective…

Provides two lesson plans, one appropriate for kindergarten and one for fifth grade, emphasizing the role of the learner. Both plans include components addressing motivation, content, closure, and application. (RH)

An instructional program was developed and implemented to help four first-grade students use an Atari 800 microcomputer. To determine the extent to which the four students and 40 teachers were familiar with computers and to judge their attitudes toward using them in classrooms, a survey was administered. While teachers' responses varied, all…

Documents the different problem-solving styles and approaches of two first-grade children having strong mathematical abilities. One child demonstrated an extrinsic, algorithmic style of problem-solving, while the other used an intrinsic, individual-in-control style. (NH)

A behavior management specialist implemented a practicum intervention designed to increase prosocial behavior and positive peer interaction among kindergartners and first graders by means of student participation in a self-motivating play group. Five students attended a daily play session in block and housekeeping play settings that had been…

A 10-week practicum intervention was implemented with 67 first graders at a small, independent, university-run school in order to improve the children's affective behavior by increasing their self-esteem. The program began with a meeting with parents at which they were informed of the school's emphasis on self-esteem. In-service education was…

A practicum intervention designed to decrease the incidence of retention of students in first grade, through a diagnostic-prescriptive intervention program and teacher inservice activities, was implemented and evaluated. Teachers at two schools were aided in the early identification of students at-risk for retention; psycho-educational evaluations…

A practicum was implemented by a licensed speech-language pathologist working in a clinical and instructional program in a predominantly black, inner-city community in northeastern Indiana. The practicum was designed to improve the communicative competence of young children in a kindergarten-first grade setting. It was implemented because…

Reports a study of a retention procedure in Texas in which children are placed in prefirst grade classrooms rather than promoted to regular first grade after kindergarten. Discusses the procedure's effectiveness and appropriateness, reasons for children's placement, children's behavioral problems, parental motivation and approval, and student…

Research data is presented to support special education approaches to personal and social development. Seventy-eight fourth- to sixth-grade handicapped students and 82 first-grade nonhandicapped students participated in the project. Promising research results suggest many questions to be addressed in future study. (JS)

Under the state's Quality Schools Initiative, each Alaska school is required to take a number of steps toward improving the quality of education. This brochure provides information to educators about the first requirement of the Quality Schools Initiative: completing the Alaska Developmental Profile. This profile is completed for each child…

Describes a case study of a first-grade class in fractions, presents preliminary findings suggesting that students in others grades can learn fractions in similar ways, and offers ideas for action research. (MKR)