This document describes the implementation of a practicum intervention designed to improve the analytic abilities of academically above-average fifth and sixth graders in a class that emphasized academic excellence. When students were tested on the development of complex thinking abilities, several areas needing improvement were identified. A…

One important finding from recent research on multiplication word problems is that children's performances are strongly affected by the nature of the multiplier (whether it is an integer, decimal larger than 1 or a decimal smaller than 1). On the other hand, the size of the multiplicand has little or no effect on problem difficulty. The aim of the…

A study measured the effects that direct instruction in narrative text structure using a story map (called "macrostruction") had on the comprehension of average and above average sixth-grade readers. A 2 x 2 x 2 repeated measures design was used with time, text, and treatment as the independent variables. The number of story grammar idea…

Intended to increase reading motivation in students, this book features tales of ghosts and poltergeists. The tales range from the legendary to the contemporary. These accounts of ghost stories in the book provide subject matter for thoughtful interpretation and discussion, while challenging students in four critical reading categories: main idea,…

Examples are given of criterion-referenced test items in mathematics and reading used at the sixth grade level in Georgia. Three skill areas are identified for mathematics: concept identification, component operations, and problem solving. Tests measure students' ability to: (1) recognize whole numbers, fractions, and decimals; (2) identify…

Investigated were differences in learning styles, as measured by the Learning Style Inventory, in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students achieving at high, low, and average levels. Results indicated students do not learn in the same manner and manifest significant variations in how they prefer to learn. (RH)

A year-long course for gifted fifth and sixth graders used the historic downtown of Chester, North Carolina, as an outdoor classroom. Each child researched on an "adopted" building. A field trip to Clemson University's School of Design focused on the historic buildings. (MLF)

Discusses a study which explored the role of non-monetary incentives in encouraging conservation related behaviors with sixth grade students. It was found that satisfactions dealing with the enjoyment of everyday types of activities and a sense of moral appropriativeness could be linked to energy conservation actions. (ML)

The "English Standards of Learning Enhanced Scope and Sequence" for grades 6-8 is a resource intended to help teachers align their classroom instruction with the content found in "English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools," adopted by the Board of Education in November 2002. The Enhanced Scope and Sequence…

A personal account of teaching creative writing to elementary school students, with information on what the teacher learned about teaching, what classroom techniques she used, and how the students reacted to creative writing and writing for publication. (RL)

Recounts the difficulties and ultimate success of a production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" by fifth-and sixth-grade students. (RL)

This study examines an attempt to train pupils to work cooperatively in a group as they worked mathematical tasks requiring concept development and application of concepts. Results were positive. (MP)

Describes activities to be used with fifth and sixth graders to improve students' spatial sense with respect to three-dimensional shapes. Includes the use of cubes, triangular prisms, tetrahedrons, and square pyramids. (MKR)

Provides examples of student work on a problem which shows that students solve problems in several different ways. Discusses challenges to the teacher that might result from problems such as these. (ASK)

Presents examples of students' work to illustrate the typical approaches used at sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade levels and four common threads that are consistent with student development as observed in a Connected Mathematics Project class. (ASK)