An after-school enrichment activity offered to sixth-grade students gave a group of 10 students an opportunity to explore the effects of the California drought in their community using an engaging scientific device: the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Although this activity was specifically designed for a small after-school enrichment group, it…

It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

In 1993 Lake Agassiz School in North Dakota received a Knight Foundation grant so teachers and students could participate in a program to learn how to create an opera. The program instructed teachers on how students could maximize their understanding about producing an opera. The school formed a partnership with the Metropolitan Opera Guild of New…

Discusses a unit integrating science, mathematics, and environmental education centered around "The Great Kapok Tree," by Lynne Cherry (1990). Ratios are used to make scale drawings of trees in a rain forest. Other activities include a terrarium and problem-solving activities based on eating habits of rain forest animals. (KMC)

This teacher's guide was developed to provide essential information that will enable students to make independent and healthy decisions regarding tobacco use. Each lesson in the guide covers both smoking and smokeless tobacco in an effort to add to the realization that all tobacco products have health risks associated with their use and to dispel…

To encourage the interest in research and statistics of students in grades five and six in a rural school in Arkansas, the researcher and the elementary school principal investigated areas in which the students could participate in decision-making. Several possibilities emerged: quality of a good teacher, school awards and honors, school rules,…

This guide is designed to assist fifth and sixth grade teachers who are basically following the New York State curricula. While an effort has been made to include ideas for teaching every concept found in the state's outline, additional concepts have been included for the benefit of those who might go beyond the outline, and for teachers in other…

Following a brief introduction to the LOGO programing language, describes its use in a sixth-grade classroom. The situations described illustrate students' growth while the choice of the situations illustrates teachers' growth. (JN)

This lesson plan is concerned with early humankind and its development into human societies. It presents four topics for Unit I: (1) cave art; (2) paleontological discoveries; (3) evolution from hunting-gathering to farming; and (4) development of language. It also suggests completion time for each topic; addresses the uses and significance of the…

Sixth graders at Kamehameha Elementary School ascended a high mountain peak, successfully orienting themselves for over 5 miles using topographical maps and compasses and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired at school. The article describes the program, noting the knowledge and tools students used to accomplish their goal. (SM)

Describes a reading program for gifted middle school readers designed to increase critical reading ability and student appreciation of literary technique and broaden understanding of sophisticated vocabulary. (MLF)

Described is an art activity in which sixth graders were asked to draw something that they hear. The children created aural pictures that were truly inventive personal interpretations. (RM)

Provides a lesson to familiarize students in grades four-six with the many ways that artists use the technique of collage. Students observe and discuss ways artists make use of materials other than paint on canvas. Examines how the introduction of foreign materials to a surface affects the illusion of space. (LS)

This material describes curriculum specifications for grade 6 science in Alberta. Emphases recommended are: (1) process skills (50%); (2) psychomotor skills (10%); (3) attitudes (10%); and (4) subject matter (30%). Priorities within each category are identified. (YP)

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…