The tragedy of September 11 had a special significance for the parents of the nearly 6,000 children who attended the seven public schools located in the World Trade Center impact zone. Healthy Schools Network has documented first hand accounts of the experiences of that day and its aftermath. In addition to extensive interviews, last winter a…

Throughout history, visual artists have consciously pulled away from the mainstream hustle and bustle to concentrate, be alone and get work done. Many students in traditional school settings do not have the opportunity to experience those work conditions, given the numbers of students in a typical classroom and class period time restrictions. Even…

This action research project report examined strategies to motivate students from extrinsically rewarding behaviors to intrinsically motivating behaviors. The action research was conducted in two different schools by four different teacher researchers within the same district. Three teachers in an elementary building (Site A) and one teacher in a…

Algebra is no longer just for college-bound students. After a widespread push by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and teachers across the country, algebra is now a required part of most curricula. However, students' standardized test scores are not at the level they should be. NCTM's seventieth yearbook takes a look at the…

This article describes findings from a classroom-based action research project conducted by two in-school teachers, a literacy coach and a 4th grade teacher, implementing a new integrated literacy and social studies curriculum and the changes they made in curricular practices and beliefs over a three-year period of time. A university professor…

The study examined the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Student Literacy Attitude Inventory (SLAI) scores. A total of 367 students in grades four, five, and six responded to the SLAI. The data were analyzed by gender, ethnicity, and grade level for each of the SLAI subareas (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and…

Written dialogue journals are intended to improve writing and encourage positive social skills by promoting individualized written discussions between a teacher and students' emotional and behavioral needs. This study investigated expressive writing using dialogue journals with five elementary students with emotional and behavioral disturbance…

Vocabulary acquisition traditionally has been a struggle for students with special learning needs. This study involved an eleven year old fifth grade student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and limited English proficiency. Assistive technology assistance was provided from the Franklin Language Master 6000b and Microsoft's Power…

Austin Independent School District served more than 13,000 students in summer programs during 2009, providing opportunities for accelerated learning, maintenance of academic skills between school years, course credit recovery, state achievement tests, or school-level transition activities. This report summarizes this information.

This study describes the application of a Web-based portfolio for appreciation and peer assessment for visual-art education in elementary school. Besides examining the effectiveness of the proposed system in enhancing visual art education, this study also addresses how Web-based portfolios can help teachers to assess student learning progress and…

This article presents a case study of a fourth grade boy's experiences in writing, preceding and following a story he wrote about a boy whose struggles in writing led directly to his death. We explore how Max's writing experiences related to his identity, specifically his sense of himself as a writer, his struggle to communicate his ideas, and his…

With the advent of the standards movement, most states have produced statewide tests that evaluate children's understanding of expository science text. Expository texts are designed to explain, describe, or present a logical argument. Usually, the purpose of expository texts is to present new information. This article describes a research-based…

The call for curriculum integration "with" and "through" the arts is evident within many elementary school environments. Arts specialists are frequently asked to link their classroom curriculum to other content area instructional goals and standards. Furthermore, fully one third of national, state and local content standards in the arts (music,…

Of the 1,828 grade 6 students who received accelerated instruction outside of the regular classroom, 27% participated in both reading and math interventions. Of the 1,872 grade 7 students who participated in accelerated instruction outside of the classroom, 26% participated in both reading and math interventions. The overall state test results for…

Background/Context: Technological and economic changes have put a high premium on developing students' information literacy and research skills. Previous attempts to deploy educational technology toward these ends have proved disappointing because K-12 teachers have difficulty integrating shared computers into instruction. In response, numerous…