With just a few materials, building a paper model of the International Space Station (ISS) can become an excellent group, troop, or class project. This publication contains a brief overview of the ISS, its parts, the science that occurs on board, instructions, and extensions for an interdisciplinary technology experience. Discover more about the…

This article presents a deductive content analysis of the grade 6 specific and general objectives in the writing curricula across Canada's 10 provinces and two of its three territories. The analysis uses Ivanic's six discourses of writing and learning to write: skills discourse, creativity discourse, process discourse, genre discourse, social…

The goal of the current study was to examine how the presence of a best friend might serve as protection against the effect of negative experiences on global self-worth and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis). A total of 103 English-speaking male (n = 55) and female (n = 48) participants from Grade 5 (M = 10.27 years) and…

Cyber-bullying is a significant problem for children today. This study provides evidence of the psychological impact of cyber-bullying among victimized children ages 10 to 17 years (M = 12.48, SD = 1.79) from 23 urban schools in a western province of Canada (N = 239). Students who were cyber-bullied reported high levels of anxious,…

The increasing importance of formal environmental education underscores a teacher's role in the development of knowledge, attitudes, and actions toward nature. This qualitative study explores how a cohort of sixth grade teachers (18) in Nova Scotia conceptualize environmental education and perceive teaching challenges. Data were collected through…

Background: Although making explicit links between procedures and concepts during instruction in mathematics is important, it is still unclear the precise moments during instruction when such links are best made. Aims: The objective was to test the effectiveness of a 3-week classroom intervention on the fractions knowledge of grade 5/6 students.…

The study investigated how well report card grades communicate to students and parents that state educational standards are being met, standards that are objectively measured by infrequently administered mandated assessments. Data sources were report card grades and external assessment scores for 2006-09 for Ontario Canada. The information that…

This article reports on a study examining the language practice opportunities that occurred during a range of paired and small group interactive tasks in an intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) class of francophone Grade 6 students. The analysis focussed on the opportunities the tasks provided for the use of two complex and challenging…

The science vocabulary from a science curriculum standards document (Ministry of Education Ontario, 2007) was classified by morphological developmental level and compared to the grade level topics of the curriculum (grades 1 to 8). Descriptive statistical analyses highlight the complex nature of science vocabulary and the incompatibilities between…

This study was designed to test the intra- and inter-rater reliability of the University of North Carolina's Balance Error Scoring System in 9- and 10-year-old children. Additionally, a modified version of the Balance Error Scoring System was tested to determine if it was more sensitive in this population ("raw scores"). Forty-six…

Many factors influence a student's performance in word (or textbook) problem solving in class. Among them is the comprehension process the pupils construct during their attempt to solve the problem. The comprehension process may include some less formal representations, based on pupils' real-world knowledge, which support the construction of a…

Self-concept has been found to play a key role in academic and psychosocial outcomes for students. Appreciating the factors that have a bearing upon self-concept may be of particular importance for Aboriginal students, many of whom experience poorer outcomes than non-Aboriginal Canadians. In this study, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the…

The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the lived experiences of a grade 6 teacher and students who used tablets as part of their classroom instruction. Malone and Lepper's taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning is used as a framework for examining whether and how this particular theory of motivation applies equally well for…

This study explores electronic portfolios and their potential to assess student literacy and selfregulated learning in elementary-aged children. Assessment tools were developed and include a holistic rubric that assigns a mark from 1 to 5 to self-regulated learning (SRL) and a mark to literacy, and an analytical rubric measuring multiple…

Background: Canadian Aboriginal youth have poorer diet quality and higher rates of overweight and obesity than the general population. This research aimed to assess the impact of simple food provision programs on the intakes of milk and alternatives among youth in Kashechewan and Attawapiskat First Nations (FNs), Ontario, Canada. Methods: A pilot…