This report describes an effective instructional technique for advancing reading comprehension through a balanced reading program. The targeted population consisted of third- and eighth-grade students from three middle class communities located in the south suburbs of Chicago. Reading comprehension concerns were documented through data obtained…

This study investigated the effects of training in the use of advance organizers and interspersed questions on the comprehension and attitudes of good, average, and poor eighth-grade readers who were randomly assigned, by intact classroom units, to one of three treatment groups. The first treatment group received eight sessions of training in the…

This study was directed at developing a model for assessing eighth grade science education in selected schools and using the model to identify procedures that might be used to maximize science achievement of the students. Thirty-four public secondary schools participated in the study. Data were obtained from annual publications, computer…

The main objectives of this study were to determine if listening comprehension could be improved by using a listening program, the Incidental Listening Program ILP), and to compile a number of listening activities or techniques, which could be used by teachers to help in this improvement. A total of 695 students made up three experimental groups…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether widely used eighth-grade literature anthologies contained sufficient selections of appropriate content to facilitate the integration of career education and literature study in the eighth-grade English program. Three aspects of the anthologized selections were analyzed: manifest work content,…

Quantitative and qualitative aspects of the reading of narrative and expository materials were studied in a sample of 47 eighth-grade students. Informal Reading Inventories were developed from narrative and expository materials in use in the students' school, as were longer narrative and expository passages for miscue analysis. Passages were…

The behavior of students in an 8th grade class was interfering with interpersonal relationships, disrupting the classroom environment, and adversely affecting student academic performance. A lack of social skills was identified as the probable cause which was brought on by the family environment, a lack of parent participation, and economic…

A study examined whether a group of eighth graders whose teacher read orally to them for 10 minutes daily would develop greater interest in reading for pleasure than similar students who did not experience the teacher reading orally to them. Subjects, 36 urban and suburban youngsters, were divided into an experimental and a control sample.…

This study investigates the effects of the language factor and the cultural content factor of mathematical testing on two different non Anglo ethnic groups: the Chinese and the Chicano. Twenty five word problems, judged to be biased against the Chinese or the Chicano students, were selected from several seventh and eighth grade mathematics…

This report describes a project for improving students' listening and motivation. The action research took place from September 2001 through January 2002. The targeted first grade reading and eighth grade physical education students live in rural, Midwestern, middle- to high-income communities located in central Illinois. The problem was that…

This action research project focused on causes for reading deficiencies of the targeted eighth grade students and how those deficiencies affect students' achievement in language arts, science, and mathematics. The targeted population consisted of 30 eighth grade students in a middle-class community located in a suburban area of a large Midwestern…

A program for improving student attitudes and achievement in art was developed and implemented. Targeted population consisted of eighth-grade students (n=28) in a junior high school in a suburban community near a large Midwestern city. The problem of poor attitudes and disinterest in art was documented with student surveys and self assessments, a…

This paper describes the transfer of skills and knowledge from the classroom to outside the classroom. The action research focused on transfer, how to facilitate transfer, and why to concentrate on transfer, and it included a definition for the different levels and rates of transfer. Seventh and eighth grade students were not using existing…

An action research report described a program for enhancing students' ability to focus on instructional processes and oral directions. The targeted population was comprised of 4th-, 5th-, and 8th-grade students from 3 different metropolitan schools in southwest Cook County, Illinois. The problem of off-task behavior, including distractible…

The students targeted were third and fourth grade students with learning-disabilities and seventh-eighth grade science students who exhibited poor test scores, motivation, and behaviors that negatively impacted their learning. The objective of this study was to change the level of student engagement in order to increase their academic achievement…