Although there are many content-rich resource sites for elementary and middle school students on the World Wide Web, finding such sites can often be difficult. This ERIC Digest describes more than 50 K-8 curriculum related Web sites of special interest to students, teachers, parents and librarians. Sites are listed under the following categories:…

This digest summarizes the effective bilingual strategies described in a commissioned paper, "Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: Exemplary Practices" by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood and Walter G. Secada, and the recommendations of the Hispanic Dropout Project (U.S. Department of Education) for transforming bilingual education at all…

Children's fears can have a self-preserving and motivational quality or have an inhibiting or debilitating effect. Counselors can use three levels of intervention for the prevention of disturbances related to fear and anxiety. The first of these focuses on developmental guidance and counseling activities designed for all children to develop a…

The topic of mixed-age groups in early childhood education is discussed in terms of: (1) advantages of mixed-age classes; (2) social development in mixed-age groups; (3) cognitive development in mixed-age groups; and (4) implications for early childhood education. It is asserted that mixed-age interaction among young children can offer a variety…

Literature from the past three decades does not suggest a specific role for school counselors in combating the school dropout problem. A search of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database for the years 1984-1986 produced only 15 items indexed under terms related to school counseling or the school counselor's role. Ideally a…

This brochure discusses the importance of keeping students from regressing during the summer months, explaining that most children forget important skills and knowledge that they do not use over the summer, and teachers often spend 4-8 weeks at the beginning of the school year re-teaching material from the previous year. How students spend their…

Compared to the rest of the school day, recess is a time when children have more freedom to choose what they want to do and with whom. In light of the current climate of school accountability, this Spanish-language Digest discusses research on recess and its relationship to learning, social development, and child health, as well as research on…

Presented in both Spanish and English, this guide for a parent involvement meeting is designed to help teachers and parents explore specific strategies to motivate children to become better readers and learners. The guide contains material necessary to conduct a 1- or 1.5-hour session on motivational techniques that parents can use at home with…

This monograph consists of a paper that examines the construct "disposition," and explores its relevance to curriculum and teaching practices in early childhood education, and a selected ERIC bibliography relating to this subject. The paper is organized in two parts. Part 1 provides a definition of disposition and definitions of the…

The challenge for schools today is to assess the learning style characteristics of each student and to provide teaching and counseling interventions that are compatible with those characteristics. The counselor's role is major--both as a consultant to teachers and as a provider of counseling services. This digest discusses learning style models,…

The recognition that children's cognitive skills are evident in visual as well as verbal conventions has led to the construction of the Silver Test of Cognitive and Creative Skills (STCCS) for the assessment and development of children's cognitive abilities. Research on cognition, the role of language in cognition, and left and right brain…

This digest discusses how schools and families can improve native English speaking boys' reading skills, particularly poor, minority boys. It examines ways to increase the time boys spend reading and the enjoyment they get from reading. Boys tend to learn to read later, take longer to learn, comprehend narrative texts less easily, value reading…

This document consists of one module extracted from a six-module larger work. Module 3 consists of seven articles on developing and offering student self-help support groups. Article titles and authors are as follows: (1) "Youth Engaged in Self-Help: A Guide for Starting Youth Self-Help Groups" (Mary K. Parkinson, Nancy Sax); (2)…

Research on the development of social competence in children is reviewed in this ERIC digest. The focus is on the social development of infants and toddlers which takes place in the family, in peer groups, and in preschool. The importance of infant bonding with at least one particular adult, socialization of the developming child within the family…

The integration of animal-assisted therapy into clinical psychology is a growing phenomenon. These "co-therapists" may be of assistance to counselors when working with withdrawn and non-communicative counselees. The presence of an animal has been found to lower anxiety and motivate the counselee's participation in therapy.…