Students with learning disabilities (LD) often face significant difficulties in reading. Research has found a variety of different evidence-based practices to support the reading development of students with LD in areas such as word work, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. However, these practices are most often intended for use in traditional…

Examines fourth-grade students' responses to a performance-assessment task in which students are engaged in exploring data. Includes an "Eating Patterns" task. (MKR)

Describes new perspectives that should be used to teach fourth-grade topics in the 1981 California History/Social Science Framework, California Indians and the major historical periods, and the diverse people who made that history. Lists of materials and organizations that have current Indian publications are included. (AM)

Discusses the factors involved in determining text difficulty. Discusses some of the reasons children choose to read certain materials, such as personal connections, culture and language, interest, and expertise. Illustrates these factors through descriptions of work with individual students, classroom observations, and research on students'…

Student achievement rose sharply when the West Des Moines schools incorporated the findings of effectiveness research in their teacher evaluation system. (Author)

Discusses one fourth-grade student's attempt to write a bilingual script, based upon a story told to her by her father, within the context of a bilingual playwriting project. Concludes that bilingualism needs to be seen as part of quality education for all students, not as compensatory education only for language minority students. (SG)

The Avon Grove School District has a middle school orientation program for incoming elementary students and their parents, which consists of several visits and open houses in the Spring and at the beginning of the Fall term. (SJL)

Suggests that few teachers understand the debilitating effect that social skill deficits have on a child's daily life. Notes that instructional strategies such as cooperative learning groups and social stories can help children improve their social behavior. Encourages all educators not only to emphasize academics, but also to seize any…

This article addresses the educational needs of fourth-graders who are having reading difficulties, first by briefly discussing the five research-based components of early reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension), and then by recasting these components in terms of instruction of older, struggling students.…

Examines language and literacy practices in first- and fourth-grade classrooms in two schools in a small town in central Mexico. Explores how educators can expand their own understanding of reading and writing--and how to teach them--by considering the literacy practices of other countries. Uses Mexico, the country of origin of many students and…

Describes how Michigan's English Language Arts Assessment (ELA) takes parts of the old fifth-grade writing assessment and fourth-grade reading tests, adds new elements, and wraps everything around a theme. Presents a seven-step activity to help prepare fourth graders for the ELA. Concludes that the overall impact on scores is not known. (SG)

Describes a science unit used in a fourth-grade class to teach students about Bernoulli's law of flight, the similarity of tetrahedrons to birds, and the construction of tetrahedron kites. Also includes thought-provoking math questions for students. (MDM)

Identifies four patterns in a fourth grader's behavior and performance that went beyond his identity as a "terror": Steve connects with others orally, returns others' acceptance, can improve his self-image, and learns in untraditional ways. Notes that his portfolio helped him to articulate a presentation of his life for himself and others,…

Fourth grade students in a multicultural art program studied the art of California Indians in cooperation with the social studies program. A survey was conducted to identify the students' responses to learning about the art of another culture. (AM)

Shares how a teacher, librarian, and fourth and fifth grade students collaborated and wrote book reviews for new books in their school library so other students could read about the new acquisitions. (MG)