Recounts a pilot project in Pennsylvania in which student teachers field-tested Bill of Rights lesson plans and activities for intermediate grade teachers. Describes the project's phases and results, culminating in publication of "Without Them the Bill of Rights Would Be a Bill of Wrongs." Briefly explains the book's 20 lessons. (CH)

Describes services offered to middle level students by the Transition Support Resource Center designed to meet short-term academic and counseling needs of at-risk students in grades 7 through 12. Outlines expectations for students in the program. Discusses essential elements of an effective program: (1) organizational culture; (2) curriculum; and…

The school lives of culturally diverse young adolescents identified as potential dropouts were studied ethnographically. Data collected across two years indicated that teachers who students considered most successful in helping them learn used practices based on knowledge about students' home cultures and knowledge about the impact of students'…

A fifth-grade classroom teacher and a reading specialist changed the classroom structure from teacher-centered to student-centered, using flexible grouping, students' choice of literature, student journals, and student-driven discussion groups. They found that students' motivation and interest in reading improved over time. (SM)

Discusses differentiation in terms of the instructional program, school organization, staff development, and extensions beyond the classroom. Suggests learning activities with differing levels of cognitive challenge as vehicles for differentiated classrooms. Focuses curriculum on global citizenship and themes of identity, connections,…

Formative evaluation of program implementation and student performance was used to assess a new writing program used in 11 elementary schools in Hillsborough County (Florida). Twenty-one teachers and 600 students in grades 4 and 5 participated. Teachers were interviewed, and students completed an attitude survey. In addition, 4 writing samples…

The utility of the biomedical model of adjusted statistics is demonstrated. The model is recommended for use by educational researchers to randomize subjects for a more accurate estimate of school programs' success or failure when compared across classrooms or other units. (Author/MH)

Argues classrooms must provide an appropriately stimulating environment that supports learning and provides teachers and students with a comfortable place to learn. Lists requisite factors of the school environment including furniture, aesthetics, color, carpet, building maintenance, decorating detail, comfort, space/design, lighting, classroom…

The Write for Your Life project allows students to examine life events that affect their health and well-being by creating spaces for them to inquire into the circumstances of their lives. This paper examines Write for Your Life in a Texas middle school with a diverse student population, focusing on three students' writing projects. (SM)

Describes the work of the Children's Center for Global Understanding in Duluth, Minnesota. The purpose of the center is to provide upper elementary pupils, teachers, teacher education students, and university professors with resources, curriculum, and support. The center emphasizes environmental issues, human rights, justice, and the understanding…

Investigated young Mexican Americans' perceived control over health and health behaviors in relation to HIV/AIDS knowledge. Demographic, health locus of control, and HIV/AIDS knowledge measures indicated that though students who received school HIV/AIDS education had greater knowledge than those who did not, there was little relationship between…

This paper emphasizes the relationships between middle school science, social studies, and service learning, showing how service learning supports many national science and social studies content standards. Positive results from research on the National Science Foundation service learning project are included. (SM)

The Indiana Weather Project (IWP) investigated how the joint application of situated learning and constructivist theory might support elementary school students' understanding of weather systems. Results indicated significant cognitive gains during the multimedia weather unit. (SD)

Discusses the increased use of Peer Mediation (PM) programs to solve interpersonal conflicts in school settings in the past 10 years. Provides three distinctive models of PM programs and discusses the stages generally necessary for developing a PM program. Describes three exemplary PM programs: an elementary school model, a middle school model,…

Reports on a middle school project that created a living history environment focused on the Civil War. For three months the students "became" students at the Hopewell Conservatory in Virginia during the 1860s. They corresponded with Civil War soldiers and immersed themselves in the culture of the period. (MJP)