The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program periodically conducts national-level assessments of student achievement in geography. In July 2019, the National Assessment Governing Board announced a decision to eliminate geography, economics, arts, and foreign language assessments from the NAEP testing schedule through 2029. In…

This essay doubles as a critique of the brutal violence visited upon the immigrant community in Austin, Texas, in the wake of Donald Trump's presidency, and a deeply personal account related to the establishment of Academia Cuauhtli, a language and culture revitalization project in Austin, Texas. It narrates our origins as a community-anchored,…

In this commentary, the author reflects on four studies that have greatly expanded the knowledge base on effective interventions in mathematics, and he provides four rigorous experimental studies of approaches for students likely to experience difficulties learning mathematics over a large grade-level span (pre-K to 4th grade). All of the…

In this commentary, the authors bring insights from their work on science-literacy integration at the elementary level to bear on the ongoing conversation about disciplinary literacy at the middle and secondary levels. In particular, the authors discuss what they have learned about inquiry, disciplinary reading strategies, and the role of text in…

In this article, I critique a component of the highly structured Open Court Reading curriculum designed to teach elementary children "inquiry and higher-order thinking" skills. The intended outcome of this component is, I argue, the production of critically literate and informed consumers of information. However, both the critical…

Big things come in small packages. This saying came to the mind of the author after he created a simple math review activity for his fourth grade students. Though simple, it has proven to be extremely advantageous in reinforcing math concepts. He uses this activity, which he calls "Show What You Know," often. This activity provides the perfect…

The eight contributions to this special issue provide an informative focus on many aspects of peer-based victimization in schools. Often using sophisticated quantitative and analytic procedures, they advance our knowledge in several important domains, pointing out important contextual variables, interactions, and mediating factors in the negative…

Many school library media specialists, especially in elementary schools, establish library clubs and library monitor programs. In most cases, these clubs and programs are limited to students assisting with clerical duties in the library such as shelving books and manning the circulation desk under supervision. The library media specialist assigns…

Educators know that an achievement gap exists between students of low-income and middle-income families, a gap that is especially evident in fourth grade and beyond. This essay explores issues related to this gap, including primary-level children being immersed in narrative text and, therefore, unprepared for the challenges of informational text…

While few disagree that science fair projects have great potential for student learning, the preparation and execution of projects can be stressful for teachers, students, and parents alike. While working as a fourth-grade teacher, the author's goal was to provide students with a science fair experience minus the pressure of trying to figure out…

The focus in this report is the concept of what it means to "do mathematics" in the context of a group working committee of teachers and researchers committed to reforming mathematics teaching. During a regular meeting of this group of teachers and researchers, the participants explored the mathematical reasoning embedded in one…

Focuses on two philosophical views of reading, the traditional ("bottom-up") view and an alternative ("interactive") view, along with the implications they hold for shaping reading instructional programs. The differences these two views make in decisions that shape the reading program are illustrated in a kindergarten and…

Describes a project that taught groups of fourth graders how to develop instructional software for second and third graders in the areas of mathematics and science. Topics include project goals for students and the teacher; integrating technology; documentation and packaging; community involvement; and benefits to students. (LRW)

Focusing on assessments of the performance of one fourth-grade student, the article makes a case for teaching and moral perception (the capacity to comprehend the unique needs and aspirations of individual students), arguing that assessing students in the absence of moral perception is a serious mistake. (SM)

Describes one elementary teacher's experience when a minor event (a student forgetting to bring a permission slip and lunch for a field trip) resulted in a major class lesson in responsibility. Another teacher and a social worker present their perspectives on the situation and provide suggestions for teaching responsibility. (SM)