This article describes a novel program for third through fifth grade called "What is the PE Password?" that teaches vocabulary words and concepts without sacrificing activity time in order to support Common Core learning.

The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) highlight the mathematical habits that educators should be fostering in mathematics classrooms throughout K-grade 12 education. That argumentation and discourse are important components of developing mathematically proficient…

Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

This article presents an instructional module that has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and sanctioned by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. It is a simulation in which the superintendent of a small rural school district is…

The Change Writers project was born in the Title I schools of Elk Grove, California, when Gail Desler, a technology integration specialist, became motivated to open up the district's mandated "Open Court" curriculum to better serve intermediate-grade students. Through writing, technology, and imagination, a larger conversation was…

Many teachers bring caterpillars into their class for their students to see the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This is exciting and educational, but more can be done using Monarchs across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated butterfly unit for students in grades four to six that starts with identifying the Monarch…

Discusses how students in a culturally diverse fourth grade class explored their own cultures and learned about other cultures, using quilts as a context. Notes that the students read books about quilts, conducted oral interviews of family members, wrote about their cultural traditions, and designed individual quilt squares. Concludes that the…

Describes the author's experience teaching poetry to a fourth-grade class, and how an inspired moment from one student (improvising a poem about an imagined hairstyle of poet Federico Garcia Lorca) led the entire class on a journey of inspiration. Looks at the route to that place of "inspired rightness." (SR)

Focuses on the performance assessment of the practical component in science education, discussing changes over the years in the rationale and methodology of large-scale performance assessment. Illustrates these changes by comparing the Second International Science Study (1984) with the Third International Science and Mathematics Study. Contains 77…

This project was developed and implemented to help increase knowledge of singing performance by targeted fourth grade students as well as to increase their self assessment abilities. The project also was designed to improve parent/guardian understanding of singing performance. The study was conducted in a southwestern classroom of 26 students. The…

This practicum addressed the problem of Chapter 1 fourth grade students not being able to compose a paragraph using correct spelling and language arts skills. The subjects were 16 predominantly Black and Hispanic students in a school in an old small southern city. The students had paragraph composition assignments weekly. The goals were: (1) to…

Fourth-grade gifted students are shown to be capable of developing a researchable problem in psychology, gathering data and reporting results. As a result of the experimental course, several students expressed interest in becoming psychologists. Also, the number of science fair projects based on psychological research increased the next year. (RM)

Describes how a class of fourth graders effectively used their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills to take action (regarding the laws governing trophy hunting) and to change a piece of their world. (SR)

For 8 weeks during 1991, a project was conducted in which literacy was emphasized within the context of one fourth-grade social studies classroom. The overall goal for this unit of instruction was to create language-rich experiences that would stimulate higher order thinking about the concept of Liberty. Additionally, students were to become more…

Describes how the authors implemented a plan that involved building conceptual knowledge through the use of manipulatives and common threads in literature to teach a week-long unit on Rosa Parks. Notes that the students were guided to build conceptual knowledge as they personally connected with fictional heroes and real heroes, such as Rosa Parks,…