The acquisition of spelling skills in English presents, for a substantial number of children, a significant challenge. Spelling skills do not automatically transfer from reading skills, and while many teachers are aware of the need to develop a separate word study program to assist with spelling development, time and confidence factors often…

Within a Response to Intervention (RtI) framework, Tier 1 instruction requires the selection of research-based core curricula. However, many educators and administrators are not aware of high-quality core writing curricula. The authors assembled a rubric to assist schools in evaluating core writing curricula for Grades 3-5. Rubric components…

A limited test of the Annehurst Curriculum Classification System's techniques for matching instructional materials to learner characteristics failed to reveal significant differences between the achievement of students matched to materials and those unmatched. (PGD)

Ten- and 12-year-old students received instruction that demonstrated the terms and relationships of conditional syllogisms. Both discovery and rule instruction increased average performance on written syllogistic reasoning tests; discovery instruction was generally more effective than rule instruction. (Author/LC)

This evaluation tested the effectiveness of a drug education program among primary and intermediate level students in a Wisconsin area. While the outcomes of this report are significant to educators in Wisconsin, the specificity of methodology and instrumentation is of potential value to other groups wishing to determine the effectiveness of their…

In an effort to determine the "how, what, when, and intent" of outdoor education, this brief report is based upon a survey of available free and inexpensive instructional materials relative to middle-grade outdoor education. A review of pertinent literature is presented and some analyzation is provided relative to the factors and rationale…

The study with five mildly handicapped students (ages 10-12) found that changing setting (regular or resource classroom) alone had no significant impact on student performance. The combined effect of changes in test materials and test administrator, however, indicated that curriculum differences did affect extent to which skills were transferred…

This study identified Ohio fourth-grade teachers who had used "AgVenture Magazine" and examined how they had used it in their classrooms. AgVenture Magazine is an educational publication aimed at making students aware of the importance of Ohio agriculture. A random sample of 729 fourth-grade teachers was selected to participate in the…

Differences in teaching at primary and intermediate grade levels were investigated. Specific attention was given to differences in teacher behaviors, teacher communications, grouping, teacher control, and types of materials. Six primary classrooms and five intermediate classrooms were each observed for four 45-minute observation periods, yielding…

Subjects studied one of three maps varying in feature configuration and spatial distribution before reading or listening to a related story. There were no differences in recall due to mode of text presentation, but the type of map profoundly influenced recall from both the test and the map. (Author/GDC)

This research report summarizes the features associated with exemplary teaching at the upper elementary level drawn from available research. The report then compares the results from the author/researchers' own study of the nature of classroom talk, curriculum materials, organization of instruction, and evaluation in 30 fourth-grade classrooms in…

Summarizes a study to determine effects of the Integrated Activity Learning Sequence (IALS) instructional approach on fourth graders' science, mathematics, and writing achievement; to discover teachers' and students' attitudes toward this approach; and to determine if nonscience elementary teachers could develop science instructional materials.…

The focus of this report is the Language Arts (LA) component within the Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP II) in Jamaica that was launched in 1993 and specifically the cataloging and reviewing of LA materials being used in primary schools at the grade 4 to 6 levels. Content suitability, levels of difficulty, layout, print, and…

Develops a simple tool to measure interactive learning in the context of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Describes the Measure of Interactivity in CMC (MICMC) and examines the reliability and validity of this measure. Subjects were fifth- and sixth-grade students in an inner city elementary school. Data analysis indicates MICMC is a useful…

Investigated the influence of parent involvement, parent socioeconomic status, and instructional supplies expenditures on the mathematics achievement of fourth graders in a low-income North Carolina county. Data analysis indicated that instructional supplies expenditures per pupil and parental volunteer hours were not statistically significant in…