A teacher describes his experiences in attempting to instruct middle school students to understand logic. (RK)

Asserts that inquiry-based activities increase student interest and motivation. Describes classroom management problems teachers may encounter in inquiry teaching. Outlines numerous ways to avoid or reduce the severity of problems by rearranging desks, dividing groups according to reading level and language skills, and by addressing student…

Author described some of the techniques she used for teaching French at Roosevelt Junior High School, West Palm Beach. She also explained how these techniques helped students to maintain an early desire to learn a foreign language. (Author/RK)

Discusses the use of middle school collaborative teams to support "stay-put" programming for at-risk students and those with mild disabilities. Discusses the process of collaboration, tools of accommodation, and group motivational strategies to better teach at-risk students. (SR)

Presents an outline of a number of curriculum modifications and adaptations that can be relatively simple to implement at the middle school level in order to individualize instruction in mainstreamed classrooms. (FL)

Discusses cognitive style and culture, and maintains that some students might be considered "at risk" when they are simply field-dependent learners. Describes characteristics of field-dependent and field-independent learners, and discusses strategies for use with the field-dependent learner. (SR)

Although reports calling for middle level schooling reform first appeared in the mid-1970s, change has been slow to come. In Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century (1989), the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development outlined eight essential elements of middle level education. Drawing from the Carnegie Council's…

Author focused on the failures of many middle schools to realize their potential and criticized existing programs designed for middle schools while offering solutions to correct such programs. (RK)

Describes a program in which students were immersed in Russian culture and history in an effort to help them better understand the text of Turgenev's "Mumu." (FL)

Outlines a unit of instruction on credit card usage that would allow young students to research what credit, reputation, and trust are; examine contract and monthly statement terminology; investigate the advantages and disadvantages of credit cards; and begin to think critically about the use of credit cards. (FL)

Uses meta-analysis on teaching strategies research in science and finds that the so-called alternative science teaching strategies are more effective than traditional science teaching strategies. Shows that inquiry-oriented instruction characterizes the alternative strategies and distinguishes them from traditional science teaching strategies. (SR)

Reports on a study of strategies used by U.S. History teachers at the eighth-grade level to motivate students to learn and student's views about teacher's strategies. Finds that teachers attribute less importance to the relevance of subject matter than to their attempts to stimulate student interest. (SR)

Echoes the recommendation in "An Agenda for Excellence at the Middle Level" that junior high schools and middle schools recognize and accommodate their socially, physically, and mentally diverse populations. (SRT)