This unit of the Flexible Learning System (FLS) describes the development of children's concepts and presents ways that adults can facilitate conceptual learning in children between 2 and 8 years of age. Concepts are described as representable, sharable and organized knowledge formulated around interests, susceptible to agreement and disagreement,…

Research shows that there are many possible positive effects of early bilingual reading upon intellectual growth and general education. An Italian research project dealing with early bilingual literacy is described; the teaching methods used in the project are examined. (RM)

This practicum project sought to improve nutrition in a day care program serving children ages 2 through 14 years by increasing staff, student, and parent knowledge about nutrition. The primary goal was to increase knowledge and interest in nutrition and its relation to wellness of students, staff, and parents. The second goal was to provide…

In this study, four hearing mothers with deaf children (ages 3-10) were interviewed about the process of choosing a mode of communication and school placement for their children. All of the children attended local public schools. The mothers' responses were examined in order to identify any common factors that contributed to the choice of public…

With creative ideas contributed from Wisconsin youth services librarians, this manual is a practical guide for planning and implementing the state's 1999 summer library program. Dealing with the theme, "Go Global: Read!," this manual contains a broad spectrum of ideas--from solid information about varied cultures to playful fantasy tales…

Describes a program initiated in a Baltimore (Maryland) elementary school intended to test the limits of the principle that all children can learn. Presents results indicating that the program had positive effects on the language skills of preschoolers and kindergartners and on the reading skills of students in grades one through three. (MW)

This article offers suggestions for preschool and elementary school second language programs that will help students appreciate and understand the culture of the language they are studying. It focuses on cultural differences in nonverbal communication, art appreciation, teacher training and recruitment, and research needs in the field. (11…

Investigated effects of kindergarten schedules and prior preschool attendance on elementary children's academic achievement, incidence of grade retention, and reception of special education services in 32 Ohio school districts. In this statewide longitudinal study, children who attended preschool prior to kindergarten had greater success in…

Item analysis data were collected for the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test and Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test, from urban and rural Alberta (Canada) youngsters and Inuit youngsters from the Northwest Territories (Canada). Both tests were inadequate in individual item difficulty levels, suggesting the necessity of revising scoring systems and…

Presents an interview with the founder and director of the Riley School in Maine in which she discusses the school's educational philosophy and practices, curriculum design, and physical plant design. (BB)

Examined syntactic development in acquisition of Swedish as a first language in normal (L1) and specifically language-impaired (SLI) children, and acquisition of Swedish as a second language (L2). Similarity between SLI learners and L2 learners is evidence against the hypothesis that there is a fundamental L1-L2 difference. Some data are appended.…

This article discusses the poor reading achievement of African-American children in urban schools and argues that prevention efforts must begin prior to kindergarten. Key variables influencing young children's performance, including poverty, general oral language skills, dialectal variations, home literacy practices, standardized testing bias, and…

This practicum developed a special program to serve the elementary school child who has a preschool sibling with a hearing impairment. A special book addressing the cognitive and emotional needs of the siblings was written and distributed to 35 children whose families were enrolled in a clinic-sponsored correspondence program and to 15 children…

Project Familia was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII project in its second year in 1993-94 in New York City. Project Familia served 77 children at 3 schools who were identified as limited English proficient, special education students in prekindergarten through fifth grade and their parents. The project provided after-school…

This study compared parent and teacher beliefs regarding the relative importance of a set of child care and education tasks, and assessed the degree to which the responsibility for these tasks was perceived to be shared between home and school. The questionnaires of the Perception of Parental Role Scales were administered to three groups of…