With the majority of mothers of school-aged children now in the labor force, there is much concern about the supervision of these children when the parents are at work and school is out. Of particular concern are children in self-care after school, many of whom spend their time in places other than home. This study contrasted sixth-graders in…

Six fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms of children were involved in three studies undertaken to measure the effectiveness of four sets of teaching behaviors on short-term student achievement gains. The following behaviors were considered: (1) sharing instructional objectives with students; (2) providing feedback emphasizing students' abilities;…

This study examined the effect of three aspects of the testing context--physical privacy, anonymity, and offers of help from a tester--on children's expectations. Performance of 96 11-year-old boys and girls on a pictorial recall memory task in a simulated test was evaluated. The subjects were divided into eight different groups varying on the…

One important finding from recent research on multiplication word problems is that children's performances are strongly affected by the nature of the multiplier (whether it is an integer, decimal larger than 1 or a decimal smaller than 1). On the other hand, the size of the multiplicand has little or no effect on problem difficulty. The aim of the…

This test booklet contains 50 multiple choice items testing sixth grade social studies achievement. The test was administered by the Alberta (Canada) Department of Education in June 1985. The items concern early civilizations, Southeast Asia, and regulation by the government. Fifty minutes are allowed to complete this test. (GDC)

Two studies found temporal persistence and resistance to extinction to be positively related to the attribution of failure to insufficient effort, and negatively related to ability and task difficulty in sixth graders. Results provided support for the attribution model of achievement motivation as well as empirical foundation for attribution…

Responses to a questionnaire about the language arts teaching practices of 180 grade six teachers in Calgary public schools. Tables of the ten most-used and ten least-used teaching practices are included. (AA)

Discusses use of computer simulations for instruction at the middle-school level, especially in history and geography. Reports on a case study of a large middle school's response to technology over a 3-year period. The study focuses on the simulation program "Mary Rose," a shipwreck salvaging simulation. (Author/CH)

Describes University of Regina's 4-year specialized Middle Years Teacher Education Program, leading to a Bachelor of Education degree, which features an intense second year of weekly teaching experience in an intermediate classroom, instruction in teaching skills and strategies, and focuses on characteristics and needs of early adolescent learners…

Eighty-seven fifth graders in Israel were randomly assigned to four different filmmaking courses, covering photography only, scenario design and photography, editing and photography, or all three activities. Filmmaking had a significant effect on the cultivation of eight mental skills. The editing activity cultivated four logical inference skills.…

The multidimensional structure of verbal comprehension test items was investigated. Empirical evidence was provided to support the theory that item tasks are multivariate-multiordered composites of faceted components: language, contextual knowledge, and cognitive operation. Linear and circular properties of cylindrical manifestation were…

Compared the behavior of 48 preadolescent boys with and without peer adjustment problems in a naturalistic school setting. Analyses provided general support for the reciprocity hypothesis, which posits that individuals tend to match the affective quality of a response to that of the previous response. (LLL)

This curriculum unit takes the form of historical fiction, an original story for middle school students which revolves around the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Guatemala and the Mayan people. Incorporated into the story are many of the Mayan sites, ruins, geography, culture, legends, historical characters, and cities. The climax is set at the…

England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies are designed to raise standards for all pupils. Though the skills they address are basic and need to be built up throughout the primary years, at the early stage of implementing the strategies, many older pupils will not have reached the standards expected of Year 6 pupils in future years. This…

This information pack tells the story of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Maya of Guatemala. It covers Mayan culture and daily life as well as the discrimination experienced by the Maya and the fight for human rights in Guatemala. Containing a wealth of activities designed for mixed ability classes, the pack also can be used for…