A quasi-experimental design investigated the effectiveness of three reading intervention types in increasing reading comprehension, both explicit and implicit, using a sample of 78 students, approximately 17% of the population of third through fifth grades at a single-school, rural, K-12, Central Texas school district with an enrollment of…

The following study investigated the relationship between teacher effectiveness, as defined by the teacher's proficiency score on Domain VIII of the Texas Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS), and student achievement on the fourth- and fifth-grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) reading and mathematics tests. This…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. In 1994, TSA was expanded to include non-public school students. The 1994 reading assessment considered students' proficiency in situations that involved…

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the knowledge regarding marine organisms and their feeding relationships of fourth grade residents of one coastal and one inland community in south Texas and to generate grounded theory concerning the participants' construction of such knowledge. Four male and four female students were randomly…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. In 1992, the NAEP Program included an expanded TSA in fourth-grade reading. The 1992 reading assessment considered students' performance in situations that…

This Fort Bend (Texas) social studies curriculum guide for fourth grade covers six six-week periods, and the 13 course outlines include the topics to be covered, the main goals and their supporting objectives, and a materials correlation key. The 13 topics include map skills, personal, social, and civic responsibility, forest, desert, plains and…

Explains Cultural Connections, a model for implementing constructivist, intercultural distance learning partnerships. Highlights include a theoretical framework; social constructivist pedagogy; intercultural communication; telecommunications; Web pages; and examples of a middle school partnership in Texas, a fourth-grade connection between Texas…

This booklet comprises the fourth grade component of a series of curriculum guides on fire and burn prevention. Designed to meet the age-specific needs of fourth grade students, its objectives include: (1) understanding principles of extinguishing fires, (2) investigating issues of peer pressure related to fire setting, (3) developing…

The Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse, which has been administered twice, and which covered grades seven through twelve, was expanded for the 1990 survey to encompass grades four to six. The students were surveyed on their use of tobacco, alcohol, inhalants, and marijuana. The most widely used substances were alcohol and tobacco, with…

This study analyzed rural Texas teachers commitment to purposeful change through active participation in a teacher study group, the Reflective Practice Discussion Group (RPDG). The RPDG involved focused, rule-governed discussion that examined how to support teachers engaged in purposeful change. The fundamental professional concern of the project…