Although controversial, perhaps no piece of legislation has the potential to transform India's future more than the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). Upon the passage and enforcement of RTE in 2009, the Indian government instituted a series of wide-ranging reforms to India's education system. For example, the act…

Details how a fifth-grade teacher implemented Roger Farr's "Think-Along" strategy for developing metacognitive reading strategies for use with the novel "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr. (SR)

Discusses how storytelling was used in a fifth-grade class as a tool for promoting literacy and language development by having children write and tell their own tales. Highlights the positive rewards for children. Includes suggestions and techniques for teachers to follow in their classrooms. (RS)

Intended for classroom teachers, parents, theater people, and the general public, this book is an account of teaching a fifth grade class to write, direct, and perform their own plays as staged readings, videotapes, radio plays, and full stage productions. It can be read as a story or it can be used as a step-by-step guide for teachers. Each…

Examined developmental effects of bibliotherapy-based classroom guidance curriculum. Students (n=22) in experimental group participated in 12 bibliotherapy-based lessons using titles selected for literary merit; control students (n=20) participated in 12 guidance lessons. Results suggest that use of stories to help students solve problems or…

Describes an activity used with a fifth-grade mathematics class in which students solved a problem and wrote a convincing argument to prove their solution made sense. (SR)

Describes a cooperative learning activity in a fifth-grade class in which students researched, wrote, and sponsored classroom resolutions honoring African Americans during Black History Month. Discusses how literacy has the power to connect students with their heritage or with any heritage they choose to connect with. (SR)

Transcripts of two segments of CBS-TV's "Sunrise Semester" discuss the experiences of several participants in a production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" by elementary school students. (RL)

Describes the practical application of interdisciplinary activities in a fifth-grade classroom. Twenty-eight students participated in a two-month unit which integrated database activities with mathematics, art, English, U.S. history, and public speaking. Illustrates that student leaders were able to understand and construct search strategies,…

Describes an activity used with fifth graders to keep the children using new vocabulary acquired during a shared literature study. (PRA)

Argues that mental timelines for learning history are analogous to mental mapping for learning geography: both visually represent abstract concepts. Describes the construction of a classroom timeline and activities for fifth- and sixth-grade students that incorporate the use of timelines. Notes reasonable expectations for student progress at this…

Rural school students need ample opportunities to engage in creative writing, particularly the writing of poetry. A student teacher and a cooperating teacher in a rural fifth-grade classroom (with 12 students) guided the students in the writing of limericks by starting out with couplets, then triplets, and then limericks. The teacher had clearly…

Once a month, fifth-grade students in an Indianapolis, Indiana, classroom can use tickets earned through good behavior and academic achievement to purchase donated items and baked goods. Students are in charge of organizing the activity, keeping track of student "earnings," and managing a student "bank." (PGD)

Discusses collaborative explorations of collage, drama, and poetry with visiting artists, teachers, and students. Describes a project in which the picture book, "I Live in Music," was shared with students in Jean Dickinson's class as an extension of a study of the Harlem Renaissance. Presents a script that reflects the authors' story of…

Provides a lesson to familiarize students in grades four-six with the many ways that artists use the technique of collage. Students observe and discuss ways artists make use of materials other than paint on canvas. Examines how the introduction of foreign materials to a surface affects the illusion of space. (LS)