Describing the Union 58 Experimental Schools Program (ESP) in northern, rural New Hampshire, this curriculum guide presents the concept of "proximity congruency" as a means for developing elementary level (grades four through six) student sensory awareness of the environment in outdoor and/or environmental education procedures. Proximity…

"Sort Stories: Leveled Reading Supplement to Words Their Way: Word Sorts for Letter Name-Alphabet Spellers" effectiveness was tested using five English language learner (ELL) students in the fifth and sixth grade. "Sort Stories" uses the word lists and accompanying clip-art from "Words Their Way" in developmental, grade-level specific, short read…

A training program was developed for fellows in child psychiatry at the University of California-Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute to acquaint them with school consultation in the area of sex education. Results of the program, which involved team teaching with fifth and sixth grade teachers, and implications for such programs are discussed.…

This study sought to develop and verify the Index of Science Reading Awareness (ISRA) based on a model of an efficient, successful interactive-constructive science reader and three independent metacognitive awareness domains. Results did not support the assumption about the three independent metacognitive awareness domains and also indicated that…

The incidence, correlates, and effects of mathematics anxiety were studied for 154 Japanese children in grades 5 and 6. Factor analysis identified four dimensions of mathematics anxiety, and a number of relationships between achievement test scores and grades, gender, and class were also identified. (SLD)

Investigated the effects of group size and exposure time in the use of a commercially prepared tutorial program or drill-and-practice software by 168 fifth and sixth graders. Found that exposure time was related to students' scores on posttests. Results suggested a need to examine allocated time in microcomputer learning situations. (LB)

A group of reading teachers at a Pennsylvania middle school was charged with developing a uniform reading program and selecting reading materials to meet their students' needs. This article describes the committee's work, focusing on the selection and adaption of a whole-language basal-reading program that incorporates writing and other language…

In 1985, participants in the Second International Science Study developed and evaluated hands-on problem-solving activities and gave students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of science process skills. Six evaluation stations for fifth and sixth graders are presented: Blowing in a Liquid, Compare and Contrast, Electrical Circuit, Hot and…

Examines family achievement orientation (parental beliefs regarding education) perceived by 73 fifth-grade and 75 sixth-grade African-American students (59 males and 89 females) in an urban school district. Studies how these perceptions affect students' achievement orientation. Family demographic variables contribute little to achievement…

Study tested the effects of an experiment-based physical science program on cognitive outcomes with 556 urban fourth through eighth graders. Teachers implemented the hands-on Quantitative Approach to Elementary Science program consisting of 22 physical science experiments. Results indicate the program influenced only science process skills and…

The usefulness of latent class modeling in addressing several measurement issues is demonstrated via a study of 74 good and 74 poor readers in grades 5 and 6. Procedures were particularly useful for assessing the hierarchical relation among skills and for exploring issues related to item domains. (SLD)

Studied sex and acculturation differences in occupational values among 177 Chinese-American fifth and sixth graders. Found money and task satisfaction were very important values, whereas object orientation and solitude were quite unimportant; that the high-acculturation children valued self-realization more than the low-acculturation children; and…

Low-income Hispanic elementary students were surveyed to determine tobacco use patterns and sociobehavioral correlates. Tobacco experimentation rates increased by age, with boys more prone to starting than girls. Being offered cigarettes was the strongest environmental indicator of tobacco use, followed by having adult smokers at home, and having…

Compared patterns of group interaction for (n=28) fifth- and sixth-grade students during small group discussions designed to reduce misconceptions related to division. Highly interactive patterns of discourse were found to be associated with effective learning. (Contains 25 references.) (MKR/Author)

Examined ethnic similarities and differences in children's perceptions of their parents' educational socialization practices and attributions for success and failure, and the impact of these variables on mathematics achievement in a sample of 591 poor fifth and sixth graders. Discusses findings of ethnic differences in terms of the culture and…