Presents a letter from a sixth-grade student to the author and presents his response letter which are found in a compilation of author/reader correspondence called "Letters of Hope." Discusses the role of the storyteller and considers if writers of young adult literature feel an obligation to provide hope for their readers. (SG)

Reviews a sixth grader's book report on Paul Fox's "The Slave Dancer" and draws critical inferences about the student's lack of real engagement with literature. (TB)

Discusses writing novels, particularly the author's novel "Freak the Mighty," and what it is like to be a sixth grader. (RS)

Muses on the teaching of history to sixth graders, using writing historically as a form of personal exploration, and making connections with the past. (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)

A study of fifth and sixth grade public school students in Israel suggests that grades and other norm-referenced methods are less effective than task-involving evaluation methods in enhancing student performance, interest, and motivation. This article consists of two commentaries on the findings, with suggestions for implementing task-involving…

The verbalized thinking of two sixth grade children while reading is analyzed using schema theory. An outline of a critical thinking theory is given and contrasted with schema theory. Conclusions for reading theoreticians are discussed. (MT)

Critically examines methodology used by Vincenzi (1987) in study reporting association between childhood depression and reading ability. Asserts that methodology does not support such a conclusion. Extends examination to the general literature on depression and cognitive impairment and argues that a clear association has yet to be demonstrated.…

Offers a brief look at a graduate student's on-line correspondence with three sixth-grade pen pals. Offers advice about adult-student pen pal relationships. (SR)

The role of communication in the maintenance of healthy long-term family relationships is an important one. Communication exists within the family as a dynamic and essential force in the maintenance of relationships, and facilitates the development of the satisfied and healthy family. Families are governed by rules, making interactions patterned…

Explores how dialog writing, in which two participants "converse in writing," incorporates the interactive aspects of oral communication and the self-directed aspects of essay writing. Includes passages written over a year's time by a sixth grade student in a "dialogue journal" showing the development of his writing. (HTH)

Describes how a survivor of the Holocaust helped a sixth grade class understand the experiences of the Holocaust and how the class helped the survivor to reach into his own repressed pain. (PRA)

Describes a joint effort in a school/university partnership to develop, implement, and evaluate a literature-based approach to sixth grade social studies. Discusses theory and rationale; designing the unit; addressing prior knowledge; think sheets; head, hand, and heart of citizenship; developing personal responses; and program effectiveness. (SR)

A Chicago sixth-grade teacher in a school with a highly transient, diverse student population describes a typical first day in September. When the children make booklets about themselves and their families, problems arise with some who have lost parents, siblings, or grandparents. A handshake exercise discloses a child lacking fingers on one hand.…

Presents results of a study which interviewed sixth graders from three North Carolina schools to determine what they think of their school librarians. Results indicated that children's perceptions are affected by personalities and behavior of individual librarians. Sidebars focus on how the study was conducted and what students noticed most about…