It is easy for intermediate students to get the wrong ideas about the purpose of reading. Educators pay so much attention to decoding and fluency in the early years that children sometimes come to believe that flawless and rapid word recognition is the point. As texts get more demanding or unfamiliar, some of the "good readers" in classes begin to…

This article describes how a sixth grade teacher uses contests, games, and fun to teach superior geography skills. (Author/IAH)

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…

A computer program, Pacesetter, is described. As an organizational tool, it assists in developing strategies for planning, organizing, scheduling, and completing tasks on time. An account is given of the experiences of a teacher who used Pacesetter to help sixth graders produce a school newspaper. (IAH)