There is fear that adolescents have limited control over their digital technology use. The current research examines longitudinal (Study 1) and daily (Study 2) associations between U.S. adolescents' self-control and digital technological impairment and use. Using a large sample (N = 2,104; Wave 1: M[subscript age] = 12.36, 52% female, 57%…

Negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE) represent people's beliefs that they can use behaviors and cognitions to alleviate unpleasant emotional states. The relationship between NMRE and measures of affect, coping, depression, and anxiety with youth in Grades 4 through 8 (N = 539) was examined. In hierarchical regressions, scores on an NMRE…

An after-school enrichment activity offered to sixth-grade students gave a group of 10 students an opportunity to explore the effects of the California drought in their community using an engaging scientific device: the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Although this activity was specifically designed for a small after-school enrichment group, it…

Learning to write in middle school requires the expansion of sentence-level and discourse-level language skills. In this study, we investigated later language development in the writing of a cross-sectional sample of 235 upper elementary and middle school students (grades 4-8) by examining the use of (1) lexico-grammatical forms that support…

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at…

Serious reading problems exist among middle school learners as evidenced by declining national reading scores and increased dropout rates. In response to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) expectations in reading, several experts have promoted a scripted repeated reading strategy such as readers' theater as a possible approach to improving student…

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)

Investigated the joint effects of attitude survey format and language arts achievement level on students' (N=82) attitudes toward reading. Results indicate no significant main effect on attitude responses due to achievement level but the main effect due to survey format was significant. Interaction between achievement level and format was also…

Conducted 4-month participant/observation and 52 interviews with sixth and seventh graders. Identified six categories that students viewed as being their responsibilities for learning: doing work, obeying rules, paying attention, learning or studying, trying/making effort, and responsibility as something given or taken. (Author/NB)

These lesson plans are designed for use by middle school social studies teachers who take their students on a tour of the regional airports of Louisville, Kentucky. Twelve lesson plans are included: "Let's Go There Next, Mom"; "Who Wrote That?"; "The Games They Play!"; "You Flew on What?"; "I Wonder…

Pupils may well enjoy studying and writing poetry if quality methods of teaching are used. A student teacher taught a unit of study on the writing of poetry to a class of sixth grade pupils who had previously shown no interest in poetry. Active involvement by learners was stressed throughout the unit. Student interest was piqued with a bulletin…

A practicum used computers to improve the use of standard English and the attitude towards writing of a group of middle school students in a predominantly Nicaraguan neighborhood in a large metropolitan area. The project was directed towards 32 sixth- to eighth-graders of average ability who were enrolled in an introductory computer…

Reveals that the reading performance and dispositions towards reading of three adolescent readers (a successful, a moderately successful, and a struggling reader) observed in day-to-day classroom reading over five months varied according to the context of their reading, the materials they read, and their reading purpose. None, however, could be…

Investigated the effects of transitioning from elementary to middle school on the motivational beliefs of students attending two very different types of middle schools. Surveys of students at the end of grades 5, 6, and 7 indicated that while few differences existed in elementary school, students' motivational beliefs changed differently,…

The purpose of this practicum was to resolve conflict in a peaceful and constructive manner in the sixth-grade. Students participated in a conflict resolution and peer mediation program designed to enable friendships to grow and to reduce the number of violent acts within the school setting. Thirty students initially began in the program. During…