Investigates the effects of purpose for reading and frequency of encounters with unknown words in written context on learning from context tasks performed by 119 sixth grade good and poor reading comprehenders. Finds no significant interactions, resulting at least partial support for Robert Sternberg's model of verbal comprehension. (MG)

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)

Discusses techniques and lessons used to assist students in reading with a writer's eye, observing the world with a writer's eye, and developing the craft of writing, including the writer's notebook; grabber leads; show, not tell; unforgettable language; and voice. Notes that developing a community of writers is essential to the successful use of…

Investigates the effects of an instructional intervention derived from the Garofalo and Lester cognitive-metacognitive framework on the problem-solving performance of year six students with different ability levels. Concludes that there was significant improvement in problem-solving performance for the experimental class compared to the control…

Examines what effects teaching explicitly about racism for one term to a multiethnic, elementary school class has on the students' attitudes, beliefs, and actions regarding racism. Responses from 23 six graders reveal a need for primary schools to provide more effective and explicit education against racism. (GR)

Explores the impact of an inquiry project conducted with sixth-grade language arts students. Looks at three aspects of the project in relation to the literature on engagement, critical literacy, and the design of language arts curriculum for adolescents. Concludes that students' intense interest in their projects demonstrates such projects provide…

This article describes an exercise program for children. "Shapes for Kids," takes the same 30-minute approach at the Curves workout for women. The program is set up using 20 stations, which rotate upper-body work, abdominal exercises, lower-body work, and cardiovascular exercises. Some stations combine more than one component. Children change…

Open-ended tasks were used to examine gender differences in complex mathematical problem solving. The results of this study suggest that, overall, males perform better than females, but the gender differences vary from task to task. A qualitative analysis of student responses to those tasks with gender differences showed that male and female…

The use of a visual representation in learning about proportional relations was studied, examining students' understandings of the invariance of a multiplicative relation on both sides of a proportion equation and the invariance of the structural relations that exist in different semantic types of proportion problems. Subjects were 49 high-ability…

Uses of the computer to support the development of writing skills was examined in a computer-intensive educational context, the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT). Subjects were 55 sixth-grade minority students, 25 of whom were ACOT participants and the remainder members of a matched control group attending the same school. Computer-based writing…

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…

A study tested the effect on children's self-concept of 4 weeks of activities intended to foster self-esteem. Subjects, 20 sixth graders from a low socio-economic background were randomly assigned to experimental and control samples. The experimental sample received training in self-esteem activities, while the control sample did not. Results…

Library skills were taught to 600 fifth- and sixth-grade students in an effort to indoctrinate them into becoming library users. (Author/PF)

A study tested the hypothesis that the self-esteem of a group of six sixth graders would be raised through the employment of a bibliotherapeutic program. Self-esteem was measured before and after the program by the "Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory for Children Form A." The subjects, who were from low, average, and above average reading groups,…

This paper summarizes research relevant to the Austin Independent School District's proposal to move sixth graders from an elementary school (K-6 or K,4-6) to a middle school (6-8) grade grouping. A summary of the evolution of middle-grade education is presented. Three areas affected by grade organization are discussed: academic achievement,…