A mentor-assisted enrichment program was initiated in the 1981-82 school year for gifted/talented (GT) 6th and 7th graders in a public elementary school in Vancouver. The mentors were 11 pre-service teachers who used a "Four Phase Enrichment Model" to assist pairs of students to plan, carry out, complete, and then present an enrichment project to…

Five seventh grade and four sixth grade social studies textbooks most commonly used in Michigan public schools were examined (1) to determine the extent to which these textbooks reflected the pluralistic nature of the global society, past and present, and (2) to ascertain the quality of scholarship, educational soundness, and readability levels.…

This document articulates the goals and objectives of the middle school guidance program in Orange County, Florida Public Schools system. Professional roles and responsibilities are discussed, as well as program implementation. These goals to assist students are listed for the middle school guidance program: (1) understanding the school…

A study examined variables that affect the acquisition of automaticity of verbal skills. Among the variables examined were practice, novelty or familiarity of a word or word category, the speed and efficiency with which persons acquire automaticity, reaction time, and number of tasks performed concurrently. Subjects, 30 sixth and seventh grade…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-concept and anxiety in Japanese early adolescents who participated in an eight-day adventure camp, conducted in 1982 and 1983. The study used 155 sixth- through eighth-grade volunteers, ages 11 to 14. The paper describes the camp program and training for the main activity, a three-day…

This report describes the development and validation of the Test of Inference Ability in Reading Comprehension: a scaled-answer, multiple-choice test intended for use in Grades 6, 7, and 8. The report discusses the need for and conceptualization of assessment of inference ability; proposes standards and principles of inference appraisal; and…

IN 1963, THE JAMESVILLE-DEWITT BOARD OF EDUCATION ORDERED THE INVESTIGATION OF VARIOUS SCHOOL ORGANIZATION PROGRAMS TO DETERMINE WHICH PROGRAM OFFERED THE BEST OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENT GROWTH. THE INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THAT A MIDDLE SCHOOL ORGANIZATION (5-4-3 GRADE DIVISION) WOULD MORE EFFICIENTLY FULFILL STUDENT GROWTH NEEDS. SIXTH-GRADE…

This report discusses the genesis, imblementation, and evaluation of the Wichita, Kansas, School Health Education Curriculum Project, instructinq fifth-, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade public school students in units on the lung and respiratory system, the heart and circulatory system, and the brain and central nervous system. Developed from…

A sample of 524 Israeli school children in grades 4 through 8 was used to investigate the relationships of game-playing with school achievement, family background, and several psychological characteristics. Game playing was found not to be directly related to school achievement when abilities and attitudes were controlled. However, the playing of…

This study attempted to determine the extent to which phonemic-graphemic correspondence problems adversely affect reading comprehension among black children who are nonstandard speakers of English. An instrument requiring both silent and oral reading was devised by the investigator to test the effects of phonemic-graphemic correspondence problems…

Mechanical aptitude is considered to be a composite of several abilities--general intelligence, spatial, mechanical knowledge and comprehension, and relevant manual dexterity and coordination. Abilities are conceived as if organized in a hierarchical model and are assumed to develop as overlearned and generalized response patterns to particular…

Claims that teachers sometimes need to set up and direct purposeful writing situations to make sure that children gain experience in different kinds of writing. Discusses how teachers can help students tackle a challenging writing task, and describes strategies which students use to deal with a difficult writing assignment. (MM)

Two studies examining the role of present and possible (future) academic selves are presented. In the first study, the relations between present and future selves, and changes in grade point average between the sixth and seventh grades, were examined. Results indicated that positive present and future academic self-concepts were related to…

Project Oz is a not-for-profit special services agency providing drug education and crisis intervention services. Project Oz curricula provide compact and well-researched information for teachers, supplemented by student learning activities that reinforce the lecture portions of the topic. These activities are grade-appropriate and incorporate…

This integrated unit, intended for use with sixth or seventh graders, introduces students to the trading networks and geographic factors that influenced the maritime spice trade from southeast Asia to the Roman Empire and Han China during the period 100 B.C. to 100 A.D. The unit is designed so that students work in cooperative groups in a series…