Fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade children were tested with different methodologies for deriving measures of their knowledge of interlandmark distances and directions on their school campus. Overall results emphasized that measures derived from children's estimates of direction information were not comparable with measures derived from their…

A random sample of fourth and eighth grade Title I students who either did or did not attend summer school was tested to determine what effect the Title I summer school program had on student achievement and summer loss in reading and mathematics. Academic achievement was assessed by the Stanford Achievement Tests. The results indicated summer…

A study of the relationships of pitch discrimination, sound discrimination, pronunciation of German phonemes, and cognitive style as factors in language learning ability had as subjects two intact eighth grade German classes with a total of 45 students. Four instruments were used to measure the four variables studied. The findings for 11 research…

The purpose of this study was to review and study the aspects of seventh- and eighth-grade programs located in elementary school buildings in contrast to seventh- and eighth-grade programs in junior high school buildings. Several separate studies were designed and conducted to gather data. One study consisted of a survey of 10 percent of all…

An instrument (Some Ideas) was developed to assess the environmental responsibility of fifth and eighth grade students, and their perceptions of environmental problems and the people who work with them. Student scores served as the dependent variable in ANOVAS with the independent variables including grade, community, SES, IQ, and sex. (BT)

This study investigates the influences and relationships between self-concept elements and students' activities in a normal school environment and focuses on individual self-construct. Interest has an important effect on an individual's learning process and behavior. There are three common definitions of interest: (1) interest as a characteristic…

In a replication of two studies, the author found that sixth and eighth graders performed comparably to their counterparts of 60 years ago on reading comprehension and vocabulary tests. (MKM)

Presents examples of classroom writing activities that can be incorporated into language arts textbooks for grades two, five, and eight to encourage civic thinking on issues such as nationhood, leadership, cultural differences, taxation, and war. (RS)

The elementary schools attended by students may affect their attitudes toward and academic performance in junior high school. Eighth grade students attending a junior high school in Kentucky in 1980 were asked to indicate how they felt about junior high school before they entered the seventh grade and what their attitudes were by the end of the…

Describes a multicultural unit for fifth graders in which each students receives a prop, develops a character around it, and writes a sketch which is videotaped and critiqued. Describes how students' characters identify their differences and figure out how to get along. Notes that students' ongoing relationships with eighth-grade penpals provided…

Presents a lesson which will help students see the importance of the Bill of Rights in their everyday lives and learn the first ten constitutional amendments. Outlines the procedures for a five-day teaching unit, assignment of a student project, and discussion of two problems dealing with freedom of expression. (GEA)

In this study of children's television viewing, 105 junior-high-school students reported the television programs they watched, the amount of time they spent each day watching television, and their reasons for watching television. The following results are reported: sixth graders watch more television than do seventh or eighth graders; sixth-grade…

A consortium of Chicago-area school districts obtained special permission to administer the Third International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) to consortium students so it could evaluate how its students stacked up against their international peers. TIMSS officials and the U.S. Department of Education are encouraging other districts and…

Describes a study that measured the ability of New Zealand students, grades five though eight, to locate information using library structures and systems through the standardization of six information skills tests. The paper and pencil tests were based on an information problem-solving perspective. (Author/LRW)