This pamphlet lists authors and titles of a collection of 554 young adolescent books presented to 40 Indiana colleges and universities. Books in the collection listed in the pamphlet were chosen by librarians, consultants, and teachers from five Indiana middle schools. A chart listing contact persons and the location (curriculum center in…

Noting that reading instruction for young adolescents in Indiana's middle grades schools has been virtually eliminated, this booklet describes how important reading is in the middle grades and why it continues to deserve attention beyond the elementary years. The booklet proposes a series of actions that educators--teachers, administrators, school…

This report is a study of present practices and task force recommendations for restructuring education for middle-level learners in the State of Indiana. In spring 1989, a survey was distributed to 445 schools statewide that house students of grades 5-9. The responses from the 243 returns indicate that middle-school theory has not been fully…

This booklet presents descriptions of 19 reading programs that encourage Indiana middle-grade students to read. The programs described in the booklet were part of the Middle Grades Reading Network and were funded with competitive $5000 "minigrants." Essays (descriptions of the reading programs) in the booklet are: "Building a…

Many sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students in this nation are intelligent and talented, but are nevertheless performing at unacceptably low levels. Many middle-school initiatives do not address the need for comprehensive change in the policy and practices of district and state educational systems, nor do they address the content, quality,…

This issue of "Progressions" shares the lessons learned by the Lilly Endowment's Education Division from partnerships with educators, librarians, parents, and community activists. The articles look at individual components of the endowment's overall plan to promote reading among youngsters in grades five through nine, and to introduce…

This book tells the stories of four urban middle schools that have undergone deep transformation while participating in the Middle Grades Improvement Program (MGIP), an initiative that has nurtured fundamental change in school climate, structure and classroom practice in 16 urban districts and 65 schools in Indiana. The support of the Lilly…

The amount of time students spend in classrooms is relatively short--"13% of the student's waking hours in the first 18 years of life" (Walberg, Paschal, and Weinstein, 1985). They are developing intellectually, socially, and emotionally all the time, and parents are their models and teachers most of the time. This report describes and…