Describes how learning contracts (written agreements between a teacher and a student) help meet the needs of both middle school students and teachers. Discusses reappearing themes about contracts, how contracts meet teacher needs, program design and preliminaries, peer-to-peer cooperation, flexible grouping and minilessons, readings, exhibitions,…

Describes the implementation of a peer helping program at a middle school and its evaluation. Discusses evaluation of program which included pre- and posttraining surveys of trainees (n=22) and untrained comparison group (n=22) on acquisition of helping skills, personal development, and changes in self-concept, as well as surveys of parents,…

Explores a creative middle-school structure that provides a block of about two hours in the school day when one teacher has a group of students engaged in a variety of interdisciplinary activities. The concepts of learning circles and group-dependent projects are discussed. The core of the proposed middle school is constructivism. (SLD)

Examines how results of research on the brain and learning can be applied to the education of middle level students. Considers neural, experimental, and reflective intelligence and the importance of emotion in learning. Suggests ways to use natural curiosity to enhance learning by introducing engaging problems and reflecting on the problem-solving…

Presents the Integrated Thematic Instruction Model for translating brain research into practical applications in the classroom and school. Describes the specific neurotransmitters involved in learning. Discusses the key role of emotion and the importance of prior experience in the learning process. Recommends the types of sensory input needed for…

High expectations and appropriate standards for learning and achievement are important to any curriculum plan. The need for curriculum to meet developmental needs is particularly important for middle-level students. Middle-level students are unlike any other age group and are internally varied. Not all middle-level students need the same things at…

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 book, which began as a teacher research project, goes inside the Anne Frank Conference, an online literary exchange among middle school students, to examine how the conference experience has fundamentally changed who the students are as writers. The book provides background by discussing the implementation of the Bread Loaf Rural Teachers…

A sixth-grade student teacher developed and implemented a unit on creative writing, and one lesson in the unit on writing legends was particularly successful. A discussion of Davy Crockett and the legends surrounding his life, began the lesson. The student teacher then introduced trade books from the library station for the pupils to read.…

This study investigated the effectiveness of color coding, accomplished by highlighting, used to help students differentiate between exact meaning (explicit information) and implied meaning (implicit information) in both narrative (short story) and expository texts. Subjects were 78 sixth-grade students randomly enrolled in four language arts…

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…

Intended to help teachers and librarians stimulate middle school students' reading curiosity, this book provides practical and useful units for the study of literary genres that include stimulating, enjoyable, and meaningful activities. The book contains nine chapters. Chapter 1 presents a curriculum planning blueprint for teaching literature for…

This paper describes a short course for middle school students that was sponsored by the Higher Education Council of Columbus, Ohio, and undertaken to promote the development of self-expression capabilities by using public speaking as a communicative channel. The class was designed to be completed in three class meetings of three hours each,…

Kentucky is one of 27 states selected to participate in Carnegie's grant-sponsored Middle Grade Schools State Policy Initiative. This publication offers a blueprint for change in Kentucky's middle grades. Data were collected through surveys of: (1) a total of 214 administrators, 909 teachers, 878 parents, and 1,047 students at 228 Kentucky…

Pupils in the middle school can be motivated to enjoy and write haiku poetry. A student teacher taught two lessons to a sixth grade class in haiku writing. First, the student teacher read three haikus aloud to students. After discovering the characteristics of a haiku from two models, the class as a whole wrote a haiku based on slides from their…