The intention of this report is to build a strong case for a portfolio approach to assessment of reading and writing during the middle school years. A portfolio is both a collection of the artifacts of students' reading and writing and a disposition toward assessment. This disposition is characterized by the belief that assessment must be…

This publication focuses on new standards for language arts (reading, writing, representing, viewing, speaking, and listening) designed to create opportunities for middle and high school students to develop skills and become more literate readers. The book presents 60 activities based on popular novels for young people, including complete…

This book presents ways in which teachers can build virtue and character in middle and high school students. The text is divided into three parts. In part 1, "Measuring Virtue," ways in which virtue can be restored to education are explored. The chapters examine the problems teachers face, the elements of virtue, how to make virtue operational,…

The conflict resolution curriculum presented in this teachers' guide is based on the belief that conflict is a natural part of life, although few people have the skills to deal with conflict creatively. This curriculum gives students the opportunity to practice skills related to dealing with conflict successfully in all areas of their lives. The…

This handbook is designed to encourage students in middle school and junior high school to begin thinking about attending college. It defines the different types of colleges that exist; compares the salaries of college graduates to those of non-college graduates; discusses technical programs; lists the type of jobs available to those who attend…

Service learning involves adolescent students in meaningful work within their community. This study examined the personal and educational motivations and expectations of 140 fifth through seventh graders from one middle school in New York City who were participating in a service learning program using the National Helper Network program model.…

Using as prompts scenarios of interaction at a preschool and senior center, this study examined student responses concerning the degree of caring exhibited. Data were collected from middle school students before and after participating in a service learning program involving service in a preschool, and from nonservice students. The service…

Offers three brief articles on three teacher-initiated programs that involve collaboration with colleagues and students: in music/arts production by fourth and fifth graders; an independent study program in which middle school students wrote grant proposals; and an activity in which seventh graders mapped a timeline of Earth history and geologic…

Describes the Science Fair Mentoring Program, one of the Science Connection programs of the Massachusetts General Hospital/James P. Timilty Middle School Partnership. This program is designed to enhance middle school science education, inform urban early adolescents about professions in the health field, and encourage them to pursue postsecondary…

Explains how preservice middle school teachers were brought into contact with at-risk middle school students via e-mail to discuss young adult literature selections. (TB)

Claims that service learning can help middle-school counselors enhance students' self-esteem. Discusses service learning's increasing popularity and its purposes. Describes one such program's initiation in South Carolina which provides tutoring, working with the elderly, and helping the poor. Examines student perceptions of the program and the…

Suggests that parent/student computer clubs are an effective use of technology to bring parents into the middle school and promote family time. Describes how sixth through eighth graders and their parents/guardian attend monthly evening meetings in which they are introduced to computers, word processing, databases, spreadsheets, graphics,…

Using Lickona's framework of morality, surveys of 1,650 Japanese students and 1,240 U.S. students in grades 5-8 examined student perceptions of moral expectations at home and school and of their own behaviors. Unexpectedly, determinants of moral behavior in the two societies were essentially the same, with school providing the primary influence on…

A study determined if exposing middle school students to stories and poems that show what virtues look like, how they are practiced, how to recognize them, and how they work, would have a significant effect on the degree of assimilation of these virtues expressed by the students. Sixth-grade students (n=23) attending a suburban middle school in…

Pupils in middle schools should have ample opportunities to write with the use of word processors. Legible writing in longhand will always be necessary in selected situations but, nevertheless, much drudgery is taken care of when using a word processor. Word processors tend to be very user friendly in that few mechanical skills are needed by the…