This playbook draws from the findings of "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," the largest empirical study of this grade level conducted to date. The "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" study was designed to find out what higher-performing schools do differently. The result is a compelling set of specific, actionable…

Explored the nature of a seventh grade teacher's reflections on instruction during university seminars and in her classroom. Analyzes three major orientations that guided the teacher's reflections regarding instructional improvement. Described the ways that the teacher expressed "new comprehension" of teaching and the ways that this new…

Mathematics textbooks for grades K-9 were examined to determine how much of content was new content rather than review of old content. New content tends to decrease from grade three through grade eight with lowest amount of new content in books for grades six, seven, and eight (below 40 percent for two series). Differences among series are…

Fifteen major concepts form the basis of the New York State schools K-12 social studies program. They are: (1) change, (2) choice, (3) citizenship, (4) culture, (5) diversity, (6) empathy, (7) environment, (8) human rights, (9) identity, (10) interdependence, (11) justice, (12) political system, (13) power, (14) scarcity, and (15) technology. The…

A study examined multiple outcomes of relaxation training simultaneously in seventh grade classrooms. "Project Relaxation" measured cognitive (achievement) and affective (discipline, attendance, tardiness, and self-concept) changes with a program of relaxation training for 532 seventh grade students in 10 private and public middle schools in South…

When students make the transition from elementary school to junior high school, they experience abrupt organizational changes in their school environment. The hypothesis that social comparison processes mediate the relation between ability grouping practices in mathematics and students' achievement expectancies was tested in a longitudinal sample…

The intention of this paper is to provide reference material to states, school districts, and local schools who seek assistance in curriculum development and maintenance of quality programs in physical education. The guidelines are based on the 5-point definition of the physically educated person that was developed by the National Association for…

The objective of this study was to begin to examine middle school classrooms for examples of either gender equity or gender bias. Data were collected by visiting 80 classes in 10 middle schools in central Connecticut. Classes observed included 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes in social studies, mathematics, science, language arts, foreign language,…

This report presents an overview and the philosophy of a particular Summerbridge National Project program conducted at the San Francisco University High School. The program offers talented and diverse middle school students an intense 6-week academic enrichment program taught by bright, motivated high school and college students. The program…

This guide provides descriptions of the social studies courses that are offered in Florida schools for students in grades six through eight. Specifically, the guide presents broad guidelines for course content and outcomes and is intended to assist educators in developing specific instructional plans for given subject areas. The guide is designed…

Practices for improving adolescent literacy--which includes reading, writing, and speaking--are much discussed and debated among secondary school educators and researchers. At Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama, the debate has ended after teachers and administrators implemented several practices that elevated student achievement from…