The middle-level education initiative described in this document outlines an innovative program to assist New Mexico school districts in addressing the needs of early adolescents. Findings and recommendations that underscore the need for middle-level educational reform in New Mexico's schools are presented in this report. The state is a recipient…

The state of New Mexico requires all sixth grade students to take the year-long social studies course entitled Eastern Hemisphere Studies. Seventh grade students are required to take two semester-long courses, are in Western Hemisphere Studies and the other in New Mexico History and Geography. The year-long social studies course on U.S. History is…

This teacher's guide is for educators in classrooms, outdoor education, youth groups, scouting, and after-school programs to teach about the Aztec Ruins National Monument (New Mexico). The teaching materials in the guide support the New Mexico educational standards in science, social studies, language arts, mathematics, and art. Since the guide's…

Spiders and insects are studied in both Navajo Studies and science classes at a middle school in New Mexico. In Navajo Studies, students learn the names of ground-dwelling insects and the connection between those names and traditional Navajo stories. In science class, students study arthropods to illustrate taxonomy of life, trophic and biological…

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,…

Of the many factors that have been proposed as a rationale for poor mathematics conceptualization by American Indians, cultural factors remain the most popular when explanations are submitted. Additionally, the accepted fault for poor achievement is focused upon mathematics anxiety. A study of American Indian school mathematics achievement and…