The purpose of this study was to examine whether justifying one's own social knowledge (moral, societal, psychological) toward complex social-moral issues through collaborative argumentation was associated with the improvement of social perspective taking for elementary students. A total of 129 5th graders (52% female, Mage = 10.98) from six…

Background: Students may exhibit growth mindsets, where intelligence is seen as malleable and failures prompt more effort and new approaches, or fixed mindsets, where intelligence is seen as immutable and failures indicate lack of intelligence. One's mindset in general may be different from that for a particular domain such as engineering. Having…

Elementary teachers can help students develop a critical literacy lens and learn how to question, analyze, and challenge assumptions. In turn, this can develop an inclusive classroom. My teacher action research looks at how critical literacy impacts both me, the teacher, and my fifth-grade students, in a predominantly White suburban public school…

Many students of color who are also identified as "struggling" readers are likely to have negative experiences in school. In this article, I discuss the findings of a case study examining how reader identities emerged in and through language for such students. The discourse data analyzed here concern an interactional pattern in which the…

There are many motivators for students in their learning experiences, yet few compare to the desire to build relationships. Through book clubs, students had opportunities to strengthen their learning and strengthen their relationships. The purpose of this qualitative research project was to describe the impact of voluntary book clubs on 5th grade…

This action research project report was conducted because students' lack of sportsmanship skills in elementary school physical education was negatively affecting the physical activity level of many students. The teacher was spending classroom time giving attention to conflicts dealing with negative sportsmanship issues and therefore losing…

It has become apparent that in recent years the issue of childhood obesity is becoming the number one health risk among children in the United States. Making sure that children participate in daily physical education class is one way to combat the obesity epidemic. The purpose of this action research project was to improve the active participation…

The comparative effectiveness of graphic novels, heavily illustrated novels, and traditional novels as reading teaching tools has been sparsely researched. During the 2011-2012 school year, 24 mixed-ability fifth grade students chose to read six novels: two traditional novels, two highly illustrated novels and two graphic novels. Students…

Describes Body Parts Writing, an activity which focuses on the reader's own text-based and self-based interpretations of literature. Notes that the purpose of this activity is to invite and support readers' personal responses and give them a forum to discuss their individual interpretations. Concludes that it provides readers with another way to…

Learning about certain scientific topics has potential to spark strong emotions among students. We investigated whether emotions predicted students' attitudes after engaging in independent rereading and/or rereading plus discussion about Pluto's reclassification. Fifth and sixth grade students read a refutation text on Pluto's reclassification.…

Children's books with characters that have disabilities have been touted as an avenue to introduce children to their peers with disabilities. Children's literature specialists have suggested that the use of these books may result in a more positive attitude on the part of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities. Working…

Reports a study that used focus group discussions to evaluate fifth graders' understanding of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome before receiving HIV education. Results indicated students' conceptions about HIV were more naive than expected. The focus groups were effective in evaluating students' process of…

Examines four fifth-grade students' stances and their responses to a narrative text in three classroom activities--a peer-led discussion group, a story map activity, and written responses. Investigates issues regarding the accessibility of shifts in stance for the students. Calls into question L. Rosenblatt's construct of the aesthetic-efferent…