Administered the Survey of Reading Attitudes to 68 intermediate-grade students to determine the reliability of the eight attitudinal dimensions which it measures. The test retest interval was seven days. Results showed the scores were relatively stable. Reading anxiety appeared to be a less stable dimension. (Author/JAC)

Fifth-grade social studies students who were presented a highly structured lesson achieved significantly higher in comprehension and rated the lessons higher than did those students who were presented a less structured lesson. (CJ)

Wishes of students participating in a residential program for the gifted were collected and categorized. Males wished for material things more often than did females. With the exception of fourth graders, subjects made altruistic wishes more frequently than any other wish. (Author)

Describes an 8-week study on sixth-grade students (n=23) to determine the effect of personalizing word problems on students' motivation and ability to write correct mathematical expressions. Data from weekly quizzes and student attitude surveys revealed student motivation and achievement were both enhanced. (MKP)

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…

Describes the nature of social interactions within the context of tutorial sessions and describes the role of listening within the mentoring relationship as seen in fourth-grade at-risk children in a culturally diverse elementary school. Concludes that highly successful tutors were skillful communicators who modeled effective listening skills,…

Low socially accepted learning-disabled intermediate-grade students (N=86) were paired with 86 high socially accepted, nonhandicapped classmates for 8 weeks in 4 groups: mutual interest group, cooperative academic task group, Hawthorne effect/control group, and classroom control group. Evaluated were changes in classmates' ratings of…

The relationships among the teacher's pet phenomenon, students' perceptions of teachers' differential behavior, and students' morale were investigated in 80 Israeli upper elementary classrooms. The intensity of the teacher's pet phenomenon was related to perceived teachers' differential behavior, which, in turn, was negatively related to student…

This study examined determinants of underachievement perceived by 148 gifted and nongifted black students in grades 5 and 6. Findings suggest that psychological factors and peer pressures played the greatest role in underachievement and indicate the existence of a paradox of underachievement whereby black underachievers support the achievement…

Presents results of a study which interviewed sixth graders from three North Carolina schools to determine what they think of their school librarians. Results indicated that children's perceptions are affected by personalities and behavior of individual librarians. Sidebars focus on how the study was conducted and what students noticed most about…

Assessed alcohol use by 1,190 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in 4 rural school districts. Found that 596 students drank, but not regularly. Reported drinking increased with grade and age; males drank more than females. Child's attitude toward drinking, family attitudes toward drinking, number of drinking friends, and self-perceived wrongdoing by…

Discusses a study of sixth grade children's preferences regarding the portrayal of houses on maps. Reports that there were no significant differences between boys' and girls' preferences for the manner in which rooftops and streets were oriented. Concludes that apparent sex differences found previously may have been a result of the preferences of…

Students with behavioral disorders (grades 4-9), regular education students, teachers, and parents (total n=383) completed the Adolescent Social Skills Survey. Students with behavioral disorders rated all items lower in importance than other groups, rated interpersonal skills higher than other skills on the survey, and rated compliance and…

Sixty fifth graders were interviewed to determine their attitudes and conceptions about learning mathematics and social studies. Students characterized positive and negative experiences about mathematics in terms of their ability to do the work, whereas social studies experiences were more likely to be evaluated as boring or interesting. (SLD)

This study compared the differential effects of in-class and pull-out service delivery models on attitudes of students (n=194) in grades four through six toward students with disabilities. Results revealed that students from classrooms where services were being delivered through in-class service delivery models had more positive attitudes.…