Discusses the factors involved in determining text difficulty. Discusses some of the reasons children choose to read certain materials, such as personal connections, culture and language, interest, and expertise. Illustrates these factors through descriptions of work with individual students, classroom observations, and research on students'…

Categorizes students' self-selected topics in a state writing assessment. Finds that fifth graders chose "animals"; eighth graders chose "sports"; high-school students chose "social problems" and "sports" until twelfth grade, when "school/learning" issues replaced "sports." (RS)

Describes storytelling and imagemaking activities used in The Stories Project to provide a guide for teachers who wish to promote the development of oral and written language through storymaking--the process of making a story from a story. Finds that most students, regardless of ability, and given the right encouragement and support, discover they…

Demonstrates that two fifth-grade avid writers differentiated between flow experiences and non-flow experiences associated with writing, and describes flow experiences in terms similar to those reported in studies in adolescents and adults. Shows that flow experiences occurred when students controlled important aspects of writing, such as…

People's beliefs about the origins of their health, sometimes referred to as health locus of control, have been shown to influence a variety of important behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the structure of the health locus of control beliefs of children, using the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales. Two samples of…

This investigation of the relationship between elementary school students and a videodisc system in an educational environment used a social interaction analysis paradigm to identify meaningful patterns of social behavior and to examine whether: (1) such patterns indicate acceptance of or resistance to the technology; (2) students exhibit more…

This report analyzes the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of a random national sample of 3,087 fifth and sixth grade students from 15,787 respondents to a Wildlife Survey distributed in "Weekly Reader" periodicals. The questionnaire examined the prevalence of four basic orientations toward wildlife (humanistic, moralistic, naturalistic,…

The study investigated the development of 48 gifted adolescents' competencies and achievement related cognitions in mathematical skill development and examined the effects of school achievement level and sex. Ss completed a self instructional packet on mathematical residues (remainders) and were periodically assessed on perceived ability, task…

The study examined the reading interests, attitudes, and habits of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade gifted students. The data were gathered from the 69 state assisted gifted programs in Missouri by means of a survey developed by the investigator. The Ss were limited to the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade gifted children whose program coordinators…

A study was conducted to determine if training to increase teachers' observable level of enthusiasm had a subsequent effect on student achievement and attitudes toward the teacher and curriculum. Seventeen first-year elementary teachers were randomly assigned to either an enthusiasm training treatment or a no training treatment. Following the…

This study investigated the relationship between a reader's attitude toward his instructional climate and his diversity of reading interests. The sample for the study consisted of three classes of fourth grade students chosen from a randomly selected elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut. All subjects were administered (1) the Affective…

Examined relationships between children's perceptions of performance on a standardized achievement test and the actual test performance. Showed that students (N=311) were quite accurate in predicting their scores on the subtests and that a personal belief that ability decisively influences achievement is associated with their test performance.…

Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade learning disabled, gifted, and normal students (N=213) were compared for their conceptualizations, attributions, and attitudes about school grading practices. Significant differences were found in ability to define grading systems and tendencies to perceive the causes for getting good grades as internal and…

The interrelationships among motivational variables drawn from locus of control (LOC) theory and attribution theory, combined with measures of school achievement were measures of school achievement were investigated. Motivational instruments were administered to intermediate grade students and achievement data were extracted from existing school…

A survey administered to fifth and sixth graders revealed that students do not find the content encountered in social studies objectionable. However, 67 percent of the students offered negative comments concerning how social studies is taught. Thirteen percent indicated there was nothing about social studies they did not like. (RM)