A quasi-experimental design investigated the effectiveness of three reading intervention types in increasing reading comprehension, both explicit and implicit, using a sample of 78 students, approximately 17% of the population of third through fifth grades at a single-school, rural, K-12, Central Texas school district with an enrollment of…

The equipartitioning learning trajectory (Confrey, Maloney, Nguyen, Mojica & Myers, 2009) has been hypothesized and the proficiency levels have been validated through much prior work. This study solidifies understanding of the upper level of co-splitting, which has been redefined through further clinical interview work (Corley, Confrey &…

Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

The effects of active participation on student learning was investigated using 20 fifth grade classes which were randomly assigned treatment levels. Results suggest that active student participation exerts a positive influence on fifth grade student achievement of relatively unique instructional material. (Author/MT)

This document reports on an evaluation project to determine the effectiveness of the Fast Track method of instrumental music instruction as applied to beginning band instruction. The Fast Track music system is unique because it simultaneously aids both visual and aural learning by using a book and cassette tape approach to instruction. Traditional…

This study describes the synthesis of the cloze technique with story-mapping techniques resulting in the Cloze Story Map (CSM) and tests the immediate and long-term usefulness of CSM with both expository and narrative texts. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

The purpose of this study was to document and trace how students' understanding of situations that involve finding a fractional part of a fraction developed during a course of instruction in which students explored and represented various kinds of situations using each of the five representational systems. A class of 5th grade students (n=22)…

Intended for classroom teachers, parents, theater people, and the general public, this book is an account of teaching a fifth grade class to write, direct, and perform their own plays as staged readings, videotapes, radio plays, and full stage productions. It can be read as a story or it can be used as a step-by-step guide for teachers. Each…

Writer's work diary shows how short fiction generated creative expression and creative writing by fifth- and sixth-grade students. Samples of student writing provided. (RL)

Teaching strategies used in fifth-grade classrooms which illustrate three teacher orientations--learning, work, and a lack of work or learning orientation--are described. Six interrelated strategies that support the orientation include: framing lessons; attention focus and redirection; treatment of errors; responsibility for learning and…

This paper reports on a visit to an interactive science center by a class of 10-year-old children planned and implemented by a teacher identified as exemplary by the science center staff. The visit was planned to be an integral part of the science program for the term, extending the range and type of science activities which were a feature of the…

Describes how "speedwriting" requires that all learners become actively engaged in their own learning because, rather than generating ideas orally, students are instructed to write down all their ideas as quickly as they can. Considers how the social engagement of discussion and the sharing of ideas during the writing phase drew even the…

Describes an activity used with fifth graders to keep the children using new vocabulary acquired during a shared literature study. (PRA)

Examined gender differences in individual and cooperative (small-group) self-management training programs targeting mathematics performance. Findings from 33 fifth graders revealed that girls in individual training condition improved significantly less than girls in cooperative condition and boys in individual condition. Boys in cooperative…

A study examined whether the need for feedback varied with students' metacognitive knowledge monitoring abilities. Subjects were 59 fifth-grade students--35 females and 24 males. Students were given a list of 25 words with instructions to check off whether they knew or did not know each of the words; a multiple choice vocabulary test containing…