Tens of thousands of students begin each new school year with the hope that they will finally find "the" teacher who will help them succeed as readers, writers, and learners. This book shows how teachers can provide the type of differentiated instruction that struggling readers need by drawing on students' individual and cultural backgrounds, as…

This paper proposes the use of students science notebooks as one possible unobtrusive method for examining some aspects of teaching quality. Students science notebooks were used to examine the nature of instructional activities in their science classrooms, the nature of teachers' feedback, and how these two aspects of teaching were correlated with…

Presents a teaching module for upper elementary students that devotes eight class periods of study to Canadian resources. Includes study of the Canadian fur trade, fishing industry, forestry, and the problems caused by acid rain. Includes the unit evaluation. (DB)

This supplement is designed as a resource for helping students in grades four through eight read and respond to literature and other forms of print. It notes that fourth through eighth graders are expected to: read independently with fluency and for meaning using a variety of strategies; and read, analyze, and respond in written and oral language…

Seven students (ages 10-13) with learning disabilities were introduced to the write-say method, which provides immediate visual and auditory feedback following the administration of a daily spelling test. Compared to studying words on one's own, the write-say method significantly enhanced subjects' spelling accuracy in a brief period of time.…

This digest is intended to help and inform those teachers who are contemplating using children's literature to teach reading, and provides a brief review of material in the ERIC database on literature-based reading instruction. The digest includes sections on recent research, basic resources, assessing literature based reading, diverse methods…

Part of a project to help teachers respond to the challenge of teaching content subjects to a variety of limited-English-proficient (LEP) learners, this report presents the recommendations of a group of master teachers who first identified promising practices for educating minority language students and then supplemented these by selecting…

The local assessment moderation process is described in terms of Science Education for Public Understanding Program (SEPUP) teachers' roles in the process of student evaluation and the subsequent use of that data for program evaluation. Teachers engaged in local assessment moderation function as a community of judgment, and this task engagement…

Alternative assessments, grounded in reflective practice, can enliven instruction and improve students' knowledge, reasoning, and communication skills. When teachers share a rubric with students, everyone knows the standards for success. Sense of community and small class sizes in rural schools provide an ideal environment for teacher-student…

Considers key issues in implementing authentic assessment systems in middle schools, including its implications for content organization and classroom instruction, teacher and administrator involvement, and legitimizing teaching to the test. Presents concerns about authentic assessment related to outcomes and measurement, time constraints, labor…

This document is designed to assist teachers and other school personnel in the planning and teaching of the fifth grade mathematics course. Contents include: (1) Overview of Grade 5 Mathematics (mission statement, purpose and philosophy, goals, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics, and uses…

This document is designed to assist teachers and other school personnel in the planning and teaching of the sixth grade mathematics course. Contents include: (1) Overview of Grade 6 Mathematics (mission statement, purpose and philosophy, goals, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics, and uses…

Communication in the mathematics classroom is currently viewed as an integral part of mathematics instruction. This paper explores the usefulness of math penpal letters as a means of increasing the quality of written communication in mathematics. The focus of this study is the letter writing exchanges between a class of 4th-grade students (n=28)…

Shifting the focus of earlier editions from reading to literacy and defining a knowledge base for content literacy, this book presents preservice and inservice teachers with theory and related teaching strategies designed to help middle and secondary students in reading and learning from their textbooks. The book addresses issues related to…

A pilot study to investigate the use of concept mapping for assessment purposes was conducted during the spring of 1996. Thirteen teachers from a random sample of science teachers affiliated with the Iowa-Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Project and 12 other teachers affiliated with the project participated in the concept mapping study. Student…