Describes study of effects of learning procedures and performance tempo on ability of 64 middle school students to perform previously learned rhythmic passages. Reviews the four learning procedures used for each rhythmic passage. Finds no evidence attributed to learning procedure but significant adverse differences if the tempo was changed from…

Defines analogies, discusses the benefits of teaching students to create analogies, and presents a strategy for analogy instruction with numerous classroom applications. Using professionally prepared materials, teachers can help students engage in analogous thinking by analyzing different kinds of relationships, balancing terms, creating original…

Shares a memory enhancer that has stood the test of time and has supported students in their pursuit of meaningful textbook reading, from upper elementary grades through college classrooms: THIEVES (Title, Headings, Introduction, Every first sentence in a paragraph, Visuals and vocabulary, End of chapter questions, and Summary). Notes the…

Questions if it is possible that any place still exists without pressure to teach to the test. Describes one school district that has been able to do so by creating a vision that allows educators to work as professionals. (SG)

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a direct instructional paradigm for teaching children to comprehend main ideas of prose passages. Subjects, 69 children in three fourth grade classes, were randomly assigned to an experimental "strategy" group receiving direct instruction in main ideas, an experimental "basal" group…

This article examines the use of audiovisual materials in intermediate grades for more effective teaching and learning. (JR)

THE PURPOSE OF SYSTEMATIC TEACHING AND LEARNING IN ARITHMETIC IS TO HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP IDEAS OF PROCEDURE, METHODS OF THINKING, MEANING INHERENT IN NUMBER REACTIONS AND ARRANGEMENT IN ORDER THAT THE QUANTITATIVE SITUATIONS OF LIFE MAY BE HANDLED INTELLIGENTLY. AT THE KINDERGARTEN-PRIMARY LEVEL THE NUMBER CONCEPTS TO BE FOSTERED ARE--PUTTING…

This paper cites descriptions, by professional writers, of two stages in the composing process that appear to correspond with the two modes of mental activity separately controlled by the hemispheres of the brain. The stage of writing a first draft involves unconscious, personal, irrational, intuitive writing which may be called "writing for…

The many everyday needs for manuscript writing--signs, maps, graphs, and posters--and the fact that it retains its legibility better than does cursive writing suggest the need for the continued use of manuscript beyond grades 1 and 2. Also, manuscript writing is preferable to cursive writing for children with poor coordination or spelling…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of inservice training in individual reading conferences and interaction analysis on the individual reading conferences conducted by elementary school teachers in the intermediate grades. Fourteen public school teachers were divided into an experimental and control group. The experimental group…

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)

Points out the superior efficiency and effectiveness of generative techniques of vocabulary development over nongenerative techniques and gives examples of both types. Generative techniques, for approaching unfamiliar words through knowledge of other words, include use of synonymy and antonymy and of external and internal context clues. (BF)

The effectiveness of a modeling technique on the acquisition of long division was demonstrated with eight middle school learning-disabled students. The intervention included demonstration, imitation, and key guide words. (Author/DB)

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…

An intermediate-grade art teacher describes how she teaches her students about Henri Matisse. Students learn about the life and background of Matisse, study his reproductions, and apply techniques that they have learned to their own art works. (RM)