The Middle School Study of Mainstreamed Students sought to establish a foundation for interdisciplinary research on middle school mainstreaming by merging teacher effectiveness and special education practices. The study examined teaching behaviors through macro (classroom) and micro (individual student) analyses of classroom interactions, to…

This guide for middle school health education teachers in Georgia first sets forth the state policies on the school's responsibility for student health, the general objectives of health education, and the purposes of school health services programs. Instructional units are provided for grades 5 through 8. Topics covered in the units include: (1)…

This curriculum guide for Levels I and II home economics teachers in New York State provides guidelines for developing instructional program content for grades 5-8. An introductory section describes the design of the homemaking-family living curriculum; presents procedures for utilizing modules in planning instruction with an example of plans for…

DESIGNED TO MEET THE OBJECTIVES OF SELF REALIZATION, HUMAN RELATIONSHIP, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY, THIS GUIDE FOR TEACHERS OF MENTALLY RETARDED STUDENTS IS ORGANIZED INTO FIVE AREAS OF LIVING. THE AREA OF HOME AND FAMILY LIVING INCLUDES THE FAMILY, THE HOME, CHILD CARE AND TRAINING, AND FRIENDS. THE HEALTH AND SAFETY AREA…

The study employed geography as the substantive content to develop and evaluate instructional materials that reflect one theoretical approach to teaching the disadvantaged -- Ausubel's model of verbal reception learning using advance organizers. It was hypothesized that 5th and 6th grade pupils would learn more geography content by using textual…

Profiles four middle school teachers maintaining early chamber music programs. The teachers advise varying degrees of musical competency before students begin the program, but all of them caution against starting too soon. They also stress the importance of purchasing early music scores and establishing rehearsal times. (MJP)

Sixth-grade students (n=53) were paired homogeneously and heterogeneously by ability to determine the effect of LOGO on the transfer of knowledge in geometry. Low-ability students benefited from heterogeneous grouping, whereas the impact on average- and high-ability students was not clear. (Contains 21 references.) (MDH)

Maintains that children with disabilities increasingly are attending schools and classrooms they would attend if they did not have disabilities. Reports that educational research indicates little evidence that ability grouping improves academic achievement among these students. (CFR)

Describes a current affairs program involving the examination of social issues in a Canadian elementary school. Discusses significant aspects of the program, including the debate format, the use of computers, and a partnership with a local cable television company. Includes an appendix of the debating/talk-show format used. (CFR)

Fourth-grade students (83% of whom were identified as "at risk") in an inner-city school in the southeastern United States participated in a hands-on, interdisciplinary unit about the environment for 2 weeks. Lessons covered a wide range of environmental issues such as pollution, rainforest devastation, recycling, and Earth appreciation.…

Using reading and writing to learn, inquire, construct, and examine ideas across the curriculum is central to an integrated curriculum. Too many middle school students do not view writing as a communication process that permeates the curriculum, nor reading as an active, constructivist process whereby various perspectives can be examined and…

This documents presents a practicum designed to improve mathematics achievement of at-risk and targeted students in grades 4-6 in an upper-middle class suburban community through the use of manipulatives. The primary goal was to provide mathematics manipulatives to teachers that would assist in helping at-risk and targeted students. A secondary…

This evaluation reports on a project that used word processing in process writing as a method for teaching written Norwegian to Norwegian students in grades 5 and 8. Process writing refers to the process of writing and rewriting or the various stages of producing written text. Students start with a first draft and work gradually toward a finished…

Intended for middle school instructors or teacher education students in middle school methods courses, this guide provides a practical, concise, criterion-referenced, performance-based mastery learning model for effective teaching. The guide is organized around four components: why the rationale to support the components that follow; what the…

Research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many children as they move from elementary school into middle school; however, research has also shown that the nature of motivational change on entry to middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment in which students find themselves. This Digest outlines some…