Achievement scores of grade school students who learned to spell using constructed response training were higher than those who used either high or low recognition training. The perceptual recoding of the spelling of words seemed to be the significant factor in the learning process. (DG)

Fourteen upper elementary-aged learning-disabled (LD) students were trained on referential communication tasks, then compared to an LD control group and a normally achieving training group. The LD trained group achieved significantly higher scores than did the control group on two speaking tasks, but did not perform differently on the listening…

This article describes how a sixth grade teacher uses contests, games, and fun to teach superior geography skills. (Author/IAH)

The effects of two instructional methods on the questioning strategies of 40 10- to 12-year-old learning disabled children were investigated. Results indicated that both the question formulation instruction and the cognitive modeling/self-verbalization instruction were effective in improving their questioning concerning novel problems. (Author/DB)

To deal proactively with middle-years students, educators must consider four areas: development of an effective home-school team; student counseling; classroom management and discipline; and instructional strategies focused on students' personal growth and academic achievement. Teachers should use diverse approaches and materials, increase student…

Finds that teachers used more than one activity to teach new words but typically did not use activities identified in the research literature as effective; teachers' stated purposes for vocabulary instruction were congruent with the requirements of the basal reading series used; and teachers defined the importance of vocabulary knowledge in terms…

This paper proposes that the manner in which academic information is delivered to students with severe behavior disorders may be aversive. A case study illustrates how a 12-year old's disruptive behavior can be decreased concurrent with an instructional sequence which provides the information needed to complete a task prior to asking the student…

The following factors can influence the form and quality of what is stored in memory: (1) position of new learning; (2) meaning in new learning; (3) transfer of information; (4) verbal cues; (5) image cues; (6) spacing effect; (7) rehearsal and practice; and (8) organization of new information. (MLF)

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

Finds an overall drop in reading attitudes across the upper elementary school years in three of the four schools examined. Reveals few significant relationships between reading attitudes and teacher-reported enrichment activities. Notes that activities that fit with a traditional, direct instruction approach to teaching reading correlated…

Presents a five-day instructional plan that allows children opportunities to explore and use idioms. (MG)

A way that allows students to discover a strategy for determining the area of rectangles, squares, parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids is described. Students use grid paper and scissors to determine the number of square units that cover a specified space. (KR)

Asserts that intermediate grade teachers should use poetry in the classroom. Offers criteria for selecting poetry, guidelines for its presentation, and strategies for involving the students. (PRA)

Presents an inexpensive class activity to teach elementary students about light reflection off various surfaces. The activity involves aluminum foil, waxed paper, magazine pages, newspapers, overhead transparency film, construction paper, fabric, and a hand lens. A student page includes questions to make students think about reflection. (SM)

The thinking-out-loud procedure provides teachers with an excellent mechanism for collecting information about students' thought processes and affective states during problem solving. Mathematics teachers can implement this process by modeling it during whole-class problem-solving sessions, proceeding slowly and encouragingly, working with small…