The effects of instruction in critical thinking are investigated, using instructional materials based on a theoretical model of critical thinking. The model emphasized the role of concepts and processes in responding to instances of valid and invalid reasoning, argument, and evidence. Instruction focused on eight cognitive operations:…

Teaching enquiry methods, that is, skills concerned with constructing knowledge from available information and searching for new information, is the subject of this study, which provides a background to the subject as well as a review of research. The study sought to answer the question of whether problem-solving performances of primary school…

A study was conducted to investigate selected reading instruction process variables employed by third and sixth grade teachers and their effect on pupils' reading achievement, to explore the difference between third and sixth grade teachers' reading instruction process variables, and to investigate the relationship between selected pupil variables…

This document provides teaching guidelines and student material for a unit intended for use in sixth grade consumer, home economics, or language arts programs. Time allotment is six hours of classroom time spread over a two to three week period. The objectives of this capsule are to help students understand the purpose of advertising, locate the…

Since 1971 Edison Junior High School in Janesville, Wisconsin, has developed and used an innovative social science curriculum for junior high students. Process of the Social Scientist (POSS) is a 2-year program for the combined sixth/seventh grade which places primary emphasis on the process used by working social scientists rather than on the…

This guide outlines a social studies unit on rights and responsibilities for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. A major objective of the unit is to teach children positive and constructive methods for resolving their conflicts within a framework of fairness to all persons concerned. The unit helps students understand why standards, rules, or laws…

The guide is one of a series developed in a pilot project to integrate career education concepts with traditional subject matter and topics in elementary grades K-7 and in special education. Developed by teachers in the Radford, Virginia, schools, the units make use of resource persons from outside the school, occupational information,…

The establishment and direction of discussion groups, using tapes as a reference and vocabulary guide, in a sixth-grade class having a previous preparation of two years of daily French instruction are described. Grouping by fluency, choice of group leaders, and the discovery of problems and solutions through the eyes of group leaders are also…

Two booklets comprise the grades 4-6 component of a series of guides for incorporating environmental education into the existing curriculum. Both the guide and handbook emphasize a multidisciplinary approach, use the concept of interdependence as an organizing theme, and offer suggestions for using the local community as a resource to study the…

This paper describes a 4-month discourse in Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE) databases and the resulting classroom curriculum to identify potential factors for consideration when implementing a knowledge-building environment utilizing overlapping communities of inquiry. The study was part of a larger study of fifth and…

A survey of 1,015 fifth and sixth graders in a southern Plains state compared American Indian, African American, Hispanic, and White students' perceptions of mathematics, own ability to "learn" mathematics, role models, teacher treatment of different racial or ethnic groups, teaching practices, and academic goals. Contains 25 references.…

Argues the usefulness of timelines for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade history instruction, contending that timelines reveal history's unfolding better than fact-recall techniques. Presents ways to use timelines, including autobiographical, large display, and manipulative timelines, and combining timelines with biographies. Suggests timelines help…

Reports an example of one lesson from a sequence of lessons on fractions from a sixth grade class in which the teacher revises her plans after observing students' small-group work and interactions. The lesson illustrated the teacher's knowledge of mathematics, how students think, and how to observe that thinking. (MDH)

A cooperative activity involving eight sixth grade students over five days focused on inventing static representations of motion. In generating, critiquing and refining numerous representations, strong metarepresentational competence was found. An intricate blend of the children's conceptual and interactional skills, their interest in and sense of…

Reports a study which looked for measurable differences between the vocabulary achievement scores of remedial reading elementary students (mostly Hispanic) taught with teacher instruction and those taught with computer assisted instruction (CAI). Although the differences were not statistically significant, consistent improvement was measured for…