Describes the participation of four middle school students at the World Youth Conference on Human Rights. Discusses interdisciplinary efforts at a private school to celebrate the founding of the United Nations. Outlines student volunteer activities for both local and international causes. (CFR)

Describes a study that investigated the effects of three levels of personalization--individualized, group, and nonpersonalized--on the achievement of seventh-grade Hispanic students on printed mathematics word problems. Previous research is reviewed, criterion measures are described, and student attitudes are discussed. (30 references) (LRW)

Assesses the creative writing of 23 black seventh graders enrolled in a weekend science enrichment program to determine their thematic choice, self-expression, career interest, racial/gender identity, and evidence of parental influence and expectations. Analysis revealed few examples of racial or gender issues, but many expressed keen interest in…

This study examined cross-sectional correlates of smoking during early and late adolescence to compare patterns of prediction of smoking at both stages. Intention to smoke was the strongest predictor of smoking during both stages, particularly in late adolescence, as well as being the strongest predictor of changes in smoking. (SM)

A descriptive study examined the degree to which middle level teachers in grades 6-8 in three states accept the tenets of the middle school philosophy. The guiding questions were: (1) Does a cross difference in variables exist among teachers from different organizational settings or grade configurations in respect to the teacher's acceptance of…

Objective: This article reports findings of three studies addressing convergent validity and test-retest reliability of the Youth Rating Scale of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-Second Edition (BERS-2). Method: Pearson product-moment correlations were used in all three studies, the first two addressing convergent validity and the third…

This activity unit tells the story of Prince Rama from the Hindu legend, "Ramayana." The story is retold in language appropriate to grades 5-7. Accompanying activities include: (1) "Reviewing Familiar Myths"; (2) "Developing Skills Through Literature", which includes activities on character and symbolism, values and…

This practicum project was designed to increase student ownership of learning through student-kept assignment calendars and portfolios. The subjects, 63 junior high school students at a private Christian school, were also involved in frequent, cooperative sessions in which they checked each other's work and offered suggestions, with reports to the…

This study was part of a larger study investigating the influence of group collaboration during a group assessment on performance of the group and subsequent widespread performances. This study compared the verbal interactions of students while they completed a science assessment in small collaborative groups with their performance on the same…

An action research project implemented a program for improving the reading skills of at-risk middle school students. The targeted population consisted of fifth- and seventh-grade students in a rural, middle class community located in northeastern Illinois. Evidence for the problem includes teacher observation, checklists, standardized tests, and…

This paper addresses the problem that gender imbalance in curriculum and instruction contributes to sexism, stereotyping, and bias in schools. The study was conducted in a reading classroom in a grade 6-8 middle school of 970 students in a suburban area of the northeast United States. The program focused on inservice workshops and integration of…

Teacher monitoring of seatwork and homework is viewed as an important instructional behavior that influences student learning. The literature suggests that monitoring can be equally successful utilizing other support systems, such as teacher aides and peer coaches. This study examines the effects of monitoring on student learning as provided by…

This unit is one of a series that represents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. This unit explores Greece's most glorious century, the high point of Athenian culture. Rarely has so much genius been concentrated in one small region over such a short period of time. Students discover in studying…

The School Within-a-School Program (SWAS) of the Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools was established as an intervention/reform program, which became part of the court-ordered desegregation program, for at-risk students in grades 7 and 9. In the last year of evaluation, the group consisted of 678 students. This summative longitudinal evaluation…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to determine the norms and rules of behavior in a multi-ethnic seventh-grade classroom in an inner-city school. Data were gathered through classroom observations and interviews with the teacher. The teacher in this class stressed ethnic pride, and because the majority of the students (as well as the…