Status-based social rules associated with race, gender, and ability were studied for 216 fifth and sixth graders, evenly male and female and white and African American. Questionnaire responses indicate that respondent approval ratings are strongly affected by the status of the target student. (SLD)

Thirty sixth graders in accelerated mathematics classes were taught in cooperative-learning teams for 12 weeks. Students appeared to benefit academically, personally, and socially from the cooperative-learning strategies used to teach mathematics, cooperative-learning skills, effective communications, internal locus of control, and personal…

Describes a Food-Choice Unit that includes the following activities: drawing circle graphs, graphing dietary content, understanding heart attacks, reducing dietary fat, charting fat content of restaurant foods, and calculating percent of fat. Includes extension activities. (CSCO)

Describes a study that compared the effects of cooperative and individual learning on fifth and sixth grade student performance and attitudes during interactive videodisc instruction for science. The use of heterogeneous ability groups is discussed, time on task is examined, and further research is suggested. (22 references) (LRW)

Recommends providing fifth and sixth grade students in social studies classes with an understanding of how people lived in a specific era through original experiences. Outlines two lesson plans for studying ancient Egypt, giving students hands-on experiences. Finds lessons appropriate for special education students and those with limited English…

Assessed the relation between goals and strategies for conflict resolution of children in 4th through 6th grades. Found that prosocial strategies positively correlated with relationship and equality goals, whereas physically or relationally aggressive strategies related to self-interest, control, and revenge goals. Discovered gender differences in…

Discusses outdoor education to improve student participation and learning in skill and subject areas. Relates outdoor education to constructivism, flexible scheduling, hands-on experiences, performance-based standards, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, and interdisciplinary curriculum. Lists Web sites related to outdoor education. (DLH)

Background: Optimism and pessimism are positive and negative expectations linked with well-being in adults. Research on the importance of optimism and pessimism in children is limited by the lack of a developmentally appropriate measure of children's expectations. Method: Based upon the Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges,…

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 article describes a theoretically informed methodology for eliciting the voices of adolescent boys identified by their teachers and parents as reluctant leisure time readers. Similar methods have also been used to draw out the voices of the boys' parents to understand their efforts to guide and maintain their sons' literacy practices, within…

Information Technology and Indigenous People provides theoretical and empirical information related to the planning and execution of IT projects aimed at serving indigenous people. It explores many cultural concerns with IT implementation, including language issues and questions of cultural appropriateness, and brings together cutting-edge…

The main goal of this practicum was to increase general science achievement and improve acquisition of Spanish as a second language in a group of 21 sixth-grade Spanish immersion students. The students were having some difficulty with Spanish learning due to lack of Spanish science vocabulary, lack of appropriate science materials accommodating…

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…

Discussion of the authenticity of materials contained in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) textbooks for elementary/secondary school use focuses on content designed to accelerate academic language development and highlights the experiences of one teacher with one textbook. The approach taken is that integrating language and content, while taking…