Drawing from a five-site multicase study, this paper examines three middle school students' perspectives on weekly classroom discussions that took place over a 6-month period in order to analyze the dynamics of classroom talk and how discussions can be affected by the teacher's interaction with the students. The three students were members of an…

This book describes a British project which used cooperative group work as a curriculum approach to help reduce children's social difficulties and encourage cooperation and friendship across such barriers as race, sex, or disability. The book consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of research findings and theory related to peer…

Drama and role playing are effective ways for teachers, school counselors, and other individuals who work with young people to teach and discuss sensitive issues. The eight plays in this publication are designed to help middle school students develop critical-thinking, problem-solving, and logical decision-making skills. The eight scripts use a…

Teaching is a complex act requiring expertise relative to content, students, and the myriad of alternatives available to bring the two together in meaningful ways. This monograph is designed to assist teachers in examining and altering their own teaching practices and in transforming the classroom from a place of "dull sameness" to an…

This guidebook discusses cooperative learning at the middle school level and provides lesson plans that use cooperative learning techniques in various subject areas. Part 1 details three classroom organizational options and the elements of cooperative learning; examines the major types of cooperative learning; reviews the importance of developing…

This book grew out of the experiences of three teachers as they learned to document young children's work in their respective schools. Part I of this book enables readers to learn about documentation. Chapter 1 provides the rationale for the study of documentation, and chapter 2 explains the windows framework that guided the teachers in thinking…

Research on the effect of small-group instruction on students' second language classroom experience, as well as strategies for teachers, are examined. Eight foreign language teachers observed their student teachers an average of 11 times each on randomly-selected days over an 8-week observation period, generating a total of 5,288 "snapshots" of…

This text is the first of four levels sequenced as a continuum of language skills for the Spanish speaker of limited English speaking ability in grades six through nine. Levels one and two emphasize oral skills and levels three and four emphasize written skills. The teacher's edition is designed to follow along with and complement exercises…

A major goal of ESL education is to teach students how to speak English well enough to converse spontaneously and naturally with native speakers. Discourse analysis provides an understanding of those skills second language learners need to acquire to converse with native speakers and an understanding of how these skills may most beneficially be…

This instructor guide explains the goals and objectives of "Orientation to the World of Work," a program to help prepare participants for involvement in career decision making, planning, occupational skills training, and related occupational preparation. It also discusses the organization of materials and implementation procedures. (The…

This group leader's handbook provides a set of structured activities for a workshop on peer counseling and employment skills training. Two preliminary chapters outline group leadership skills and group process techniques. The activities which can be presented in any order to suit program goals are then arranged in two major clusters: peer…

The objective of Project Ranger is to improve school behavior and academic performance of selected, primarily "disruptive," students who are failing in the traditional school program. The Ranger curriculum uses the outdoor environment as the medium for improving student self-concept and relations with peers and adults and for providing…

The predominant focus of the 24 Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) Trial Edition Set III activities is on animal behavior, and the adaptations and diversity of both plants and animals. Night time activities, games, investigation, experimentation, and crafts are used to study ants, birds, clams, water snails, water striders, spiders,…

One of a series of eleven curriculum manuals which cover the four transportation topics of public transportation, transportation and the environment, transportation safety, and bicycles for elementary, secondary, and adult levels, this manual for grades K-3 covers all four topics. Materials in the thirteen mini-units present different aspects of…

One of a series of eleven curriculum manuals which cover the four transportation topics of public transportation, transportation and the environment, transportation safety, and bicycles for elementary, secondary, and adult levels, this manual for grades 4-6 covers all four topics. Materials in four chapters comprising fourteen mini-units cover…