A practicum used the Keyboard Familiarization approach (introducing students to the location of keys on the computer keyboard) to integrate the computer into a traditionally taught first-grade spelling program, using laminated copies of the computer keyboard. After completing basic drill and practice sessions on the laminated keyboard, the 23…

This practicum introduces a program that increases the exposure time to music in the elementary classroom by integrating U.S. music with the teaching of U.S. history. A pretest and posttest were employed to identify increases or decreases in students' abilities to identify U.S. music and its relationship to specific lifestyles or periods of U.S.…

A practicum was designed to enhance prekindergarten through eighth grade students' standards of conduct with the assistance of parents, teachers, and the school librarian. Literature themes, discussions, and five special programs were the major components for an 8-month period. Students were encouraged to exhibit positive behaviors, and respect,…

This practicum was designed to improve communication practices among teachers and between teachers and parents in an elementary school. An emphasis was placed on utilizing the writing skills of students to link teachers and parents through a communication partnership. The partnership was accomplished through the expansion of the student reading…

In recognition of the need to improve the cultural proficiency of high school students studying French, a 12-week unit was developed and implemented to teach the cultures of francophone countries to 20 randomly selected first-level students. A survey and pretest were administered to determine students' ability to demonstrate knowledge and…

The inclusion of multicultural education in the curriculum of child care centers is becoming a necessity, particularly in homogeneous communities, as the ethnic make-up of society continues to change. This practicum project implemented and evaluated a strategy intended to increase the use of multicultural education in a middle-to-upper-class…

This practicum was designed to help adolescent mothers understand the cognitive, physical, and emotional development of their children and create appropriate expectations of child development from birth to one year of age. Twenty adolescent mothers attended six classes which covered the development of the young child during the first 12 months of…

A practicum used a program of high interest activities involving reading to address the problem of low reading comprehension grades and test scores of eight students in the second through fourth grades, who were an average of 1 year behind the norm in reading. The program's six units included a listening unit, computer technology unit, daily…

This study investigated the effects of story mapping on reading comprehension. Subjects, 20 second-grade students of below-average reading achievement, were presented over a 10-week period with activities in story mapping utilizing a variety of story map frames. The Metropolitan Achievement Test was administered as a pre- and posttest. Results…

This practicum was designed to heighten preschool teachers' awareness of gender bias in the classroom and provide information on gender equity issues and the pursuit of the study of mathematics by girls. Its goal was to enable 20 preschool teachers in 3 preschool programs to increase their knowledge of gender equity and to use this knowledge in…

A practicum was designed to improve 30 kindergarteners' understanding, enjoyment of, and ability to compose poetry integrated across the curriculum in order to enhance their cognition and reading skills. The practicum was also designed to impart the value of teaching poetry to young children. Parents were involved in the process. The practicum…

A practicum designed and implemented a program to address the related problems of negative attitudes toward reading, low reading abiility, and poor student working vocabulary. Intervention strategies and critical thinking activities were used to raise students'"Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) scores and to improve students' attitudes toward…

This practicum addressed the need to provide a plan of activities designed to enable primary students to develop and use selective and critical televiewing skills in both the school and home. Goals of the practicum were: (1) to show a growth in the knowledge of selective and critical televiewing skills, and in the application of those skills; (2)…

A practicum addressed fifth and sixth graders' deficiencies in writing and comprehension skills with the implementation of diagnostic-prescriptive teaching techniques. The Multi Level Academic Skills Inventory and interest inventories aided in defining students' specific strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading and language arts. Among the…

The practicum reported in this paper addressed the high percentage of children receiving below average grades in an average first grade reading comprehension class by implementing an integrated approach to reading. Various screening devices, a survey of kindergarten teachers, the Dolch Basic Sight Word Test, the Analytical Reading Inventory (Woods…