Background: We present results of the development and feasibility testing of CATCH Healthy Smiles, a school-based oral health program, among children in grades K-2 in Houston, Texas. Methods: Study design was cross-sectional (N = 2 schools; N = 125 parent-child dyads; 31 kindergarteners, 42 first graders, and 52 second graders). CATCH Healthy…

Early reading skills at elementary school age have implications for reading performance at a later stage. The use of representative application-based learning media in the digital era has become a necessity. It was discovered that the learning practices implemented by the teachers did not stimulate students' motivation as the learning media tended…

We developed and pilot tested the effectiveness of a physically active academic program, Active Breaks (AB), whose objective is to increase school time moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among first graders, through daily 15-minute bouts of MVPA, at the beginning of the first lesson. Initially, 240 cards including one game each were…

Against a backdrop of advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM curricula, this paper explores the design principles underpinning a three-year longitudinal research project that develops and evaluates interdisciplinary mathematics and science learning sequences involving multiple teachers and student cohorts across the primary school years. The research…

Learning through modules on a tablet helps students participate effectively in learning activities in classrooms and provides flexibility in the learning process. This study presents the design and evaluation of an application that is based on handwriting recognition technologies and e-content for the developed learning modules. The application…

This article relates the story of a first grade teacher and a child who was the only deaf student in the entire school. Because he had no one who could communicate with him--not teachers, not students, no one, this situation tugged at the hearts of a committed team of professionals. A teacher of the deaf, a first grade general education teacher, a…

When the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, eighty percent of New Orleans flooded, and the citizens who returned to the evacuated city had to rebuild their homes, cultural institutions, and school system. This article records how The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans, was able to collaborate with a charter school…

Suggests a design for parents' night in which the children, in this case first graders, show their parents around via a games-and-reward format. (SJL)

Describes a severely disabled child's successful integration into a class of 22 first graders at a suburban Atlanta elementary school. Katie, who experienced visual impairment, multiple physical disabilities, and moderate intellectual disability, received two hours of support from a special-education teacher assistant and additional help from…

A description is given of a reading program for first grade students that encouraged children to move to higher-level thinking skills by removing the constraints of basal readers and involving them in the creative and analytical reading of fairy tales. (JD)

Describes a writing program in a first-grade classroom in a primarily low-socioeconomic, urban Appalachian region. Notes that the program aims at helping children become writers and to: (1) teach the concept of writing as communication; (2) learn about children's strengths and needs through observations and writing samples and teach accordingly;…

Describes an "educational evening out," an idea materialized when parents expressed interest in reading during their first-quarter conferences with teachers. Notes that the parents showed so much interest in learning how to read with their children at home that the teachers made plans to have a literacy night in their first-grade classroom. (SG)

Describes use in Appalachia of "Writing to Read," IBM-developed computer-assisted phonetic literacy program for first graders. Describes program's premise, history, and technology. Program uses phonetics, emphasizing student expression over spelling and punctuation. Describes establishment and use of literacy laboratories in West…

An elementary education professor taught first grade for a year and developed a balanced program for beginning readers that blended instructional methods from skills-based and holistic perspectives. The program consisted of five complementary parts: teacher read-alouds, sustained silent reading, decoding instruction, shared reading, and writing…

Describes how urban parents and their first graders engaged in literacy activities during the school day with emphasis on combining the strengths of home literacy and school. Data from observations and interviews indicated that parents genuinely cared about their children's education. Discusses parent participation levels, teacher roles, elements…