Through learning communities, schools can change to strengthen educator practice and improve student learning outcomes. So can districts. For 20 years, the authors have helped states, districts, and schools in the United States and Canada implement Whole-Faculty Study Groups, a design for learning communities. During the 2010-11 school year, they…

Reports the evaluation of the Right to Write Project, a program of the Burlington City Schools in Burlington, North Carolina. Results indicate that the program, serving 97 teachers and all students in fourth through ninth grades, had a significant effect on students' writing performance and their recognition of correctly written prose. (RH)

The class of 1998 was the first class required by North Carolina State Board of Education policy to meet a higher competency standard in reading and mathematics in order to receive a high school diploma. Data in this report about student performance on this standard were provided by each of the local education agencies in the state. The percentage…

Examined and compared the logical thinking skills and science process skills of junior high school students in North Carolina (n=3,291) and Japan (n=4,397) by grade and by gender. Results indicated that Japanese students in grades seven, eight, and nine performed significantly better than North Carolina students in both areas. (MDH)

This study examined 376 African American adolescents' perceptions about the presence of guns in school and responses associated with the perceptions. One-quarter believed that other students brought guns to school. Those perceptions related positively to their experiences of fear at school and behaviors of school avoidance and bringing weapons for…

Reports findings of a survey on the fears, worries, and concerns of eighth-grade students. Results show that educational services to middle-grade students should emphasize developmental and preventive activities, with remedial services focusing on students who express a high level of concern about personal and social issues. (RJM)

This reference guide is designed to help eighth grade teachers plan for instruction, providing all of the goals and objectives in one document. The guide can be used to link instructional objectives across disciplines, plan integrated units, and assist in assessing student progress over time. Only the very basic components of each discipline…

Mount Jefferson State Natural Area is located in the southern Blue Ridge highlands of North Carolina and covers 489 acres, which includes peaks and upper slopes to the Mount Jefferson mountain. This document introduces students to the geology of Mount Jefferson State Park and focuses on the geologic processes and rocks and minerals of Mount…

Over 50 books, films, maps, and other audiovisual materials produced between 1972 and 1983 are described in this annotated list of instructional media. Designed for students ranging from grade 4 to grade 8, the materials focus primarily on the study of North Carolina. However, some are more general, such as books about Indians in southeastern…

BASICS: Bridging Vocational and Academic Skills is a resource package based on the premises that (1) academic skills are embedded in vocational tasks; (2) vocational tasks allow real-world application of basic skills; and (3) basic skills and vocational skills should be taught together. New Bern-Craven County Schools (North Carolina) have…

This profile is designed to be a recording sheet for monitoring an individual student's progress throughout the school year. Seventh grade assessment materials and the Strategies for Instruction in Mathematics suggest tasks and questions that can be used for on-going and summative assessment. Directions for use and descriptions of the four levels…

Study assessed factors associated with teachers' implementation of health curricula. School representatives implemented one of three smoking prevention curricula in sixth or seventh grades. Experimental teachers received extensive curriculum training. Training significantly related to whether teachers implemented curricula. Variables outside…

Nine lessons which involve the use of marine organisms in the classroom are presented in this seventh-grade biology unit. The unit offers instructors alternative ways of meeting common life science goals. It is not meant to be an extra curriculum added to the normal course load, but was developed to consolidate a group of activities designed for…

This guide presents scoring criteria, the writing prompt, and sample student papers for the grade 8 end of grade persuasive/argumentative composition statewide writing achievement test. The introductory section presents background information on statewide writing tests in North Carolina, scoring writing samples, and the scoring process. The next…

This learning packet, one in a series of eight, was developed by the Hanging Roek State Park in North Carolina for grade 5 to teach about the geology of the park. Loose-leaf pages are presented in nine sections that contain: (1) introductions to the North Carolina State Park System, the Hanging Rock State Park, the park's activity packet, and to…