A practicum was implemented by a licensed speech-language pathologist working in a clinical and instructional program in a predominantly black, inner-city community in northeastern Indiana. The practicum was designed to improve the communicative competence of young children in a kindergarten-first grade setting. It was implemented because…

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…

An instructional program was designed to improve the oral language skills of kindergarten students. The target group consisted of 10 students who, according to their scores on the Yellow Brick Road Language Battery, were in need of a strong language development program. The instructional plan was based on the Shared Book Experience and other…

A practicum intervention that provided an intensive language acquisition skills program to kindergarten children performing below grade level expectation in language acquisition was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Parents were included through scheduled meetings and newsletters that were developed by the children. The program was designed…

A project was developed and implemented to help correct the behavioral problems most commonly found in the kindergarten classroom in a central Florida school. Three literature-based units were produced and used by a target group of six kindergarten teachers and their students. The objectives were to increase positive behaviors in listening,…

A practicum was designed to assist 30 kindergarten teachers in increasing the authentic reading experiences of kindergarten students in their classrooms. The goal of the practicum was two-fold: to provide the teachers with alternative instructional strategies to drill and practice basic reading skills; and to provide adequate, developmentally…

A music teacher specialist at an elementary school with a typical kindergarten music program implemented a 10-week practicum intervention designed to improve the auditory sequencing skills of kindergarten children through increased instruction in music. Test scores on screening measures indicated the need to improve the children's auditory memory…

This practicum report describes an intervention during the 1990-1991 school year that involved restructuring a kindergarten classroom to include more developmentally appropriate activities. Expected outcomes were stated in the following terms: (1) the arrangement of the classroom will allow free, orderly movement; (2) the county's kindergarten…

A practicum provided child-centered activities for 20 kindergarten children during regular school hours. Goals for the practicum were to: (1) develop literacy; (2) increase social interaction between the teacher and the child through verbal and body language communication which weaves reading and writing into the relationship; and (3) obtain a…

The goals of this practicum were to improve kindergarten music instruction by providing the classroom teacher with (1) kindergarten music instructional objectives; (2) a kindergarten skills development sequence; (3) tested sample unit study plans for an interdisciplinary approach to music instruction; and (4) an orientation class in music…

A project to improve the social skills of kindergarten children in a multicultural setting by a simple peace education program was implemented. Noting that kindergarten children did not exhibit good social skills and were not able to solve conflicts in a peaceful manner, the project was designed to incorporate and increase group problem solving,…

This practicum sought to combat the problem of decreasing readiness skills and overall general knowledge of entering kindergarten students, by developing and implementing an integrated parent involvement program for regular and special education classes in preschool and kindergarten. The first phase involved parents and children in a home-based…

A first-grade teacher implemented a practicum intervention designed to increase the availability and use of manipulative materials for mathematics activities in kindergarten, first-, and second-grade classes. Primary goals were to: (1) provide teachers with the understanding and competence needed to incorporate the use of manipulative materials…

While manufacturers have produced a wide variety of software said to be easy for even the youngest child to use, there are conflicting perspectives on computer issues such as ease of use, influence on meeting educational objectives, effects on procedural learning, and rationale for use with young children. Addressing these concerns, this practicum…

A 10-week practicum intervention was designed to reduce deficiencies in 10 kindergarten children in southwest Florida with poor fine motor skills. The intervention consisted of daily instruction and weekly activity tests. Activities included drawing, tracing, cutting with scissors, pasting, molding with clay, various games, lacing, weaving, and…