A special education teacher describes how she used dialogue journals both to communicate with her emotionally disturbed students and improve the students' writing skills. An inset summarizes the research on dialogue journals. An analysis of topics written about by students including requests, feelings, hopes, family, school, peers, and wishes is…

Illustrates the elements of story structure (beginning, middle, and end) by discussing excerpts from children's literature. Provides an annotated bibliography of picture books for each element, elementary classroom activities, and writing exercises. (PEN)

Describes a program in which five children (ages 8-13), including two with profound deafness, were taught English using whole language strategies combined with mini lessons in grammatical structure. The lessons were reinforced with assigned written language practice for classwork and homework, which was incorporated into the students' journals.…

Highlights the power of writing in the mathematics curriculum. Discusses expository writing, journal writing, and metacognitive development. Presents writing samples that demonstrate the usefulness of writing exercises as an alternative tool for mathematics education. Concludes that writing can be a viable force both as a learning tool and as a…

Reports a study that examined the effects of a 15-week aerobic activity program on high school students' cholesterol levels. Analysis of control and participating students indicated that there were significant reductions in total cholesterol in the training group. There were no significant differences between groups in high density lipoprotein…

Examined whether stages of change of exercise adoption appropriately addressed strenuous, moderate, and mild intensities of physical activity. Secondary analysis of four data sets (adolescents, college students, adults, and seniors) investigated transtheoretical model constructs for exercise adoption. Results supported the construct validity of…

Describes a series of exercises the author developed to help college writers identify wordiness, reword, and revise carefully. Notes that these lessons build from simple recognition and repair to writing a 100-word piece. Concludes that many students choose this series of assignments as their favorite semester activity and one that influences how…

Tested the hypothesis that physical training (PT), especially high-intensity PT, would favorably affect components of the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) in obese adolescents. Data on teens randomized into lifestyle education (LSE) alone, LSE plus moderate -intensity PT, and LSE plus high-intensity PT indicated that PT, especially high-intensity…

High school physical education curricula should concentrate less on sport skill development and competition, and more on health-related fitness and aerobic activity. Results are reported from a study of the type and amount of aerobic exercise provided in 29 high school physical education programs in a large metropolitan area. (IAH)

Describes a two-week class activity in which students attempt an extended definition of an abstract word, working collaboratively and using the library's reference material extensively. Notes that students take careful notes on both the information and their search processes, and integrate the information into a mini-research paper detailing their…

The study evaluated the effects of an aerobic fitness program and dietary intervention with external control components on three obese adults with severe mental retardation. Results indicated severely retarded adults respond to a program of progressive aerobic exercise and caloric restriction much the same way as nonretarded persons. (Author/DB)

High school coaches and athletic trainers should know proper first aid techniques, have special knowledge about particular sports injuries, have a good understanding of safety precautions for playing equipment and skill techniques, and understand environmental factors that may affect athletes. (JD)

Discusses the evolution and structure of fitness programs for women at the U.S. Air Force Academy from 1977-87. Women's fitness level has continued to improve, although curriculum and physical fitness tests have remained the same for both sexes. (SM)

Provides practical guidelines for a strength training program for cardiac patients which may be modified to fit a particular program. The recommendations include criteria for admission, procedures for orientation and instruction, and techniques for supervision. (SM)

Discusses the usefulness of corporate fitness programs in improving employee fitness and reducing health care costs, noting the lack of related research. Corporations consider physical fitness an important component of fiscal fitness, but what is needed is a health promotion philosophy focusing on the total population's health. (SM)