Author suggests objectives and procedures for launching an election unit as an introduction to politics for fifth and sixth graders. (NL)

Describes a one or two night camping trip for fifth graders that is part of the Madison, Wisconsin forest program, created to give students a concentrated study of nature and provide the experiences of group living. (RB)

Fifteen high-ability fifth graders who received mathematics training via a microcomputer scored significantly higher on affective, cognitive, and composite computer literacy than a control group of high-ability subjects who received identical drill and practice without the microcomputer. (CL)

The stability of subskill scores on the Reading Comprehension Test of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was studied. It was concluded that the subskills are of limited use in diagnosing specific strengths or weaknesses in a student's reading comprehension skill development. (Author/GK)

Fourth- and fifth-grade students' perceptions of scientists are depicted by drawings. (CS)

Investigates the extent to which children's number sense and novel problem-solving skills govern their problem-posing abilities in routine and nonroutine situations. Children who participated in the program appeared to show substantial developments in each of the program components in contrast to those who did not participate. Contains 66…

Instead of teaching his fifth-graders a formula, a teacher leads them to discover an important mathematical concept on their own. Learning through discovery is probably the very essence of meaningful understanding and retention. (Author/MLF)

Describes 3 phases of a 12-week project to study a local park in Des Moines, Iowa, developed by 4 4th-and 5th-grade teachers for their students with an emphasis on reading and writing instruction. Suggests benefits for students and teachers. (PKP)

Explores complexities that arose as the author engaged in feminist literacy research in a fifth-grade classroom where the author worked collaboratively with the teacher to implement literature discussion circles. Notes the need to disrupt her own assumptions regarding power, the expert position, and her need for maintaining comfort. Sheds light on…

Notes that people's voices telling their own stories is the only true connection to the past. Describes how in their teachers' writing group, they listen to each others' stories. Considers how they offer support to each other when lessons fall flat and celebrate when they share the children's wonderful products. (SG)

Reviews Tracy Kidder's latest bestseller, an engaging account of the daily experiences of one fifth grade teacher and her students in a deteriorating neighborhood in a rustbelt community. Teacher Chris Zajac is a pragmatist with little time for esoteric learning theory. Although Chris is warm, caring, and skillful, her school is not meeting…

Mental effort expended during the creation of sentence elaborations by fifth graders performing two simultaneous tasks was greater for inaccessible than accessible pairs. The difference was not observed when subjects were provided with pair members in sentences. (RH)

Applied drill and practice intervention in small-group (n=5) setting to improve fifth-grade students' fluency with basic mathematics facts. Cover, Copy, and Compare intervention was modified and implemented with Chapter I mathematics class. Results provide practitioners with ideas about implementing group interventions using drill for mathematics…

Assessed impact of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) on approximately 3,000 fifth-grade students in 1 school district. Findings from pretest and posttest self-report survey suggest that DARE did not significantly change amount of drug use, which was minimal at fifth-grade level. In general, children receiving DARE during the study period…