Focuses on the collaborative processes used by fifth-grade English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners in content classrooms. Analysis of learners' helping strategies during cooperation indicated that training had been successful, and comparison of scores on vocabulary tests based on the text revealed significant gains.(Author/VWL)

Presents an activity for fifth-grade students that demonstrates how to research works of art from different points of view and that also introduces them to a variety of art careers. Provides a format for researching and writing about a work of art, a list of materials, and instruction for the activity. (CMK)

Describes felting as the process of making felt using sheep's wool from fibers without weaving or knitting. Explains that teachers can incorporate felting into a lesson exploring the background behind this process, as an extension of collage or textile arts, as a means to studying abstract art, or in a fashion design unit. (CMK)

Describes the collaboration in a 5th-grade classroom between the author (a teacher educator) and a former student of hers (the 5th-grade teacher). Complicates notions of equity and empowerment in collaborative research by outlining the cycles and shifts they experienced while constantly renegotiating their positions. (SR)

Explains a work-study program designed for fourth and fifth grade students and describes pros and cons of using student workers in the media center for checking out materials, shelving books, straightening shelves, and dusting. Includes the student's job application, the teacher's application for student workers, and the work-study agreement and…

Looks at literature discussion groups from the student's perspective. Finds three major themes: (1) students have a clear notion of the conditions that are conducive to effective discussions; (2) students perceived the gender make-up of their group to influence how they participated in and experienced their discussions; and (3) students found the…

The relations among observed ecological assets in youth's families, schools, and neighborhoods with positive and negative developmental outcomes were assessed with a sample of 646 fifth-grade youth. The majority of participants were Latino (37.5%) or European American (35.5%) and lived in 2-parent families. Ecological asset indicators were…

This study examined the links among 5th and 6th graders' (279 girls and 310 boys) self- and peer perceptions, social goals, and social behavior. Social goals mediated the effects of self- and peer perceptions on 3 types of behavior: proactive aggression, prosocial behavior, and withdrawal. In addition to their main effects (self-perception…

The author's inspiration for this lesson for her fifth- and sixth-grade students came from an article on Peruvian-style retablos in the December 1998 issue of SchoolArts. She wanted a multicultural theme for a three-dimensional assignment that incorporated many art-making and higher-order thinking skills. She prepared a packet or kit for each…

Tracey Hunter-Doniger is an elementary visual arts teacher who is fortunate enough to work in a school that realizes the value and influence art has on technology. Twice a year, her first-through fifth-grade classes meet in the computer lab to create computer-generated works of art. the class discusses the importance of art in technology, such as…

Research tells us we can learn complex tasks most easily if they are taught in "small sequential steps." This column is about the small sequential steps that unlocked the powers of digital photography, of portraiture, and of student creativity. The strategies and ideas described in this article came as a result of working with…

This article describes the light-based science circus the authors developed and tested with a fifth-grade class at Blackwell Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia. A science circus is a set of activities done in any order that together illustrate complementary properties of a science topic. As in a traditional circus, several "performances"…

Virtual experiments, data logging, the Internet--these are just a few of the ways technology is changing the classroom environment today, ushering in new learning opportunities for students and new ways for teachers to present knowledge. Compared to a decade or two ago, teaching is becoming a different profession. The role of the teacher is moving…

This article describes how a group of fifth-grade mathematics students measured irregularly shaped objects using geometric probability theory. After learning how to apply a ratio procedure to find the areas of familiar shapes, students extended the strategy for use with irregularly shaped objects, in this case, leaves. (Contains 2 tables and 8…

This study examined how French third (36) and fifth (36) graders used the morphosyntactic context when they spell morphologically complex words with homophonous suffixes (/a/). Participants had to spell adverbs (/a/ transcribed ent) and present participles (/a/ transcribed ant), contrasted on the basis of their frequency, in isolation or embedded…