This paper examines children's responses to black and white illustrations in particular silhouettes. The study had two components; the first examined fifth graders' reactions to picture books using silhouette illustrations. The second part of the research analyzed students' responses when a dramatic context was used to view and respond to selected…

A teacher's experiences in teaching French to mixed-ability fourth- and fifth-graders have contributed to the development of an instructional approach that meets the challenges of this age group. The method devotes two-thirds of instructional time to language and one-third to culture. All language activities are conducted in French, and cultural…

Two studies examined the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and performance among Japanese children. It was predicted that highly prosocial children would have more appropriate knowledge of helping than would children who were low in prosocial behavior. The first study involved 109 third graders and 129 fifth graders and examined the…

Elementary school mathematics programs based on textbooks can be analyzed according to mathematical concepts and skills that cause students difficulty by using a telephone assistance service. The Mobile County Public School System's (MCPSS) Homework Hotline in Alabama was used to collect data from callers requesting help with homework from…

Part of a project to help teachers respond to the challenge of teaching content subjects to a variety of limited-English-proficient (LEP) learners, this report presents the recommendations of a group of master teachers who first identified promising practices for educating minority language students and then supplemented these by selecting…

A case study of the methods of teaching U.S. history that have been developed by an exemplary fifth-grade teacher is presented. It includes description, rationale, and examples of the instructor's overall approach, along with detailed recording of everything done during a month-long unit on the English colonies. The teacher's approach is notable…

A practicum addressed the high percentage of students who were experiencing difficulty with reading comprehension and vocabulary retention in a fifth-grade Drop Out Prevention class by implementing a supplemental whole-language program. Subjects were 19 fifth-grade students. An informal reading inventory, an attitude survey, and academic grades…

Map and compass skills are a neglected aspect of the elementary school curriculum. Orienteering--a sport that involves running a prescribed course with the aid of map and compass--may provide an avenue for teaching these skills. This study taught orienteering to 148 10-year-old children and compared the effectiveness of a serial approach based on…

Students-Teach-Students is a program that trains teams of high school students to present a smoking education program and role-model to fifth graders, helping them to overcome peer pressure to smoke cigarettes and marijuana. Surveys show that a significant percentage of students first begin to experiment with smoking cigarettes and marijuana…

The Maryland Accountability Program Annual Report has been developed as a reference document on test data for the public. It provides a survey both of test results and of the progress being made by students attending Maryland public schools in grades 3, 5, and 8. The 1980-81 report is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 defines educational…

Multiple dimensions of self-concept, inferred self-concepts based upon responses by peers and by teachers, and academic achievement measures were collected in a sample of 559 fifth grade students. Exploratory/conventional factor analyses of responses to the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ) clearly identified the eight facets of self-concept…

To examine the relationship between children's social-cognitive status and the production of persuasive arguments and to determine the effects of age and the channel of communication on these arguments, 16 first grade, 17 third grade, and 16 fifth grade students were asked to produce both oral and written persuasive messages and were administered…

A study investigated the relationships between reading interests, habits, and attitudes of third, fourth, and fifth grade students and the variables of teacher/parental influences, ethnic background, gender, and grade levels of the students. Subjects, a random sample of 101 Black, 92 White, 2 Chinese and 1 Arab low-to-middle socioeconomic-level…

A study explored how children respond to visuals and how a program of visual literacy enhances oral and written response to pictures. The first and fifth grades of two schools, one urban and one suburban, with different socioecomic groups of students, were chosen to participate in a 1-year program consisting of one visual literacy lesson per week.…

A study examined: (1) what concepts of authorship were revealed in the oral and written language of children engaged in a bookmaking task and pre- and post-bookmaking interviews; and (2) how these concepts differ for good readers and writers in different grades. The study was conducted at two elementary schools in a small, middle-class Texas city.…