A field study was conducted in which 304 fifth-grade students spent three class periods per week for 6 weeks in small interdependent learning groups. As hypothesized, students in the interdependent learning groups (experimentals) manifested higher self-esteem than controls and liked groupmates more than other classmates. Further, black and Anglo…

Describes a study of fifth grade students' ability to process information from a play, and compares the results to related information from television research. (JC)

Presents a lesson which focuses on the question of whether a boy's ownership of a bike entails the right to use that property in any way he wishes. Students discuss the rights they think should accompany ownership of the bicycle and what responsibilities, if any, the owner should have. (JDH)

Examines the influence of teachers, age, sex, and race on the reading preferences of third, fourth, and fifth grade pupils. Concludes that the tested variables do explain differences, but that there are more similarities than differences. (RS)

Reliability and validity of "Degrees of Reading Power" test and "Iowa Tests of Basic Skills" reading comprehension and vocabulary tests were compared. Test scores, grades, and assigned reading levels of 191 fifth and sixth graders and 186 sixth and seventh graders in an eastern Iowa school district were used. Reliability and…

A study concluded that there were no significant differences in posttest speed achievement of students in grades 3 through 6 when pretest typewriting speed score was used as a covariate. Fifteen or fewer hours of instruction allows development of typewriting speed at the lowest level of skill acquisition. (JOW)

Presents a study which investigated whether elementary school children could gain significantly in verbal reasoning about the definition of art. Reports that fifth and sixth grade students have the intellectual potential to improve their verbal reasoning if provided an adequate background in art education. (GEA)

Data are presented for problem-solving content of selected elementary school mathematics textbooks and problem-solving achievement for students in Iowa for grades 4-6 for selected years between 1955 and 1985. Relationships between textbook content and student achievement are considered. (RH)

Two quasi-experimental longitudinal studies, conducted by the Centre for Educational Research in Landau, Germany, are reported. Various effects of reporting the outcomes of learning to students were studied. Results emphasized the importance of feedback for learning outcomes. (LMO)

Examines the development of the child's concepts of certainty and uncertainty within the context of concrete and propositional reasoning tasks. Subjects were first, third, and fifth graders. Findings support the position that reasoning about concrete certainty and uncertainty requires a different competence than that required for reasoning about…

Presents a lesson designed to introduce students to the Bill of Rights. Students learn that their rights are protected by laws and that they must act responsibly. The lesson uses several hypothetical situations and a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court case involving the use of vulgar language by a high school student during an assembly speech. (JDH)

Reports on an intervention study that trained teachers to be explicit when teaching low reading groups to use reading skills strategically. Concludes that use of the training techniques produced significantly greater student awareness of what was taught but no significant gains in achievement. Copies of the teacher and student rating scales used…

Reports contemporary data concerning the fear of nuclear war among Americans of different age groups. Identifies recent efforts to educate K-12 students about the threat of nuclear war. (JDH)

Factor analyses of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were performed on separate groups of Anglo (n=100) and Mexican-American (n=100) fifth-grade children to determine the comparability of underlying structures and to examine the existence of possible bias in construct validity of the K-ABC for each group. (Author/LMO)

In three experiments, fifth graders and college students watched a videotaped peer model executing two differentially effective associative-learning strategies. Observation of the model did not result in the consistent use of that strategy by fifth graders. College students did appear to benefit from the observational-learning opportunity.…