This report lays out the design for the Evaluation of Reading Comprehension Interventions, which is assessing supplemental reading comprehension programs for fifth-grade students in Title I schools. The key design parameters are described. The report itself provides the rationale for these decisions and discusses design and measurement issues,…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how general problem-based learning (PBL) models and social-constructivist perspectives are applied to the design and development of a Web-based science program, which emphasizes inquiry-based learning for fifth grade students. The paper also deals with the general features and learning process of a Web-based…

With consistently low levels of academic performance and high rates of absenteeism (Bourke & Rigby, 2000), the students in this study are the most educationally disadvantaged group in Australia with respect to mathematics. This paper reports on a study undertaken with Years 5-7 students in a Queensland aboriginal community to determine their…

A study evaluated the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing Program. The comprehensive evaluation examined the background literature, the psychometric characteristics, and the impact of the writing assessment both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicated that: (1) the majority of fifth- and seventh-grade students in Alabama do not…

This action research project implemented and evaluated a 10-week conflict resolution program to improve the behavior of fifth- and eighth-grade students. Participating were eighth graders from a large suburban school district with a diverse socioeconomic background, and fifth graders from a growing suburban school district with a high mobility…

A study conducted in grades 4 and 5 in French Canadian schools in Atlantic Canada and Ontario investigated differences between students' vernacular and standard spoken French, with regard to learning how to eliminate interference in students' learning of standard usage. The discussion focuses on mistakes caused by borrowings from English,…

In order to foster the kind of learning environment that promotes decision-making and thinking skills, educators need to take a values approach to teaching. There are three main approaches to values teaching: (1) the product approach, which concentrates on outcomes as "fixed" values, "core" values, or "moral basics";…

This manual provides accurate, up-to-date information about contemporary life in Japan and provides opportunities for students to develop cross-cultural awareness. The content of the lessons includes concepts traditionally taught in elementary school social studies programs. Lessons provide multiple opportunities for students to develop a variety…

This action research paper describes a program initiated by teacher researchers to improve academic achievement and interest in social studies. The targeted group consisted of fifth graders in a lower middle class community in the Midwest. Analysis of the problem-causes data show three main factors: curriculum, attitude, and effect. In regard to…

This report describes a program for improving reading comprehension skills in order to heighten understanding of materials covered in class and performance on activities and exams. The targeted population consisted of first-, fifth-, and eighth-grade students in a large, lower- to middle-class community located in central Illinois. The problems in…

A study examined two upper elementary classrooms efforts to incorporate experiential democratic citizenship into the life of each classroom. A major research question guiding the study was: what are the characteristics of an elementary classroom that values civic participation? The assertion generated from the findings and attentive to this…

The highway is close to every child's experience and plays an important part in the activities of his life. The influence of the street is second only to that of the home. The highway project holds, for that reason, an absorbing interest of children in the middle and upper grades. It presents a wide range of subject matter and an opportunity for…

Eight highly structured fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms were compared with seven less structured classrooms with respect to the degree to which teachers', classmates', and self ratings of ability to read were in agreement. It was suggested that classroom structures may effect perceptions of ability. (CTM)

In 1979, East Tennessee educators developed an elementary school guidance curriculum guide for grades four-six. A 1980 questionnaire indicated that teachers using the guide are capable of carrying out a program of classroom guidance activities when they are provided with a suitable program, and that the results are positive. (LC)

In classes of four different sizes (16, 23, 30, and 37), teachers' expectations, student achievement in six areas, student and teacher attitudes, student self-concept, and various classroom process variables were studied. Class size effects were only noted for teachers' expectations and for one area of mathematics achievement. (Author/GDC)