Presents a program for making oral history real to elementary children by sponsoring a senior citizens' tea. Describes the experiences of the children in preparing and giving the tea. Discusses the program's benefits of enhancing the store of information about community history and oral history and promoting student use of language in many forms.…

Two studies involving 138 third graders and 18 fifth and sixth graders examined whether children's ability to revise problematic texts could be enhanced through training in a comprehension monitoring strategy. Results show that acquiring a strategy can help children make appropriate revisions to improve the text's comprehension. (SLD)

Perceptions of U.S. (n=870), Chinese (n=709), and Japanese (n=713) mothers about their children's problems with first and fifth grade mathematics were examined in two studies. Results suggest that U.S. mothers evaluated their children's skills less critically and had lower mathematics achievement standards than did Asians. (SLD)

Investigates the effects of explicit story structure instruction on below-average fourth and fifth grade readers' narrative writing performance. Finds that explicit story structure instruction positively influenced the narrative writing performance in terms of both quality and quantity of their writing. (MG)

This study used judgmental and statistical procedures to evaluate the items in a statewide, 78-item, multiple-choice test of science knowledge. Differences in outcomes for these procedures are discussed. Authors conclude that both procedures should be used in test construction. (PR)

Presents an interdisciplinary instructional unit focusing on the Mayan Civilization. Describes the use of interactive story telling and guided imagery to heighten student interest and involvement. Provides suggestions for using these methods to teach about other countries or civilizations. (CFR)

Presents a lesson plan integrating fifth language arts and social studies. Students wrote letters to the editors of newspapers in the 50 states and received hundreds of postcards and letters that were displayed throughout the classroom. Includes photographs of the students and postcards. Suggests that the activity teaches history and geography…

Effects of 2 cooperative conditions on group discussions and metacognitive awareness of 206 fourth- and fifth-graders were examined. Discussions for those in the strategy condition (which emphasized the connection between strategy use and learning) were more focused toward substantive task content than for those in the reward-receiving condition.…

Effects of participation in a telephone homework-assistance program on academic achievement were examined for 46 fifth graders and were compared with 44 who received no telephone homework assistance. Few children actually used the service, and no positive effects of its use were found on achievement test results, grades, or self-esteem. (SLD)

Thirty classes of fifth graders (n=536) were surveyed to see if their criteria for academic success, beliefs about the causes of success, and perceptions of teachers' expectations involved the coordination of personal values and contextual norms. Beliefs about causes of success have some relation to personal identities and students'…

Reports the results of two studies which further examine the relations of motivational-variables contribution to reading achievement and text comprehension. Results revealed that reading amount significantly predicted text comprehension (with other variables controlled) in both studies (Study 1 included third and fifth graders; Study 2 included…

During an eight-week field experience, six preservice teachers designed and facilitated an integrated inquiry unit for fifth graders. During this experience, they investigated their effectiveness in implementing the inquiry approach to teaching based on pupils' learning responses. Reflecting on teaching behaviors through reflective classroom…

Shares the responses of seven urban, male, African-American fifth graders to contemporary realistic fiction, discussing how the tying of this literature to the events in the boys' lives had the potential to move them toward social action. The paper examines the following: literature as a catalyst, reader responses to texts, critical literacy, and…

Investigated differences in frequency of nomination to gifted/talented programs between Hispanic and Anglo students, examining teachers' perceptions of nominated and non-nominated students on the Scales of Rating Characteristics of Superior Students. Teacher nominations strongly related to ethnicity, with Hispanic students much less likely to be…

Does living in a neighborhood with a high school affect children's decision to continue their schooling? A study of over 300 fifth graders and their parents in three Mexican cities found community residence is a significant predictor of desired schooling, even with comprehensive controls for child and family traits. (39 references) (MLH)