Designed as thematic units around Wright Company Big Books, the lessons in this guide demonstrate ways that Big Books can be used in a whole language first grade program. Each lesson indicates skill focus, needed materials, procedures, and additional thoughts or suggestions about the lesson. Units consist of: "Bedtime" (five lessons);…

A federally funded research report, titled "The Development of a Program in Orientation and Mobility for Multi-Handicapped Blind Infants" by Randall Harley et al., is briefly summarized in this one-page abstract. The report discusses the development of the "Peabody Mobility Kit for Infants," a package of assessment and training…

The Developmental Speech Sequence Model (DSSM), based on a developmental approach designed to overcome deficiencies in public speaking, offers students guidelines for speech delivery but not at the expense of spontaneity. While some approaches provide step-by-step direction or are more abstract, the DSSM builds developmentally through a series of…

Based on the premise that environmental education should be taught in K-12 social studies classes, this document describes the eco/studies concept of the constant interaction between natural and human designed environments. The use of a model, through which students role play as researching social scientists, is described, along with the concepts…

This study was designed to determine the effects of variable and specific practice of typing individual letters on response time to typing those letters within specific letter combinations and on overall speed and accuracy of intermediate typists (46 high schools students who were taking Typewriting II). The letters selected for investigation were…

The results of five studies of the relationship between debate training and critical thinking were examined to determine if in fact debate training improves critical thinking skills. All five studies compared the gains on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test (WG) for subjects who had received debate training with control groups who…

A collection of 25 games, some illustrated, for English language instruction includes information exchange games for pairs and small groups (Describe and Draw, Describe and Arrange, Construct It, Describe and Construct, Find the Difference, Complete It, Ask the Right Question, Compare and Check, Rescue), linking and matching games (Use It, Picture…

Acknowledging a growing national awareness of the need for direct instruction in higher order thinking skills within public education, this paper describes an instructional model for reinforcing thinking skills in the classroom, kindergarten through grade 12. Following an introduction justifying the model's reliance on the processing of…

The Ball Aptitude Battery (BAB) is a multiple ability test battery of specific work skills for use in career counseling. This study reports on ability changes by gender, race, and socioeconomic status in a BAB retest of 112 young adults four years after their initial testing. The sample consisted of 68 females and 44 males; 15 Blacks, 21…

This study compared the process skill achievement of students (N=107) completing traditional laboratory exercises with students (N=127) not only completing the same exercises but also receiving instruction in such integrated process skills as identifying variables and stating hypotheses. The relationships among process skill achievement, cognitive…

In addition to its other services, the writing center offers its staff professional skills that can be of advantage in careers ranging from teaching to business. First of all, graduate students who have tutored have an advantage when applying for assistantships, for they already have experience in conveying content and developing student skills.…

Examining a sample of 17 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade language arts and social studies teachers in the Eugene (Oregon) area, this study sought to determine the effects of inservice coaching on teachers' transfer of newly learned classroom strategies into their instructional repertoires, and to identify the problems in transferring skills. All…

Providing a summary of the psychological research on children's reading comprehension, this book explores the psychology of the reading process by concentrating on the development of reading comprehension skills. The book analyzes both the skills of fluent adult readers and the development of children's language from the age of five, when most…

Written language skills are an important goal within programs of language development for students with mental disabilities. Specific facets should be considered in the teaching of writing, such as drawing on previous linguistic experiences, viewing writing as both process and product, emphasizing writing as a form of communication, tying writing…

Social LIFE (Social Learning of Independence through Functional Experiences), a game used as a means of developing new social skills in a variety of settings and social situations and involving players and a mediator (instructor), is described. Appropriate responses to the game situations are rewarded by points or play money. Target behaviors or…