Demonstrates teaching citizenship through student involvement in current issues. Presents We-Search--a process using the whole-language approach for group research projects in a Fairbanks, Alaska, third grade class. Highlights class projects, including one concerning transportation of plutonium across international borders. Emphasizes how…

Presents seven reading activities involving the preschool classroom writing environment, using big books and predictable books, using cereal boxes to foster emergent literacy, using editorials, visual-auditory links, reading outside the classroom, and ownership of writing. (MG)

Describes British study that monitored and evaluated the cognitive development and academic attainments of Down's Syndrome children ages 3-10 over a two-year period. Comparisons with mainstream schools and special schools are made in the areas of children's expressive language, comprehension, numeracy, verbal fluency, drawing ability, and reading.…

Examines the pedagogic concept of cultural pluralism and outlines specific methods for implementing the concept in the social studies curriculum. Identifies and analyzes various forms of cultural biases, reviewing means for identifying such biases, and presenting remedies for eliminating them from the instructional setting. (LS)

Describes the following teaching ideas: note writing; books supplementing a unit on measuring; parents' activities calendars; quick phonics inventory; map reading; language experience chart stories; predicting activities with titles; summer mail for learning disabled students; role playing; teaching guides for novels; sentence transformation; and…

Studies aspects of migrant lifestyle and perceptions from a youthful viewpoint. In-depth interviewing of 84 elementary and high school students revealed that, although migrant farm workers value education, their children often confront obstacles such as mobility, poverty, and hostility that encourage them to drop out of school. Further research is…

Examines appropriacy of a nationally standardized test normed on English speakers but used with non-English speaking students. Data from the school year are analyzed via reliability comparison, exploratory factor analysis, and comparison of variances. The use of the test was statistically defensible. This finding does not address the need for…

This article argues that American colleges and universities must better prepare their students to meet the challenges of the global economy. Institutions need to place greater emphasis on foreign language skills, cultural awareness, student exchange programs, functional skills, and job placement. (MDM)

A study of Head Start preschoolers and families suggests emergent literacy is supported by the Home Based Reading Project, but only when teachers teach parents strategies in simple language, offer a library of quality books, and provide materials highlighting reading practices and effective literacy interactions. Parents play a crucial role in…

This paper discusses six theoretical assumptions about effective instructional practices for culturally and linguistically diverse learners; literature on African-American cultural practices, interests, and cognitive styles; attitudes, perceptions, and instructional practices of effective teachers of African-American students with disabilities;…

An ethnographic study of 12 low-income Puerto Rican parents of children with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation found that different cultural meanings of disability and normalcy led parents to reject the notion of disability and focus on the impact of family identity, language confusion, and detrimental educational practices on…

Thirty-six educationally disadvantaged gifted fifth grade students completed a program to reinforce their academic skills in either language arts or mathematics. Compared to controls, subjects showed gains in achievement and aptitude test scores in language arts as well as mathematics and then became eligible for challenging gifted/talented…

The author of EC 604 296 explains the evolution of a pilot project to improve the basic skills and thinking ability of gifted minority children to improve their performance on standardized tests. The paper reviews the effects of the project and notes changes recommended in repeating the program. (JDD)

Considers four language arts--speaking, listening, reading, and writing--as activities that enhance the development of mathematical concepts. Suggests ways language arts can be used in learning difficult concepts as missing addends, algorithms, number facts, and problem solving. (39 references) (MDH)

Results of a comparison of Papua New Guinea bilingual and monolingual students' (n=232) mathematics achievement indicated that bilingual students competent in both languages scored significantly higher on two different types of mathematical tests than both low-competent bilingual students and monolingual students. (32 references)