Storypath, which originated in Scotland, is a powerful tool for helping students acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions needed to become responsible citizens. Storypath uses basic story components (setting, characters, and plot) to organize the social-studies curriculum into meaningful, memorable learning experiences. Storypath…

Implemented a social-emotional intervention for at-risk 4-year-olds in seven day-care classes. Teachers were trained to perform activities associated with relationship building. Compared to children who did not experience the intervention, children who had it were observed showing decreases in negative emotion, greater involvement, and more…

The social functioning of primary grade students identified as learning disabled (LD; n=16), low achieving (LA; n=27), or average/high achieving (AHA; n=21) was assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Students with LD were less well liked, more frequently rejected, and had lower academic self-concept scores. However, LD students…

This article describes the Life Skills program used to improve the social skills of 12 students with learning disabilities in an Israeli middle school. Each of two groups (girls or boys) met weekly for 5 months to address social skills topics. The article notes gender differences in reactions and participation, and outcomes in such areas as…

Compared five subgroups of aggressive children and adolescents on several adjustment correlates. Found that the reactive group and the group high on both instrumental and reactive reasons for aggression showed consistent maladaptive patterns across the adjustment correlates. The instrumental and typical groups (moderate on instrumental and…

This article highlights the fact that to date, emphasis has been upon promotion of the expressive communication skills of a person with a learning disability and challenging behavior. It is suggested that practitioners need to pay closer attention to the neglected and largely unmet need of receptive communication difficulties. (Contains…

Investigates a treatment package for anger control in boys ages 7 to 10 using a control group outcome design. The treatment package included modeling, rehearsal with self-talk problem-solving, daily report cards and a praise phase. At post-test treatment participants were significantly higher than controls on the Aggression Control factor of the…

A study was conducted of nine male and three female adolescents with autism to find the collateral behavioral and social interaction effects of using facilitated communication. The facilitated communication intervention appeared to have no influence on the subjects' behavior and social interactions. (CR)

A program taught three students (ages 10-18) social interaction skills to enhance their abilities to interact with three students with deaf-blindness and had them teach the same skills to friends (secondary peers). As a result of the peer instruction, the secondary peers spent more time with students with deaf-blindness. (CR)

Discusses the beliefs of children with learning disabilities about listening and the listener's role in repairing communicative breakdowns. Describes ways of using children's literature to enable students to reflect on the interactive roles of speaker and listener using stories with a theme of resolving communication breakdowns. (Author/CR)

Interviews with native French-speaking students, undertaken during a project encompassing the teaching of cultural awareness at the upper secondary level in Britain, were analyzed to assess the students' cultural competence. Three different levels of competence were identified: "limited,""adequate," and "high,"…

A review of the literature on mixed-age settings reveals benefits in the areas of social and cognitive development. Research on the psychosocial advantages of mixed-age groupings is less consistent. Factors such as group size, age range, time together, and context-specific curriculum activities may have a relationship to the level of success and…

Followed 150 children over four years who were classified according to cluster analysis of teacher ratings into four types of social withdrawal: unsociable, passive-anxious, active-isolate, and sad-depressed. Found that unsociable children had elevated sociometric neglect rates, active-isolates had higher levels of rejection, and sad-depressed had…

Reviews research on feelings of dependency and self-criticism (correlates of depression) among adolescents at camp, on the importance of adolescents being immunized, and on benefits of exercise. Implications for camp involve developing strategies to help adolescents be less self-critical, requiring complete vaccination records from campers and…

Provides "adoption awareness" for early childhood educators and offers practical suggestions for working with adoptive parents and their children. Includes a list of adoption resources and consultants, along with a collection of suggested adoption books for young children. (Author/EV)