Across Canada there is increased attention to the important relationship between the quality of learning environments--particularly effective teaching--and student achievement. "What did you do in school today?" proposes a multi-dimensional framework of student engagement as a core idea for improving the quality of teaching and learning…

The purpose of the study was to explore the possible effects of music activities, specifically singing and movement on certain reading test scores in beginning and pre readers in a Reading First school. Participants were 8 kindergarten and 17 first grade students (N=25) at a Reading First elementary school in an urban school district in the…

Austin Independent School District allocated federal NCLB Title I, Part A funds to 68 school-wide campuses (52 elementary, 11 middle, and 5 high schools) where the percentages of low-income children ranged from 45% to 99%. Other funds were allocated to provide services district wide to students, staff, and families. This report summarizes Title I…

There are fierce debates over the best way to prepare teachers. Some argue that easing entry into teaching is necessary to attract strong candidates, while others argue that investing in high quality teacher preparation is the most promising approach. Most agree, however, that we lack a strong research basis for understanding how to prepare…

Generally, teachers are good students. Most know how to successfully address a variety of academic tasks demands. Many know how to compensate for any personal weaknesses they have with specific skills. Sometimes teachers are such good students that they forgot what it was like to struggle to learn something. Unfortunately, students with emotional…

In this article, the author discusses the instructional challenges faced by educators this year in the 12,500-student Recovery School District (RSD), the state-run system that took over most of New Orleans' public schools after the storm in August 2005. Roughly 85% of the district's students scored at least two years behind grade level in reading…

"Fast Track" is a pseudonym for an accelerated, advanced language arts program for verbally gifted and high potential students in grades 6-8. The critical thinking model used for "Fast Track" was gleaned from Coalition of Essential Schools founder Ted Sizer's Habits of Mind: significance, evidence, connections, perspective, and supposition, as…

California high school English language arts teachers (n=467) representing 79 high schools and 49 school districts responded to a survey regarding their classroom assessment practices. A random sampling of 115 teachers completed a follow-up survey that focused on beliefs and values relative to assessment. Research questions were: (1) What are the…

A thematic approach provides the best opportunity for children to discover the linkage among science, mathematics, and language arts. This document examines the different physical properties of water in the forms of frost, snowflakes, snow, and ice. The seven integrated investigations explore freezing, melting, insulation, how snow affects the…

A thematic approach provides the best opportunity for children to discover the linkage among science, mathematics, and language arts. This document explores the water cycle. Investigations are divided into six key areas: (1) comparing the size of raindrops; (2) learning to measure rain; (3) making rainbows; (4) exploring the principles of…

This essay relates the way educator Dorothy Howard intuitively used intercultural education techniques to motivate students. Howard encouraged students to relate home experiences and family traditions when fulfilling writing assignments. She also used the rhymes, rhythms, and metaphors of playground games to study poetry, grammar, composition, and…

This resource book is one of a series containing lesson plans for grades 1-3 designed to support children's literature books sharing familiar social studies themes. "Long Ago Times" presents eight different children's books related to the theme. For each book social studies concepts are presented, followed by four activities called "windows." Some…

This resource book is one of a series containing lesson plans for grades 1-3 designed to support children's literature books sharing familiar social studies themes. "Journeys" presents eight different children's books related to the theme. For each book social studies concepts are presented, followed by four activities called "windows." Some of…

This resource book is one in a series containing lesson plans for grades 1-3 designed to support children's literature books sharing familiar social studies themes. "Across America" presents eight different children's books related to the theme. For each book social studies concepts are presented, followed by four activities called "windows." Some…

This workbook offers a variety of quick language activities that develop grade 4-6 students' associative-reasoning and problem-solving skills. The activities in the workbook cover vocabulary development, classifying, sequencing, following directions, and word recognition. Sections of the workbook are Categories; Ordering; Missing Vowels; Think…