Estimates of the costs of including hands-on measures of science skills in a large-scale assessment program were derived from a field trial involving more than 2,000 fifth and sixth graders. Results suggest that complexity makes hands-on assessments more than three times as expensive as open-ended writing assessments. (SLD)

Survey of sixth and seventh graders in 47 schools revealed that adolescents who spoke Spanish with their parents were less likely to have had an alcoholic drink relative to adolescents who spoke English and Spanish with their parents. Differences also were found based on language use with friends, country of origin, and sex. (RJM)

Describes the organization, design, and implementation of a two-week thematic unit for sixth-grade students, which was designed to stimulate critical and creative thinking about environmental issues through integrated reading, writing, listening, and speaking in the context of their reading-language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics…

Investigated Israeli Jewish and Arab fifth- and sixth-grade student perceptions of and attitudes to writing in three learning environments: cooperative learning, computer-mediated communication (CMC), and a combination of the two. Concludes that the power of peer interaction in cooperative learning with CMC was greater than each learning…

Examines the influence of reading experience on spelling skill development. Sixth graders, good at both skills, consistently outscored their peers. Good readers but poor spellers did not differ from those poor at both skills on measures involving sound-spelling, orthographic and visual information, but outperformed the latter when use of…

Investigated acceptability of intervention designed to improve spelling performance as rated by sixth grade students (n=93) in two studies. Results showed that these interventions were successful at improving spelling performance and that differences related to group size were inconsistent across studies. (Author/PVV)

Evaluated impact of abstinence promotion program targeting sixth and seventh graders. After being exposed to 6 program sessions focusing on self-esteem, communication skills, peer pressure, and teaching value that sex should be confined to marriage, only change shown by 191 participants but not by 129 controls was increase in precoital sexual…

Describes an alternative method of placing students in reading groups which reduces reliance on achievement tests, yet remains manageable enough for large groups of students. Describes the six formal and informal measures used in placement: achievement test scores, IQ scores, attitude scores, current placement, grade in reading, and teacher…

Third- through sixth-grade mathematically talented students (n=306) enrolled in a flexibly paced university mathematics course far exceeded the normative achievement gains expected over a one-year period. Restricting such students to a rigid instructional pace may have a deleterious effect on motivation and achievement. (64 references) (MKR)

Describes a study of 120 grade-6 students in Montreal that compared "Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia" on CD-ROM with its print version to determine students' ability to recall information and to draw inferences from it. Presentation conditions, retrieval conditions, text characteristics, and future research plans are discussed.…

Presents a curriculum unit designed for average sixth-grade students intended to engage them in problem-solving experiences and to teach them problem-solving strategies. The curriculum consists of 20 sessions in which students engage in various activities using the following software packages: The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury, Rescue at Boone's…

Presents a framework for examining the ways in which written texts are shaped by and related to the oral texts of classroom life. An ethnographic study of a bilingual sixth-grade class is described that examined the factors that affected what pairs of students writing a common social science text accomplished in face-to-face interactions. (MDM)

Illustrates how, through the words selected, the patterns of interaction experienced, and the range of events constructed in a bilingual sixth-grade classroom, students and teachers defined what counted as mathematics, mathematical actions, and being mathematicians. The patterns of language use and the range of mathematical events within the first…

Reports on a study of the relationship between achievement motivation at school and child-rearing practices. Finds that more motivated children live in more rigidly structured families. Suggests more research on the differential influences of social context and gender. (CFR)

Reviews "The Grolier World Encyclopedia of Endangered Species" and describes a lesson plan for grades five and six that includes library media skills objectives, science objectives, resources, instructional roles, activity and procedure for completion, evaluation, and follow-up. (LRW)