The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) advocate an integrated model of science instruction for middle schools in which the science disciplines are connected rather than separate. This model, used by other countries that are consistently successful in science, has several key benefits, including enhanced student learning and better…

This study explores configurations of laptop use in a one-to-one environment. Guided by methodologies of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of change, an Innovation Configuration Map (description of the multiple ways an innovation is implemented) of a 1:1 laptop program at a middle school was developed and analyzed. Three distinct configurations…

This document was designed to provide school administrators and professional staff of New York State with a model for evaluating the grade 7-8 social studies program. The program evaluation model outlines a step-by-step procedure for identifying questions for study, gathering and analyzing data, and developing a plan for program improvement. An…

Two individualized writing programs, useful for mainstreaming learning disabled students into the English classroom were field tested among 100 seventh and eighth grade students in four school districts. The document reports on the results of "Mission WRITE," the design of "Touchstone WRITE," and the strategies used in teaching…

A study examined multiple outcomes of relaxation training simultaneously in seventh grade classrooms. "Project Relaxation" measured cognitive (achievement) and affective (discipline, attendance, tardiness, and self-concept) changes with a program of relaxation training for 532 seventh grade students in 10 private and public middle schools in South…

To gather longitudinal student achievement data from schools utilizing the four-day week, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) grade equivalent scores were obtained in 1984 from five rural Colorado school districts for four consecutive years--two years prior to and two years following the districts' change to the shortened week. A first analysis…

This report presents an overview and the philosophy of a particular Summerbridge National Project program conducted at the San Francisco University High School. The program offers talented and diverse middle school students an intense 6-week academic enrichment program taught by bright, motivated high school and college students. The program…

Practices for improving adolescent literacy--which includes reading, writing, and speaking--are much discussed and debated among secondary school educators and researchers. At Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama, the debate has ended after teachers and administrators implemented several practices that elevated student achievement from…

This teacher's guide, intended for the instruction of both French as a first language and French as a second language in an immersion setting, provides a host of strategies for teaching interactive oral presentation skills in the classroom (Grades 1 through 7). Section 1 is designed to bring the teacher's awareness to the training procedure,…

The Alberta (Canada) curriculum for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade French immersion instruction is presented. An introductory section describes the rationale and objectives of the program and provides a brief bibliography. The next section charts the types of discourse on which the curriculum focuses within each language skill area (listening, speaking,…

Aligned with its 1998 standards for first and second language learning, Alberta Learning has published lesson plans that aim for a closer relationship between learning and evaluation. Each volume in this series presents a specific task for students that involves planning, carrying out, and evaluating their work. The task for seventh grade students…

In recent years, numerous questions have been raised in correspondence and in conferences about the education of children in grades seven and eight. In response to the interest expressed, the Elementary Schools Section of the Office of Education invited a group of educators representing administrators, supervisors, teachers, and teacher-educators…