Planning and organizational details of a citywide spelling bee for intermediate-level hearing impaired students are described. (CL)

A cooperative program for gifted fourth, fifth, and sixth graders began as a result of budget cuts. The program has experimented with scheduling patterns, course offerings, and teacher selections. (Author/CL)

A one-day per week pull-out social studies program for gifted fifth graders incorporates theories of John Dewey and Joseph Renzulli (the Enrichment Triad Model) in the study of economics, urbanization, and social organization, as well as participation in community service projects. (CL)

The attitude and modeling behavior of the entire middle school staff is the most important factor in providing an effective school learning environment. Discusses program ingredients necessary to help staff members furnish authentic middle level education. Includes 15 references. (Author/MD)

Explores student and teacher views about an advisor-advisee program being conducted in a rural midwestern middle school. Although teachers overwhelmingly supported the advisory concept, they (as well as students) made several suggestions for improving the school's program: eliminating a controversial Positive Action program; removing disruptive…

Nene College (United Kingdom) has developed a residential enrichment program for gifted ten- and eleven-year-olds in Northamptonshire County. The paper outlines the logistics of program implementation, including determining academic and social content and the selection of children and teaching staff. (DB)

This article describes the training process developed for teachers when the Columbus, Ohio, public schools decided to introduce Student Team Learning in the middle schools and the intermediate elementary grades. (MT)

An enrichment class for gifted students (grades four-six) sponsored a townwide convocation in which students were teamed into minicompanies, asked to devise a plan to make and sell a game, and exposed to business and industry resource people. Planning for the day took place over a seven-month period. (CL)

Gifted intermediate-level students in Greenville, South Carolina, held a Future Fair in which students completed projects and developed critical and creative thinking skills as they investigated real problems. Projects such as models, inventions, photo essays, and creative writing focused on future schools, art, fashions, space travel, and other…

Recognizing that families are a powerful force in preventing or intervening in negative youth behaviors, the Gridely (Arizona) Middle School's substance abuse/intervention team launched a program to promote the positive aspects of family life. Family week activities included a local teen theater presentation featuring vignettes on timely topics,…

Describes a principal-initiated advisory program at a Toronto middle school. Summarizes successful program elements, including a 6-month planning period; a staff-supported inservice program offering training in team-building and adolescent development; daily advisory group meetings, with maximum group size of 15 students, who retain the same…

Buoyed by the success of an informal, unexpected "pilot study" using sign language and Spanish and a challenge from a university colleague, a Florida middle-school teacher expanded the use of second languages in her classes. An ensuing study involving 115 eighth graders showed a positive change in students' attitudes toward foreign…

Describes a partnership involving North Carolina middle school and Weck Industry, a surgical instrument manufacturing company. Steering committee generated ideas to improve curriculum, student services, and teacher services. Several curriculum-related recommendations have been carried out the first year, including a speakers' bureau, facility…

This eighth chapter in "The Challenge of Counseling in Middle Schools" contains five articles on the organization of a middle school counseling program. "The Counselor and Modern Middle-Level Schools: New Roles in New Schools," by Paul George, examines characteristics of successful schools and considers some new roles for the counselor. "Teacher…

This article describes video-based vocabulary lessons that were used with 10 fourth-grade students with learning disabilities. The video programs were used as an "anchor" or "situation" for creating a realistic context for learning. Vocabulary was enriched by providing contextual information, introducing new vocabulary words,…