Explores use of historical fiction in elementary social studies curriculum. Examines the value of historical fiction for children and social studies goals it supports. Offers suggestions for using historical fiction in primary and intermediate grades and recommends specific books. (RWB)

Educators have shown great interest in teaching thinking in the last five years. This overview introduces thinking skills instruction as the theme of this issue of "Educational Leadership" and distinguishes three different approaches: teaching for thinking, teaching about thinking, and teaching of thinking. (TE)

The notion that thinking can be taught as a separate skill is a philosophical mistake. Teachers who are knowledgeable about their subject, who understand how it differs from other disciplines, and who can convey this to their students are already teaching thinking skills. (TE)

Includes an annotated bibliography of documents in the ERIC system that (1) provide insight on the value of role playing and dramatic play in the classroom and (2) suggest a variety of classroom activities that use improvisation as tool to help children retain ideas, emotions, or any academic lessons. (JD)

Describes the formation of story awareness in young children, suggesting methods for assessment and activities to facilitate its development. (KS)

Investigated implications of cognitive development of preservice teachers (N=91) as it related to their classroom teaching performance. Results obtained support a general portrait of teaching behavior specifically related to teachers of differing cognitive functional levels. Implications for professional training programs are discussed. (Author/JN)

Describes five studies in which the learning and transfer abilities of two- and four-year-old children were examined on a task that required them to combine two separately learned solutions to reach a goal. (HOD)

The difficulties hearing impaired students experience in acquiring the conceptual information underlying narratives is discussed in terms of schemata development and the role of incidental learning. Principles for teaching concepts and labels, elaborating the schema, using questions to fill in conceptual gaps, and using imaginary play and…

Two experiments showed that: 5- and 6-year-old listeners have difficulties with spatial reference if it includes "left" and "right"; and 7-year-olds understand this limitation on the comprehension skill of younger children and make appropriate allowances by using more landmarks instead. (CB)

Explores the relations between temperament, communicative competence, and humor expression among four- and five-year-old nursery school children. Shows that ratings of communicative competence and various dimensions of temperament account for a significant proportion of the variance in the reported frequency of children's laughter and verbal and…

The discussions of the theme group on Technology and Cognitive Development at the Fifth International Congress on Mathematical Education are summarized. How computers can be used to engage students actively, to promote problem-solving skills, and to achieve better understanding is discussed. (MNS)

A complete equal opportunity program provides an intervention strategy based upon students' diagnosed deficiencies in academic preparation and cognitive development. This study considers formal or abstract operational capability as measured by attainment of Piagetian tasks by special-admission students in a large midwestern university. (LHW)

Two studies examined the relation between current developmental levels, as estimated by IQ, and proximal levels of development, as estimated by the efficiency of learning and transfer in assisted contexts. Subjects were 8- to ll-year-old children. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (HOD)

Extends and replicates the 1948 Soviet study by Istomina that examined the age at which children use deliberate strategies to aid recall and the effect that task context has on remembering. Subjects were 3- to 7-year-old children. Istomina's results were not replicated in this study. (HOD)

Subjects of this study were 144 White, middle-class children in kindergarten, first, second, and fourth grades. Children were interviewed individually about their explanations for both academic and social outcomes and their evaluations of their own outcomes. Self-evaluations became less positive in both domains and less similar across domains with…