A survey of student use of French outside the classroom during a six-week summer abroad program found the language skills and functions most commonly used were not those stressed in the language classroom, including comprehension skills and use of numbers. The survey is recommended for assessing student language needs. (MSE)

In small towns throughout the Midwest, families would gather on nights for an evening of broad comedy, melodrama, and music. Jackson Community College has kept this dying art alive every summer since the Rosier Players troupe was donated to the college in 1976. (MLW)

Focuses on one developmentally disabled child's experiences at a summer camp for nondisabled children. Describes the strategies implemented at Lourdes Camp (New York) to provide individualized support. Discusses the benefits to nondisabled children of normal interactions with a disabled child. Includes six references. (SV)

Tips for camp staff on how to survive summer camp include not giving campers sugary drinks before bedtime, setting behavior limits with campers, setting an example by following camp rules, getting enough rest, being fair and consistent, controlling anger, being accountable for actions, asking questions, and being flexible. (LP)

An evaluation of a successful summer camp for youth with developmental disabilities (Camp Horizons) identifies practices that should work well in other youth programs. The natural, personalized setting favors worthwhile relationships with satisfying human bonds. The ecological evaluation approach is also explored. (SLD)

Examines what happens when children commit themselves to enter a summer library-sponsored reading program. Finds that (1) those students who participate in such programs have consistent parental support and interest; (2) self-initiated reading was the most successful; and (3) children and parents created their own individualized reading programs.…

Eighty-five gifted junior high students in a summer enrichment program responded to a probe designed to elicit their spontaneous perspectives on their experience of giftedness. Results yielded comments in the following eight constructs: confusion, boredom, perfection, ridicule, loneliness, uniqueness, burdened, and altruistic. (JDD)

Describes two-week summer program for adolescent girls featuring awareness of nontraditional career choices provided via cooperative plan from public school system, community college, and university. Notes that, upon completion of 80 hours of activities such as business and industry visitations, technical/trade shop hands-on activities, and…

Evaluation of practices at a residential summer program for gifted and talented adolescents (Tennessee Governor's Schools) involved analysis of questionnaire data from 2,213 students and school directors. Relationships were found between students' ratings of program effectiveness and directors' changes in program practices. An expanded timeline…

Administered OASIS-2 Aptitude Survey to 36 rising high school seniors who were taking college classes in English and psychology as part of summer program designed to encourage interest in college. Found statistically significant relationships between grades in both classes and general and verbal aptitude measures on OASIS-2. (Author/NB)

To be of value to practitioners, research must be personalized and dictated by the occurrence of events, exploratory, inductive, and grounded in practice. Submodels in which (1) research agendas are suggested independently by theory and by practice or (2) practice leads to research that leads to theory will enable practitioners to engage in…

Describes a summer course for educators entitled "Teachers as Poets," in which educators considered ways of teaching poetry in the literature classroom. Addresses issues of reading poetry, writing poetry, idea finding, the language of poetry, and the environment of the classroom. (HB)

A mother recounts the first experience of her 5.5-year-old son who has muscular dystrophy and learning disabilities with mainstreaming in a summer day camp. (DB)

Activities for gifted math students at North Carolina's Governor's School East are described, including college-level coursework in linear algebra, group theory, probability, and computer programing; guest speakers; small group work; competitive events; committee work; and completion of a challenge course at a nearby camp. (JDD)

Describes the genesis and history of the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers from 1921-38. Discovers in that school's methodology an antecedent to today's feminist and progressive pedagogies. Looks at the autobiographical narratives of participants to analyze the development of powerful critical voices. (HB)