In 1987 the Toronto (Ontario, Canada) Board of Education launched the development of the Toronto Board Benchmark Program to establish benchmarks, which are samples of student performance on a wide range of language and mathematics tasks. These samples, in print and video, show what students in grades 3, 6, and 8 can do on learning tasks based on…

A study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the reading dimension in the English Language Arts curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11 of English language schools in Manitoba (Canada). At each grade, the student test assessed five major areas of reading performance. Assessment materials consisted of a student test, a…

This study described the internship of two English language arts interns, examining how their perceptions evolved during the 4.5-month, senior-year internship. The study investigated how the internship affected their perceptions of and beliefs about (1) themselves as teachers, (2) teacher professionalism, (3) their effectiveness as change agents,…

This document evaluates the 1989 and 1990 Reading Improvement Program, which aimed to enhance and support 330 local schools in the implementation of Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools' goals for reading and language arts in kindergarten through grade 6. The program focused on improving instruction and reading achievement. Program features included…

This program of studies contains the requirements of each course or program in the elementary curriculum for the province of Alberta. An introduction discusses the goals of education, the development of desirable personal characteristics by students, the distribution of teaching among the subjects, and communication and critical thinking skills.…

In this study, a questionnaire was designed to assess Montessori teachers' reported likelihood of intervention in some 25 common situations in Montessori classrooms for 3-6 year olds, as well as to obtain limited background information on the teachers. Subjects were 422 Montessori teachers including 30 from Trinidad (where the questionnaire was…

The Maryland School Performance Program released six sample tasks to illustrate the types of assessment tasks that would appear on the 1992 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Students' responses to these tasks are open-ended; that is, students generate their own responses. A wide range of responses to each task is acceptable.…

This sourcebook contains articles, resources, and sample teaching materials to assist practitioners implementing developmentally appropriate practices in the classroom. The first six parts of the sourcebook contain reprints of more than 40 journal articles, topical bibliographies and resource lists, and sample teaching materials. The topics of…

This monograph describes the Success for All program, developed in 1986 by the Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students at Johns Hopkins University. The program is built around the idea that every child can and must succeed in the early grades, and that all aspects of school and classroom organization should be…

Project CHILD (Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development) is a major research project designed to develop an innovative computer-integrated instructional program for the elementary school. It has been a four-year effort funded by grants totalling $1,055,000 from the Florida Department of Education with additional support from 7…

Technological progress in communication and transportation within the past 30 years has made many areas of the world accessible, as well as interdependent. Failure to understand the concept of interdependency greatly diminishes the potential of all nations and each citizen to appreciate this world community. This agricultural awareness program…

Both humanity and nature have suffered greatly from human insensitivity. Not only are the natural resources of the earth being depleted and its air, land and water polluted, the financial resources of humanity are being wasted on destructive expenditures. The "Our Only Earth" series is an integrated science, language arts, and social studies…

A study examined the effectiveness of a collaborative research and development project designed to enhance the academic competence of typically underserved minority students through instructional strategies which emphasize cooperative learning, maximize heterogeneous skill groupings, and focus on higher order thinking and communication skills.…

An oral language continuum designed to help elementary students develop techniques for a variety of speech situations, learn to listen, and learn to be aware of the responsibility of the speaker is presented. The continuum is divided into four sections. Student needs, implications for teaching, and suggested activities are arranged sequentially.…

Much of the computer software currently available for English teachers fails to assess adequately computer strengths and weaknesses. Labeled "wimpy software," these products are often little more than animated textbooks whose lesson formats exercise little higher-order reasoning. The future for good quality software, therefore, rests with English…