In response to the greatly increased use of statewide high stakes testing, the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Virginia developed differentiated authentic assessments for middle school classroom use that embodied key concepts, principles, generalizations, and processes in the disciplines of English/language…

This lesson uses an interdisciplinary approach to looking at the concept of "heroes." In a world with few heroes, students will recognize the positive character traits of heroes through the use of music, art, creative writing, and literature. The lesson offers an overview; suggests length and grade level; gives subjects and subtopics;…

This book explores the concept of using everyday objects as a process initiated both by students and teachers, encouraging growth in student observation, inquisitiveness, and reflection in learning. After "Introduction: Welcome to Inquiry-Based Learning using Everyday Objects (Object-Based Inquiry), there are nine chapters in two parts. Part 1,…

This 10-week middle school curriculum unit for grades 6-8, integrating concepts, materials, and content from language arts, music, and visual arts, provides a set of specific instructional plans relative to the study of myths (often a content area in middle school grades across the country). All the sample lessons and examples in the curriculum…

This lesson seeks to sensitize students to the complex nature of revenge as it is portrayed in William Shakespeare's "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." In the lesson, students learn how Shakespeare's play interprets Elizabethan attitudes toward revenge, as reflected in the structure of the Elizabethan revenge tragedy, one of the…

This document discusses the development and implementation of alternative performance indicators (APIs) to assess the educational progress of children with disabilities in Wisconsin toward model academic content standards. It begins by describing the alternate assessment process, the definition of APIs, and the process of developing APIs.…

Suggesting that students in the intermediate grades can explore the world around them and practice valuable skills in spelling, reading, writing, communication, and language, this book presents cross-curricular units designed to integrate language-arts activities into the study of ecology and the environment. The units in the book reach diverse…

There is consensus in the United States that schools are not succeeding. This paper presents recent research in mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, and the arts to discuss ways in which to improve instruction and learning in these areas. Featured topics include cooperative learning, problem solving, use of technology, whole…

As with the regular issues of "Biography Today," this special subject volume on "Authors" was created to appeal to young readers in a format they can enjoy reading and readily understand. Each volume contains alphabetically-arranged sketches. Each entry in the volume provides at least one picture of the individual profiled, and…

The content standards define what Louisiana students should know and be able to do in the English language arts in order to become lifelong learners and productive citizens in the 21st century. The content standards demonstrate an expanded definition of literacy--one that includes not only knowledge and application of subject matter, but also the…

This qualitative inquiry examines preservice teachers' cases describing their reflective thinking, hopes, concerns, problems, and achievements as they address the complexities of devising and offering literacy-based arts lessons to students in two urban elementary schools. The researchers examined and categorized 203 teaching cases written by 8…

Through a comprehensive review of various afterschool programs across the United States, this resource provides a practical overview of the research and best practices that can be easily adapted and applied in the development of highly effective afterschool programs. chapters focus on: (1) "Why Afterschool Programs?" (benefits, challenges, and…

This publication from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is designed to inform parents about the department's Grade Four curriculum standards in four major areas: language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. The integrated language arts/reading standards enable students to differentiate fact from opinion and…

Thinkback is a new instructional process that uses "thinking aloud" strategies developed by Arthur Whimbey and derives its name from the technology of instant video playback. Thinkback is a generalization of techniques described in the program "Problem Solving and Comprehension," which has been used for more than 20 years. The…

A study ascertained the effectiveness of color-coded subject-predicate cards and learning strategies to teach language skills to middle school students at risk for academic failure. The 17 seventh-grade students significantly improved their scores on sentence type and subject-predicate identification as well as their academic grade in Language…