Describes how social studies teachers can explore students' knowledge of communism and the Soviet Union. Explains how to help students make sense of communism's fall. Encourages teachers to ask students what happened, why, and what it means for the future. Explores course evaluation and the topic's meaning for all U.S. citizens. (SG)

W. M. K. Trochim and others defend the record of the regression-discontinuity (RD) design and blur the statistical tests for treatment effect. Their Monte Carlo results show the problematic nature of RD and its potential bias. New testing strategies and restrictions for the application of RD are proposed. (SLD)

Discusses difficulties encountered by elementary students and teachers in classrooms where many students enroll, withdraw, or both during the school year. Patterns and effects of mobility are discussed. Recommends specific aids for teachers of students who change residence unpredictably. (GH)

A total of 42 kindergartners and 42 first graders received either metalevel or skill and drill instruction in phonemic awareness for 10 weeks. Results supported evidence that phonemic awareness is related to reading achievement. The metalevel form of instruction was strongly related to improvement in reading ability of first graders. (SH)

Described are activities that allow students to identify stars, planets, nebulae, and another galaxy. Practical preparations for the field trip are included as well as directions for observing the moon, looking at constellations, measuring the sky, plotting the paths of shooting stars, and planet spotting. (KR)

Presents learning activities in which student designed and drew motifs related to naturalistic objects such as flowers, animals, or birds. Describes steps by which a flower can be turned into a motif and then into a repeat pattern or overall design. (DB)

Study of how 94 men and 63 women perceived and coped with job loss found no significant differences in psychological and behavioral distress. However, men relied more on problem-focused activities such as job search, whereas women relied more on symptom-focused activities such as seeking social support. Marital status affected coping behavior and…

Discusses the goals, course units, instructional strategies, and tools for evaluation that might be used to equip students to understand interactive communication technologies in the workplace. (KEH)

Describes a simple introductory in-class writing assignment that serves to clarify the multiple issues involve in effective letter writing of the persuasive type. Examines the diagnostic value, the lesson learned, and objectives served by such an assignment. (KEH)

Considers the rationale for and some of the uses of portfolios in an educational context. Discusses assessment and teacher education uses for portfolios and offers portfolio development guidelines. (MG)

Describes a four-step process by which teachers can select and present stories in the reading/language arts classroom. Discusses three storytelling-related strategies (Directed Listening-Thinking Activity, Storytelling Maps, and Folktale Updates) useful for developing reading/listening comprehension and vocabulary. Presents procedures for…

A group of Ohio teachers of deaf students received in-depth training in the use of whole-language strategies, focusing first on writing strategies, followed by reading instruction and integration of reading and writing. The training plan involved group instruction, reading materials, observations, individual conferences, teacher-trainer dialogue…

The severity of phonological involvement of 20 phonologically impaired children (ages 5-9) was compared using 5 measures: phonological deviance scores, percent consonants correct based on either connected speech or single words, and perceptual ratings from elementary education majors and graduate students in speech-language pathology. All five…

Outlines the techniques of four skills in using slides in an English-as-a-Second-Language classroom, and considers the possibility of using teacher or student-made slides generated by special projects. (14 references) (GLR)

New and emerging perspectives of educational contexts of literacy are reviewed that emphasize the inseparability and reciprocal influence of literacy practices with the social and ideological agendas of the communities, institutions, and settings in which the literacy practices are embedded. Research on conversational contexts of literacy…