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Subcategory: Elementary School
Play, Then Eat: Shift May Bring Gains at School
Jan 26 2010 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Can something as simple as the timing of recess make a difference in a child’s health and behavior?
TV Linked to More Child Aggression
Nov 3 2009 - WebMD
A new study shows that children who watch more television—and even those who are exposed to the television while other people in the home are watching—are more likely to be aggressive.
NAEP Math Scores Idle at 4th Grade, Progress at 8th
Oct 14 2009 - Education Week
Stagnant elementary results for the first time in two decades are likely to spur policymakers to re-examine math instruction.
NRC Urges Greater Focus on Preschool Math
Jul 6 2009 - Education Week
Early-childhood education, whether delivered through federal preschool programs or other means, needs to be revamped to place more emphasis on math instruction and prepare adults to cover that material more effectively, a new report concludes.
Scientists Track Poverty's Links to Cognition
Jan 7 2009 - Education Week
The brains of children who are living in poverty function differently from those of children living in better circumstances, according to researchers. The research shows that the prefrontal cortex responds differently in normal 9- and 10-year-olds who differ only by their socioeconomic status.
Supportive Teachers, Peers Can Ease Negative Effects of Frequent Moves in Elementary School
Nov 19 2008 - ScienceDaily
When children change schools in elementary school, dips in academic performance and classroom participation can follow. But having a supportive teacher who encourages other students to accept newcomers can go a long way toward helping children make a smooth transition.
Universal Preschool Students Perform Better
Jul 1 2008 - e-School News
USA Today reports that an ambitious public pre-kindergarten program in Oklahoma boosts kids' skills dramatically, a long-awaited study finds—offering across-the-board evidence for the first time that universal preschool, open to all children, benefits both low-income and middle-class kids.
Labs at Elementary Level Help Bring Science Alive
Jun 3 2008 - Education Week (requires free registration)
How do you judge the power of a simple science experiment? Step inside a 4th grade classroom—and behold the near-total silence. One recent day, elementary teacher Jamie Curbow achieved just that, as she organized her students into teams for a competition to see who could build the strongest possible miniature bridge, using plastic straws, tape, and scissors to span the distance between lab tables.
Clinton Pushes Prekindergarten Proposal
May 22 2007 - Boston Globe (Requires free registration)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing a $10 billion federal program aimed at providing voluntary prekindergarten for all four-year-old children in America. Her proposal would provide federal funds to states that agree to establish a plan for making voluntary prekindergarten services universally available for all four-year-olds. States that already do so would receive money to expand or enhance the programs. Teachers would need at least a bachelor's degree and specialize in early childhood education and the plan would require low student-teacher ratios, Clinton said.
Standardized Tests Reshape How Pre-K is Taught
Feb 1 2007 - Houston Chronicle (Requires free registration)
Early education is a changing world. Where nap time and reading circles once sufficed, teachers now spend much of their days preparing their students for their eventual encounters with state standardized achievement tests. These changes were among many topics of discussion by more than 2,300 educators attending the Early Childhood Winter Conference in Houston, Texas.
Study Raises Doubts on K-8
Jan 16 2007 - Baltimore Sun (Requires free registration)
Johns Hopkins University researchers have concluded that expanding elementary schools to sixth, seventh, and eighth grades does not help adolescents do better academically, a finding that raises questions about changes in Baltimore and other urban districts.
The Handwriting is on the Wall
Oct 11 2006 - Washington Post (Requires free registration)
Because most elementary schools typically devote no more than 10 minutes a day to handwriting instruction, more students now print and struggle to read and write cursive. One Vanderbilt University study found that students who received extra handwriting instruction three times a week doubled their writing speed and their expressed thoughts were more complex.
The New First Grade: Too Much Too Soon?
Sep 11 2006 - Newsweek
In the last decade, the earliest years of schooling have become less like a trip to "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and more like SAT prep. Thirty years ago first grade was for learning how to read. Now, reading lessons start in kindergarten and kids who don't crack the code by the middle of the first grade get extra help. Instead of story time, finger painting, tracing letters, and snack time, first graders are spending hours doing math work sheets and sounding out words in reading groups.
No More Naps in Kindergarten
May 1 2006 - Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)
For decades, students in kindergarten arrived at school with a comfy mat for naptime. But taking naps in class has become a thing of the past for kindergartners. Across the nation, schools are facing increased academic requirements that are being pushed down to the kindergarten level. Educators note that the national move away from naptime and to making kindergarten a more studious environment can come at a price.
Young Students Who Look Away Answer Teachers' Questions Correctly More Often
Jan 20 2006 - BBC News
Five-year-olds who avert their gaze before answering their teachers are not daydreaming; they, more often than not, are coming up with the right answer. A new study from Stirling University reveals that adults often mistake children's lack of eye contact for their not understanding the questions, and they don't give them enough time to come up with the answer. "The mistake that adults make is to interject too quickly, they need to try and hold back," said Dr. Doherty-Sneddon.
Mano a Mano, Iron Teachers and Science!
Aug 5 2003 - New York Times (requires free registration)
"Let's mercilessly brutalize some strawberries!" Dr. Steve Ribisi shouted to the 100 or so people watching him at the Exploratorium, San Francisco's science museum. He was competing against six contestants in another Web episode of "Iron Science Teacher," a program based loosely on the Japanese television show "Iron Chef." Dr. Ribisi declared his goal: to extract DNA from fruit, using the "secret ingredient" — kitchen utensils.
Maine's New Visionaries
Dec 31 2002 - Portland Press Herald (Maine)
Marylyn Wentworth, a principal who established a pair of Maine schools to serve students she felt were not benefiting from public schools, discusses her education vision in this article. Wentworth talks about her reasons for opening the schools, their philosophy, and common misconceptions about them.
Labs 'R' Us
Sep 6 2002 - Teacher Magazine
The four-year-olds in a Chicago elementary school mull over the question: Can beans grow without dirt? After taking a vote, they'll do an experiment to see what happens with dirt and without. Some argue that these kids aren't ready for formal science. But former NSTA president JoAnne Vasquez applauds the Chicago program, underway in 43 schools: "Kids learn a set of skills—ordering, classifying, seeing patterns, and comparing and contrasting—that sets them up for the thinking they need to do later on."
The Little Scientists: Preschools Employ Science-Based Approach
May 1 2002 - Education Week
The above article explores the growing trend to use science as the hub of an integrated early childhood curriculum. Two novel curriculums, for example, include: ScienceStart!,
developed by Lucia French at the University of Rochester; and "Science Explorations," designed by the Education Development Center in Newton, MA. Experts hope that early exposure to challenging scientific concepts will not only increase children's literacy and vocabulary skills (preliminary assessments are encouraging in this respect), but also help youngsters build the knowledge base they'll need to succeed at science in later years. "They are laying the foundation for those process skills and observation skills," former NSTA President JoAnne Vasquez says in the article. "It's about learning to ask the right questions."
Science Goes to Preschool
Feb 1 2002 - HHMI News
It's never too early to learn about science. That's the message being delivered in Chicago, where the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is helping to fund a science education program for 1,000 three-, four-, and five-year-olds. "The more science they get when they are really young..., the less likely they are to struggle with science when they get older, and the more likely they are to develop a lifelong interest," says Kati Gilson, who heads the program. Click above to see what her pint-sized scientists are up to...
CA Elementary Schools Put Science on Back Burner
Jan 22 2002 - Sacramento Bee
With the advent of standardized testing and its ever-growing focus on boosting reading, writing, and math performance, many California elementary schools are putting science on the back burner, an article in the Sacramento Bee says. Some districts have opted to make it an elective, others squeeze science units in occasionally, and still others have dropped science altogether. What do educators have to say about this? Click above for more...
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