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The four papers in this volume are four parts of a series on the status of recent work on measuring instruction, curriculum content, and instructional resources. These papers are intended to identify aspects of instruction, to analyze the approaches used in several leading studies, and to describe the implications of recent work for National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data collection efforts. The first paper, "Measuring Instruction: The Status of Recent Work," by Mary S. Leighton, considers the role of instruction in "opportunity to learn" and attempts to assess instruction as part of "opportunity to learn." Implications of recent efforts to assess instruction for NCES data collection are discussed. The second paper, "Measuring Curriculum Content: The Status of Recent Work," by Mary S. Leighton and John E. Mullens considers validating national curriculum indicators and educational reform in curriculum. "Measuring Instructional Resources: The Status of Recent Work" by John E. Mullens, Lisa K. Weiner, Angela S. Williams, and Mary S. Leighton considers instructional materials and equipment, including computer-related educational technology. The final paper, "Measuring Opportunity To Learn: Advancing the State of the Art," by Mary S. Leighton, Brenda J. Turnbull, and John E. Mullens, discusses NCES studies of "opportunity to learn," focusing on elementary and secondary education, eighth-grade mathematics, fourth-grade language arts, and U.S. History. Each paper contains references. (Contains 13 tables and 2 exhibits.) (SLD)

The two papers represent the result of a four-week 7th and 8th grade unit entitled the Caesar Unit. Organized using primary sources, the basic materials were a selection of Cicero's letters and Caesar's Commentary on the Civil War. The first paper, by the classroom teacher of the unit, contains brief factual information about the materials, children, and classroom conditions, and records the author's impressions. Six children selected from public and parochial schools in the Cambridge, Massachusetts area participated in the daily one-hour classes. The classes concentrated on sources of and reasons for conflicts in the accounts of Caesar and Cicero. The author's evaluation of the course centers around difficulties in translations, the need for background information, and relevant materials. The second paper records events from the point of view of a linguist and offers suggestions about the relation of linguistic skills to the ability to read, study, and write history. The necessary skill of critical reading is discussed in terms of the students' ability to infer information from written material. The author reports results of a test given students in which they were asked to point out the ambiguities in selected quotations. The difference between students interacting with each other as opposed to interacting with the material is also discussed. (Author/KC)

This booklet is about document analysis and its utility as a method in education evaluation, and is intended for evaluators in local school districts, regional education agencies, and state departments of education. Document analysis is described as a technique that relies heavily upon a variety of written materials for data, insights, and judgments about programs or events. Also described are document tracking, verification, and content analysis, the procedures employed in document analysis. A series of exercises based on actual documents related to the closure of several schools in Portland, Oregon, during the 1980-81 school year are provided for practice in these procedures. (LC)

In the "Higher Education Opportunity Act" of 2008, Congress charged the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance with conducting a review and analysis of regulations affecting higher education to determine the extent to which regulations are overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, improved, or eliminated. Specifically, Congress suggested the Advisory Committee determine which regulations are "duplicative, no longer necessary, inconsistent with other federal regulations, or overly burdensome." Pursuant to this legislative mandate, the Advisory Committee took the following steps: (1) convened two review panels of individuals with relevant experience and knowledge to review the regulations under the "Higher Education Act" (HEA) and make recommendations for streamlining, improvement, or elimination; (2) developed and maintained a website to provide information on HEA regulations, including an area for the community to offer recommendations of regulations in need of streamlining; (3) held two public hearings designed to identify the most burdensome aspects of individual regulations and the overall regulatory system, as well as proposed improvements; (4) designed and conducted an anonymous and confidential web-based survey, which generated over 2,000 responses, to assess the higher education community's perceptions of regulatory burden; (5) specified a set of community-driven perceived problems and proposed solutions for both the individual regulations cited in the study and the overall system of regulation; and (6) validated the perceived problems and proposed solutions with over 100 volunteers from the higher education community. In addition, the Committee conducted numerous meetings, conference calls, and presentations throughout the study to solicit feedback and suggestions on regulatory burden. While extensive, these approaches have limitations, which are outlined in the Conclusions and Recommendations section (pages 47-49). The overarching finding is that the higher education community perceives the regulations under the HEA to be unnecessarily burdensome. More important, the majority view is that the specific regulations cited in the study can be improved without adverse effects on program integrity or student success. This view includes, as well, a strong sense that certain components of the overall, one-size-fits-all system of regulation under the HEA require improvement. Perhaps most important, the majority opinion is that improvements to individual regulations and the system will not only lower regulatory burden without adverse effects, but generate savings that can be used to expand student access and persistence. Based on these findings, the following recommendations are made--one legislative and one regulatory: (1) Congress should direct the Secretary of Education to convene at least two review panels of higher education representatives to provide advice and recommendations on the 15 regulations cited in this report and on the feasibility of alternative approaches to the current system of regulation, including the provision of regulatory relief based on performance indicators. Such panels should be incorporated as routine collaboration during retrospective reviews of regulations; and (2) The Secretary of Education should conduct an immediate review of the 15 regulations cited in this report, including an analysis of the feasibility of implementing the proposed solutions and identifying any adverse effects on program integrity, student success, and cost of compliance. The Advisory Committee strongly supports Executive Order 13563 of January 18, 2011, which states that regulatory systems must be based on the best available science, allow for public participation, and use the most innovative and least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends. Applying this philosophy and approach to the regulations under the HEA promises rewards for both institutions and students. Appended are: (1) Profile of Survey Respondents; (2) Profile of Regulations Used In Study; (3) Additional Suggestions of Burdensome Regulations by Survey Respondents; (4) Review Panel #1; (5) Review Panel #2; (6) June 25, 2010 Hearing Panelists; (7) September 30, 2011 Hearing Panelists; (8) Letter from ACSFA Chair and Vice Chair; (9) ACSFA Members; (10) ACSFA Staff; and (11) ACSFA Authorizing Legislation. (Contains 22 tables.) [For related report, "Higher Education Regulations Study: Preliminary Findings," see ED524519.

This collection of 27 articles written by educators suggests to classroom teachers creative ways of teaching writing well even when confronted with unreasonably large classes. The articles are presented under six main headings: ungraded writing, teacher involvement--not evaluation, student self-editing, practice with parts, focused feedback, and alternative audiences. The first section deals with free-writing, journals and other nongraded activities that can have an effect on students' skill development; the second section presents ways teachers can become directly involved in the writing process--lab tactics, role playing, and writing along with their students; the third section deals with ways students can identify and correct weaknesses in their own work before submitting it; the fourth section suggests the identifying of specific skills students need to practice and of ways to practice them with shorter forms or with particular aspects of writing; the fifth section recommends that teachers focus on a few errors that can be corrected by students at their present level of skill; and the last section includes methods involving peer evaluation and proofreading of student writing, and setting up critique groups in the classroom. (AEA)

A study that joined the fields of young adult literature and vision impairment explored the questions: How are characters who have visual impairment presented by young adult books?; and How do readers respond to those characters? Only a few books were found (13) that feature characters with visual impairments, and the portrayal of characters varies considerably. A.B. Heim (1994) established five criteria on which to evaluate books that depict mentally disabled characters, and these criteria are relevant for evaluating characters with visual impairments. Most of the books present characters who are adventitiously blind and whose blindness is finally cured, a situation which does not usually occur in real life. Teachers can use the following question checklist when evaluating a young adult book in which a character with a visual impairment is portrayed: (1) Does the book have characters who are congenitally visually impaired, both characters with low vision and characters who are blind?; (2) Does the book have a character with low vision?; (3) Does the book have characters who attend public school and have contemporary teenage experiences?; (4) Does the book have characters who are facing issues specific to teenagers with visual impairment in the 21st century?; (5) Does the resolution involve a cure for the visual impairment?; (6) Do the families and peers of the character with visual impairment act realistically toward that character?; and (7) Do the families and teachers expect the visually impaired character to be a successful independent person? (Contains a table, a 13-item annotated bibliography, and 9 references.) (NKA)

This paper examines the historian's method of handling evidence and explores some approaches to the improvement of college students' reasoning skills through the analysis of historical documents. The starting point in the development of the reasoning skills should be an exploration of the historian's task and the nature of the evidence, preferably in a small group discussion format. The student must be made to understand that an effective assessment of a piece of evidence can only be made against an informed background. Recognizing that a historical document does not exist in a vacuum, the student must inquire into the events surrounding the piece of evidence under consideration and place it in its social, political, and economic context. A concern for context also necessitates an exploration of the background of the witness whose writings are under consideration in the classroom. The instructor should then raise the question of whether contemporary attitudes or the students' own values influence criticism and understanding of the source. The next step should be an intensified focus on the text itself. Careful attention should be devoted to the words, their meanings, and their implications. One good guideline for students is that they accept as historical fact only those particulars that may be confirmed by the testimony of two or more reliable sources. The instructor should then introduce the concept of reasoned interpretation as inherent in the historian's work. Suggestions for the use of historical documents in the classroom are made. (Author/RM)

The purpose of this paper is to inform the community about teacher appraisal methods in the School District of Philadelphia, outline the difficulties of the current system, and suggest approaches that would strengthen the teacher appraisal process. The authors gathered their information over three months in mid-2009 from multiple sources: interviews with 7 principals and 13 teachers in the city, interviews with 5 education advocates, observations of community meetings; official documents on state, district, and charter school policies; news articles; and pertinent academic and policy publications. (Contains 2 tables and 7 footnotes.) [Funding for this report was also provided by the Samuel S. Fels Fund.]

Kentucky's school reform accountability goal of each school reaching an academic measure of "proficiency" by 2014 illuminated the findings in recent statewide reading test scores: 44.30% of middle and 71.25% of high school students scored below "proficient." The research question for this exploratory, descriptive study was, "Do teaching practices in secondary schools with high reading achievement scores differ from those in schools with low reading achievement scores?" High school reading scores were first stratified by region. Regions seven and eight--western and eastern Kentucky--were selected for the study. Next, the reading scores were sorted by score from highest to lowest within the two regions. Five secondary schools were randomly selected from each of the resulting four strata (N=20). Feeder schools for the 20 secondary schools were identified and added (N=19) for a total sample of 39 schools. 70.5% of the 8th-10th grade teachers within these schools completed surveys, developed by using research-based reading strategies. A random sample of five teachers within each school was selected to be observed then interviewed. Finally, a content analysis of each school's Comprehensive School Improvement Plan identified strategies planned to improve reading. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were used to identify differences between instructional strategies in high and low achieving schools. (Contains 17 tables.) [This research was funded through a grant from the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development (CCLD) in Kentucky.]

This introductory lesson exposes students to a variety of online texts about Anne Frank and the Holocaust prior to more extensive study of these topics. Students are encouraged to cooperatively examine Internet sites as a primary source of information, and then share their impressions and opinions of the various sites. During the two 40-minute class sessions, grade 6-8 students will: work cooperatively in pairs; access and view specific sites on the Internet related to the topic they are studying; make observations that reflect thoughtful examination of each site's features and content; hold a "silent conversation," that is, an exchange of comments and ideas written on paper; and share their questions and thoughts about the sites together as a class. The instructional plan, lists of web resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. An observation and inquiry sheet for viewing websites about Anne Frank and the Holocaust and a silent conversation sheet are attached. (RS)

Noting that daytime television serials have been used to teach a variety of subjects, including writing and language skills, this paper reviews literature on the nature of soap operas so that instructors can use them more effectively. Following an introduction citing studies on the educational uses of soap operas, the paper explores the following components of these serials: the audiences and their reasons for viewing soap operas, the basic plot structures, general demographics of characters, female characters, black characters, elderly characters, relationships between characters, and the use of time. The paper concludes with a 7 page bibliography of books and articles dealing with soap operas and education. (HTH)

This study examined how higher education is represented in the press by analyzing how four leading newspapers, "The New York Times,""USA Today,""The Washington Post," and "The Wall Street Journal," covered higher education in 1997. The study analyzed a total of 610 higher education stories covering 21 topics. The 10 topics on which articles were most frequently written were: (1) affirmative action; (2) costs and price; (3) crime/tragedies; (4) financial aid; (5) government relations; (6) job market for graduates; (7) campus management; (8) military academies; (9) campus performance; and (10) research. The study also analyzed "news frame" and sources. News frame was defined as the tone or perspective of each story and was analyzed in terms of five mutually exclusive categories: conflict, consensus, failure, success, and other. Sources included eight frequently cited categories, including: campus administrators, advocacy groups, experts, faculty, presidents/chancellors, professionals, public officials, and students. Differences among the newspapers were also examined. Overall, the study found that all four papers frequently reported on college management issues, crime and tragedies, and affirmative action, but devoted significantly less attention to research and curriculum. The papers most often quoted campus administrators as sources. Nine charts provide detailed findings. (DB)

This paper discusses a project that was designed to explore Dutch student attitudes about World War II and how the War is portrayed in Dutch history textbooks. The project was undertaken as part of an effort to help teachers provide Dutch students with better insight into the causes, background, and aftermath of World War II; and to develop in the students a greater awareness of the values that were at stake. With the project, students come to understand that the values at stake during World War II are relevant to the expressions of racism and fascism that exist in the world today. The project includes an examination of the portrayal of World War II in seven Dutch textbooks. Ideas for helping students undertake historical research including primary sources are presented, as are ideas for helping teachers deal with various dilemmas they may face in teaching about World War II. Additional discussion questions that are addressed include: What image do students have of World War II? What is a world war? How can the Holocaust be treated in class? and What is the answer of history education? (Contains 7 references.) (DB)

The enhancement of the European dimension in the national curriculum is a large scale educational innovation that affects many European countries. This report puts forward the proposition that broad scale educational innovation has more success if the aims and objectives find their way into textbooks. The reasons why a European dimension in education is important are the existence of an international political consensus and the influence of a common market with free trade, commerce, and the free movement of people. The general aim is to provide young people with meaningful opportunities to acquire the knowledge, insights, attitudes, and skills necessary to participate constructively in a changing Europe. Embedding the European dimension into the existing curriculum of educational systems in European countries consists of the selection of textbooks and information supply within the school and exchange programs outside the school for teachers and students. From a 1992 textbook analysis of Dutch geography and history textbooks, the results indicate general conclusions about European issues in history and geography textbooks of which three are highlighted: (1) geography textbooks in general give more attention to the European dimension than history books; (2) the fact that young people can make a contribution to tackling transnational problems hardly occurs in the textbooks analyzed; and (3) the methodological approach to the European dimension needs to be improved through attention to skills that develop an investigative attitude and judgment formation. (CK)

Three universes of discourse are at work when writers create or use a metaphor: the analogical or metaphorical universe from which they borrow words, things, and relationships (sometimes called the "vehicle"); the contextual universe in which the analogy is being used (sometimes called the "topic"); and the metauniverse, or the comprehensive universe, that gives the analogical and contextual universes their meaning (sometimes called the "ground"). A verbal analysis of a metaphor from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is given. Another method for metaphor analysis is explained, using a diagram that serves as a frame or apparatus for working out the "relevant relationship" (the metauniverse) that includes the analogical and contextual species. Because analyzing a metaphor is a microprocess of composing, metaphor analysis is central, not peripheral, to a composition course. First, it leads to increased semantic accuracy. Second, it provides a lively awareness of the profound importance of metaphor in human experience, thus helping the student transcend disciplinary boundaries. (HOD)

This four-part paper is designed to serve as a conceptual framework for use as a scheme in the selection and organization of content for the Wisocnsin home economics curriculum. In the introductory section the task to be accomplished is set forth and a framework established for the development of the paper. In section 2, attention is given to the nature of a conceptual scheme, its uses with respect to justifying curriculum content, and factors influencing the choice of a scheme for selecting and organizing the content of curriculum. Section 3 is devoted to the nature of home economics and implications for school curriculum content. Specific topics discussed include (1) the problem or orientation of home economics, (2) mode of inquiry appropriate for home economics, (3) a conceptual structure for home economics, and (4) implications of the nature of home economics for curriculum content. The final part of the paper summarizes by presenting decision-rules for the selection and organization of content. (LRA)

This handbook is a set of guidelines to assist authors in preparing publications to meet two sets of criteria: requirements of federal and state government sponsors and requirements of information retrieval systems. The guidelines include both a set of written instructions and a physical model, and are sufficiently flexible to apply to research reports, curriculum materials, bibliographies, handbooks, guides, and other types of publications. Divided into four sections, the handbook covers (1) elements of a publication, describing mandatory and optional publication parts (such as front matter, funding information, abstract, table of contents, lists of illustrations and tables, foreword, preface and acknowledgements, appendix, glossary, abbreviations, bibliography, index, and cover) and listing the order in which they should appear; (2) content requirements, discussing substance and organization in general, and giving a checklist for the development of curriculum materials; (3) physical characteristics, dealing with layout and reproducibility standards for ink, type size, paper weight, photographs and illustrations, and printing; and (4) copyright considerations, delineating the purpose and procedure of copyrighting as well as changes in the 1978 copyright law. (ELG)

This kit contains two components which will help teachers and librarians become aware of the problems of ageism in literature and examine materials currently in use. The first component, entitled "Problems of Ageism in Literature," is a brief, but comprehensive, position paper on the particular ways in which literature may adversely affect the reader's attitudes about aging and older people. Literature has contributed toward educating children to the beliefs that older people are unimportant and that the later years are not an enjoyable time of life. This is also damaging to the elderly, as it destroys their self-esteem. Stereotyping of our older population is so subtle and so pervasive that replacing current ideas with factual information and positive attitudes is an enormous task for teachers. Educators should not condemn all the literature containing stereotypic images or remove these books from the shelves. They must be sensitive to the issue of ageism and utilize critical-reading skills in evaluating prejudice. Things to look for in literature include illustrations, personality traits older people are said to have, their physical traits, behavioral characteristics, occupational role, character role, and ethnic and racial composition. The second component "Analyzing Literature for Ageism" offers a set of guidelines, instructions, and a simple instrument for analyzing materials in terms of ageist content. (Author/RM)

To further evaluate a method of content analysis and aid in identifying scientific concepts appropriate at the elementary level, science material in a standard textbook series was examined. This paper reports and summarizes the analysis of sections of the California state-adopted textbook series, "Concepts in Science." The conceptual structure of the program is described and compared with the structure of the science program, Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). Problems encountered in the method of analysis are reported. Only about two-thirds of the chapters in the first-grade "Concepts in Science" program were analyzed, but it was shown that substantially more content was found in this program. (Author/EB)

To evaluate a method of content analysis, and as a step toward the specification of a conceptual domain for primary level science, extant instructional programs were analyzed. This paper reports an analysis of the introductory unit and three biological science units of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). The background of the program and the procedures for the analysis are described. The conceptual content is summarized. Problems encountered in the analysis and their implications for subsequent analyses are discussed. (Author/EB)

Speculates on what might be gained by using three of Robert Cormier's novels ("I Am the Cheese,""The Chocolate War," and "After the First Death") in the high school classroom. Suggests that the novels can be used not only as compelling literary works but also as a means of helping students understand what is happening to them during the difficult time of adolescence. (RS)

This paper characterizes appropriate content for drill activity, gives various cognitive levels of drill exercises, and provides ways in which to measure and report students' progress on drill activities. Drill is a method of teaching that utilizes repetition to assist students in acquiring new skills and refining existing skills. The success of using drill is based on conditions relative to the students' learning abilities and the content to be learned. Content is appropriate for drill exercises if specific demonstrable performances are expected, demonstrable performances are prerequisite for further learning, and the content may be measured in terms of a correct or incorrect answer or behavior. The four types of drill exercises include model exercises which require students to copy what has been presented to them, recognition exercises which require students to distinguish and perform correct as opposed to incorrect skills, construction exercises which require students to perform specific skills, and transfer exercises in which students apply their skills to new situations. Sample exercises for drill model recognition, proficiency assessment procedures, and data collection devices are included. (Author/DE)

A study undertaken to find a satisfactory system of classifying and organizing materials for college or university learning assistance centers discovered that little information had been published. Further investigation revealed that the two major systems used in libraries, the Library of Congress (LC) and Dewey Decimal Systems, were found to be inadequate by learning assistance practitioners. As an alternative to those systems practitioners frequently employed a modified LC scheme or used very broad mnemonic topic designators. No system available was deemed sufficient for a well-developed, comprehensive collection of learning assistance materials. A detailed guide for an alternative scheme for classifying materials and building call numbers which was devised is attached to this paper. Based on the comprehensive curriculum of the California State University at Long Beach and on the materials collection developed during several years of operation of the University Learning Assistance Center, this scheme reflects the special interests and concerns of learning assistance centers. (Author/THC)

Initial activities in a collaborative reading project for tenth graders were based on the categorizing process, which is the basis for understanding the structure of ideas in most textbooks. Ideas are organized in a hierarchy of related categories moving down from the title, through chapter headings, main headings, subheadings, to paragraphs. Comprehension of textbook material is not possible without understanding relationships among different levels of ideas. Students practiced categorizing objects before they were introduced to the textbook, and they then applied their categorizing skills to reading the textbook--an eleventh grade history text. Since this was a pilot program, it was not formally evaluated. However, some of the results were as follows: (1) attendance in reading classes and behavior in class improved dramatically; (2) the writing of well-organized, structured paragraphs also improved; (3) students were able to analyze different types of relationships; and (4) students gained confidence in their ability to know how to approach textbook material and read efficiently for different purposes. (Appendixes include a teacher information sheet, a worksheet for paragraph writing, data on the relationship between categorizing and reading comprehension, and an information sheet on ways in which high school teachers can help students to think more systematically.) (NKA)

A "special themes in literature" course about illness and disability was designed to help future nurses to understand the human, rather than the clinical, dimensions of impairment and its effects on the sufferer as well as the sufferer's family, associates, and community. The objectives of the course were to look at such matters as attitudes of and toward the person afflicted, how both individuals and society try to cope with the situation, and the image of medical and other health professionals found in the literature. The course content consisted of four units: catastrophic illness and disability; mental illness; addiction; and intellectual impairment. Especially effective literary works included: "The Glass Menagerie," in which Laura's limp is more a symbol than a cause of her emotional problems; Doris Lund's "Eric," a first-person account of the author's teenaged son's intense struggle against leukemia; and Joanne Greenberg's "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and Barbara Gordon's "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can" which deal with mental illness and valium dependency. Other effective works used were William Burroughs'"Junky" and O"Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" dealing with drug addiction and alcoholism, and Coleen MacCullough's "Tim" and Mary McCracken's "A Circle of Children" which center on intellectual impairment. The reading list was supplemented with several films and guest lecturers. (KEH)

This manual resulted from the work of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) and the International Information Centre for Terminology (Infoterm) in Vienna in developing methodologies for the work of multilingual organizations. Three papers are included in the document: "A Method for Controlled Concept Dynamics: Comprehensive Proposal for Project-related Terminology Work" (Felber, Galinski, Nedobity); "Manual for Multilingual Abstracting: A Method for Content Analysis" (Nedobity); and "Bibliography of Specialized Vocabularies in the Field of Vocational Training" (Nedobity, Budin). The Universal Decimal Classification is used to classify 246 vocabularies. The second section lists these titles alphabetically, and the third section is a classified listing of an additional 212 "incomplete" entries. (CML)

Annotations of 192 recent films which address themselves to subjects of particular interest to women are presented in this reference guide. The guide is intended for use by women's film festivals, consciousness-raising groups, women's studies programs, and guidance programs. Issues considered by the feminists, professional television film crews, and film production companies include: How have individual women coped with changing traditions and values? What is the women's movement? How does society discriminate against women? Twenty specific topic areas are identified by the authors, including abortion, child care, job discrimination, history, ironic commentaries, rape, self-defense, third-world women, and working mothers. The guide is divided into four parts, each of which contains annotations of films evaluated by a different committee. The authors identify the reviewers as a film screening committee at Indiana University (87 films); the Extension Media Center, University of California, Berkeley (20 films); the Indiana University Audio Visual Center (74 films); and private film distributors (11 films). Distribution and technical information is provided with each film description. A bibliography noting information on women's films not annotated in the catalog and a sample film evaluation form are included in the booklet. (Author/DB)

This report is the second part of a continuing effort to evaluate the economic content and related teaching strategies of new social studies textbook series used in the elementary grades. The following five textbook series are examined: (1) The World of Mankind (Follett); (2) The Ginn Social Science Series; (3) Our Family of Man (Harper and Row); (4) Man and his World (Noble and Noble); and (5) The Sadlier Social Science Program. The study consists of four major parts. The first part identifies the major economic concepts found in the elementary textbooks. Part two focuses on the evaluation of the treatment of economic content in the intermediate grades. The third part analyzes teaching strategies by examining objectives, suggested activities, and evaluation methods. Specific strengths and weaknesses of the new textbook series are described, and suggestions for strengthening the instructional component are provided. The final part contains 11 specific recommendations for publishers. (Author/RM)

Meant as a reference and guide to critical evaluation of the way issues are treated in children's books, each of the nine chapters in this book can be used independently. Each chapter contains a discussion of an issue, a section that relates how particular books handle that issue, at least two suggestions for activities that teachers can use to develop the discussion, several activities for young readers, an annotated reference list of sources relating the issue to children and books, and an annotated bibliography of children's books relevant to the issue. The nine topics covered in the chapters are: siblings, divorce, death and old age, war, sex, blacks, Native Americans, females, and the use of children's books in a reading program. Appendixes include a list of publishers' addresses, selected children's book awards, and other references about children's literature. (CC)