Based on principles of the Council for Basic Education, this book outlines a curriculum and pedagogy for an elementary school which would prepare children for national fourth grade examinations. The book is divided into six sections. The first section examines the background of elementary school students in the 1990s and presents ways for schools to deal with the consequences of students' backgrounds. The second section expounds four important principles upon which the curriculum is based and explains why these principles are fundamental. The third section presents the curriculum contents for the following subjects: literature; mathematics; science; history and geography; the arts; and foreign languages. In the fourth section, eight conditions that must be met if all students in all elementary schools are to master the curriculum are discussed. The fifth section describes a classroom in which the recommended curriculum is used, and provides a commentary to explain how classroom activities translate the principles and the curriculum. Recommendations for action for administrators, parents, teachers, and legislators are listed in the fifth section. (MM)