Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Impact A Teacher Librarian Has On Students' Self-Selection Strategies, Stefanie Throndson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact a Teacher Librarian has on students’ self-selection strategies and the broader impact on a culture of reading in a school building. Data was collected from 263 students in middle school (grades 5-8) resulting in 1322 reponses over eight weeks. Research Question 1 asked, What appeal strategies do students use when selecting an independent reading book? “You liked the author or it is in a series” was the number one book selection approach used with 21.6% of the responses indicating this approach when selecting a book. The least helpful book …

Scheduled Library Visits And Reading Achievement, David Stanfield

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to measure the correlation between the number of materials checked out from the school library and students’ achievement on two reading assessments. Students in a setting with a flexible library schedule had a fixed visit scheduled with their literature classes so that all students could regularly visit the library. A quantitative bibliometric method was used to analyze the number of books checked out by students and how often their classes visited and compare the data with their achievement on two reading assessments. Results showed students that checked out more material did not have significantly …

Teacher Perceptions Of Graphic Novels, Katherine Block

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research study is to ascertain classroom teachers’ dispositions toward graphic novels as quality literature and the rationale for their beliefs and attitudes. Of particular interest in this study is how teacher dispositions toward graphic novels may differ across teacher age groups. In conducting research, a survey was given to a variety of classroom teachers. These participants are language arts teachers for grades three through eight and range in age from 20 to 60 years. The researcher recorded the frequencies and percentages of responses, looking for teachers’ perceptions of graphic novels, the origin of these perceptions, and …

School Library Circulation Records: What Do They Reveal About Boys' Reading Preferences?, Chelsea Sims

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine what if any patterns emerge in the library checkout habits of elementary school age boys in consecutive grades and to compare them to common assumptions of which books boys prefer to read. A quantitative bibliometric method was used to analyze and count the circulation records of forty-four students over a three year period. The circulations to the boys in the study were compared to the circulations to the girls. Records revealed that on average, boys in third grade borrowed more books than the girls in the study, but girls selected more books …

Designing A Library Program To Increase The Number Of Fourth Grade Reading Goals, Jodonna Carlson

Graduate Research Papers

The problem identified by this research was at School C, 37% of the fourth grade students were not meeting their reading goal. The library at School C may not have been designed to meet the needs of these students. Action research using both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data was used in this study. Parental permission was given for four fourth grade students to participate in this study. Two fourth grade teachers also agreed to participate in this study. Field notes were used to gather data during observations of book checkout for each class. Open-ended questions were asked each …

Fifth Grade Student Learning And Interest In The American Revolution Through Reading Graphic Novels Compared To Reading Biography Or Other Nonfiction Books, Kari Bosma

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine student recall of facts, along with enjoyment of reading and interest in the topic when using graphic novels as compared to illustrated nonfiction prose in social studies content area reading. Twenty-two fifth grade students (13 f, 9 m) in a public school in a Midwestern state participated in the study. Half of the students read about the Boston Massacre and Patrick Henry through graphic novels and read about Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party with illustrated nonfiction texts, with the other half doing the opposite. The mean number of correct ideas …

The Availability Of Young Adult Fiction Containing Overt Gay And Lesbian Characters In Secondary Schools In Northeast Iowa Area Education Agency 1, Misty Dawn Gray

Graduate Research Papers

This study ascertained whether or not young adults had access to fiction titles containing gay and / or lesbian characters in school libraries in one geographic area within Iowa. The purpose of this study was to determine the availability of fiction titles containing overt gay and lesbian characters in secondary public schools in Area Education Agency 1 in Northeast Iowa. The methodology used for this study was quantitative content analysis. The researcher visited 45 secondary public schools in the 24 school districts in AEA 1 in Northeast Iowa in order to gain access to school library catalogs and determine which …

Comic Book Reading Interests Of Primary Iv And Intermediate Iii Grade Students In Ames, Iowa Schools, Beverly Ann Baum

Graduate Research Papers

This research examines the reading interest in comic books of a Primary IV (term used in Ames, Iowa for Third Grade) and Intermediate III ( term used in Ames, Iowa for Sixth Grade) students. The study considered whether the sex, grade level, as well as reading ability of the students influenced the quantity and types of comics being read.

In the study three main hypotheses were tested. These hypotheses are listed as follows: 1) During a one week period, male students in the Primary IV and Intermediate III grades will read 25% more comic books than female students, 2) Students …

Readability Estimates Of The "Best Of The Best, 1970-75", Beverly S. Brown

Graduate Research Papers

Booklist's "Best of the Best, 1970-75," is a recommended reading list for young adults. No readability levels are included. The Dale-Chall, the Flesch, and the Fry readability formulas were, therefore, applied to the books on this list. Each formula is based upon a 100 word sample. The number of samples varies, depending upon the formula used. The Fry formula requires the use of a graph and the Dale-Chall formula uses the Dale word list. No auxiliary devices are needed for the Flesch formula. Using these three formulas, the readability estimates for the books on this list varied as much …