Education Commons^™

“Why Did You Do That?” A Teacher’S Quest To Finding A Solution To Social-Emotional Learning In A Transitional Classroom, Abriyah S. Skull

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore what would happen when a mood board and social-emotional centers were implemented in a transitional first-grade classroom. The goal was to understand how the students would express themselves after receiving this learning and the student and teacher perceptions on social-emotional learning (SEL). Field notes were taken daily for observation when students used SEL language. Surveys and student and teacher interviews were conducted over a four-week span. These were coded using the constant comparative method, grouping together similar categories in the data to create 16 level 1 codes and five level 2 codes. …

Teaching Animal And Plant Survival With Instructional And Assessment Strategies, Kapri Case

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone study explored the impact of instructional and assessment strategies on students’ achievement in science. The study spanned 6 days, comprising 5 lessons. The students took a 6-item pre-assessment to assess prior knowledge, a 4-item post-assessment at the unit’s conclusion, and a summative assessment to demonstrate their new knowledge.

Instructional strategies were adapted based on pre-assessment results. Analysis of student performance data revealed a marked increase in learning outcomes through the integration of differentiated instruction and assessment strategies. Following the review of the student work, it became evident that the integration of summarizing/note-taking and cooperative learning significantly enhanced post-instruction …

Mindfulness Practices In A First-Grade Classroom: Impact On Student Behavior And Student And Teacher Perceptions, Lesslie Picena

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

There has been a rising interest in examining the effectiveness of implementing mindfulness practices to improve students’ behavior. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects that implementing mindfulness practices had on first-grade students’ off-task behaviors during lessons and transitions and to understand students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of the mindfulness practices that were implemented. A mindfulness intervention was implemented for three weeks. Tally sheets and journal entries were gathered to record and reflect on student behavior. Post-intervention surveys, individual student interviews, and a teacher interview were utilized to gather the participants’ perceptions. Quantitative data was analyzed using …

Action Research Project: Using Mobymax To Increase Student's Fact Fluency, Brooke Faber

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was pursued by the researcher's inquisitiveness about math fact fluency specifically using the technological platform MobyMax Fact Fluency to help boost student's fact fluency. The researcher is a first-grade teacher in her 8th year of teaching. The whole class of 17 students were a part of the class-wide research study. The five-week study examined the use of technology in the classroom. Specifically, the use of MobyMax Fact Fluency to determine if students showed growth in their fact fluency knowledge. Throughout the study, students were progress monitored every two weeks. The data suggests that with the implementation of …

Phonics: The Breaking Apart Of Words To Help All Children Learn To Read, Eliza Rogotzke

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research project was driven by the researcher’s interest in phonics based instruction to help children learn to read. Specifically, using the PRESS phonics intervention to help meet the needs of each individual learner in the experimental classroom. The researcher, a first grade teacher in her fourth year of teaching, studied her students participation in the PRESS phonics intervention. The four week intervention was conducted using the students’ fluency and early reading skills to analyze the effectiveness of the PRESS phonics intervention. Throughout the four weeks, oral reading fluency along with decodable word fluency was monitored and all progress …

From A Distance: Teaching, Learning, And Parenting During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Melanie Love

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

K-2 Assessments And Later Student Outcomes, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee

Policy Briefs

In this brief we examine the characteristics of the districts that selected the various assessments and consider student outcomes both before and after the K-2 vendor selection to see what relationship, if any, exists between which assessment vendor was selected and students academic proficiency and growth.

Science-Literacy Integration: Equity And Learning In First-Grade, Urban Instructional Contexts, Angela J. Stefanski, Nicole M. Martin, Melinda A. Zurcher

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Previous research demonstrates that integration of science and literacy instruction in primary grades has positive outcomes for students’ science and literacy development. However, variations in how science and literacy are enacted suggest integration may not be sufficient to meet the literacy and science needs of all students in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine two first-grade teachers’ science integration during literacy instruction in one high- and one low-income school context within one urban district. Analysis of field notes, transcripts of lessons, and interviews revealed that expectations to integrate science during time set aside for literacy …

Edifying The Spirit Of Love And Liberation In The Education Of Young Children: Lessons From Critical Pedagogy And Reggio Emilia Inspired Educators, Seyedeh Zahra Agha Seyed Yousef

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

In an age of adultism in which children have been perceived as mere drains on society, schooling often has been viewed as a means to an end. Due to the fact that a capitalistic society requires future workers, children have been socialized in the necessary skills and knowledge required to fulfill their future job requirements. Consequently, schooling often has taken place in the form of the banking model in which students are treated as empty vessels to be filled up by the knowledgeable teachers, and then to regurgitate said knowledge on assessments to prove their understanding. I challenge this antiquated …

Sun Prevention Fun (Spf): A Multicomponent Sun Prevention Program For Children In Kindergarten And First Grade, Sarah Gouker

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Skin cancer is an important topic in the United States due to the recent increase in cost and mortality. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to determine if the early implementation of a multicomponent sun prevention program positively impacted kindergarten and first grade students’ knowledge and behavioral intentions to practice safe sun techniques after a one week period. Kotter’s Model of Change and the ACE Star model were utilized to guide this EBP project. An exhaustive review of the literature yielded 12 articles which were used to develop best practices for education on sun safety. The quality …

Improving Reading Through Fine Motor Skill Development In First Grade, Tyler West-Higgins

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This …

Interview And Focus Groups Analysis Of Decreased Composite Benchmark Scores On Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills Dibels From Kindergarten To First Grade Students, Loreen Flanary

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

School districts in the state of Utah are required to use Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) as an assessment of reading ability for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The Logan City School District (LCSD) kindergarten end of year (EOY) Composite DIBELS data have been strong over the past 5 years with over 90% of students scoring at benchmark. In comparison, in each of those 5 years, first grade beginning of year (BOY) data drops considerably. LCSD is concerned with this trend because it is larger than the state trend of 13-14%, the trend is increasing, and this …

Reading Workshop Conferences: Effect On First Grade Student Reading Ability, Samantha Everbeck

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Reading workshop is a way to structure a literacy block during the school day that allows for differentiation and a high level of student engagement in the process of learning to read. During reading workshop, students read independently and with partners at their independent reading levels while the teacher confers with students and leads small groups. During conferences, the teacher differentiates instruction and tailors lessons to individual student needs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the result of individualized lessons on word attack strategies on first grade students’ reading ability. Word attack strategies, as in strategies for decoding …

Learning In Green Spaces : A 1st And 2nd Grade Curriculum On The High Line, Alyssa Anker

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This social studies curriculum provides educators with the framework for teaching 1st and 2nd graders about the High Line and other New York City parks. It provides the lens for students to explore how parks are used, observe the commonalities among different parks, and investigate the uniqueness of the High Line.

A School Growing Roots: The Bank Street Developmental-Interaction Approach At Community Roots Charter School, Ira Lit, Sam Intrator

Books

This case study examines the efforts of a recently established public charter school in a diverse urban neighborhood in Brooklyn to create a school guided by the foundational principles of the Bank Street approach. The efforts to infuse the practice and approach of the school with a progressive ethos is set against the prevailing trend to create schools that deploy highly systematic and didactic pedagogies. The case study begins by describing the rich learning that transpired during a study of the Fort Greene neighborhood undertaken by Community Roots first graders. The study explores the interactions between people in the community …

The Effect Of Public Pre-Kindergarten Attendance On First Grade Reading And Social Achievement: A District Level Analysis, Michael James Haslip

Theses and Dissertations in Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between attending a school district Pre-K program and children's later literacy and behavior outcomes in the beginning and middle of first grade. Children's text level, letter-sound identification, sight words, spelling and citizenship skills were measured. The study included 880 children who attended the division Pre-K program and 176 children who attended no formal or institutional preschool of any kind. Selection bias was addressed through propensity score matching, completed using optimal matching. Independent-samples t tests were run on literacy and behavior measures. Subgroup analysis was performed to test the effect of …

Understanding Our Families : A Curriculum For Six-Year-Olds, Sarah Boltz

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Presents a social studies curriculum on families designed for six-year-olds in a New York City charter school. The author designed this curriculum using the "Modified Understanding by Design" format. This format requires the curriculum designer to structure the entire curriculum around a few carefully chosen learning standards. The two standards serving as the basis of this curriculum were selected from the New York State social studies standards for first grade.

Studying The Subway: An Interdisciplinary Study Of The New York City Subway For The First Grade, Eve Robinson

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis gives a rationale and overall framework for a four month interdisciplinary study of the New York City subway system for a first grade classroom. The unit will be based around field trips and interviews, where the students will gain hands-on knowledge that will later help them recreate their own "school subway system." Throughout the study, students will investigate all aspects of the subway system, from mapping to mosaics, from fares to fines. The study culminates in a student-led role play where children take on the jobs of subway workers and guide their parents through a system that they …

Basic Needs: A First Grade Curriculum Study, John Heffernan

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The following first grade curriculum study is an investigation of food, shelter and services in the neighborhood surrounding the school. The activities incorporate hands-on research, discussion, and expressive materials to offer opportunities for children to discover the interdependence and relationships that exist in their immediate environment. The three units of food, shelter and community services have specific goals, and they are:

Food -Investigate how markets, stores and restaurants provide food for the neighborhood, where the food comes from and how it gets to Park Slope.

Shelter - Investigate how and where people house themselves in the neighborhood and what are …

Multi-Curricular Units Based On Animal Life For The First Grade, Elaine Sanchez

All Graduate Projects

A booklet for teaching first grade science through multi-curricular units was developed and compiled. The booklet contains ten such units, which cover animal life. Each unit is a five-day plan for an approximate thirtyminute period, and was designed for total group instruction. Included in each unit are activities for language arts, math, art, and handwriting, all of which are based upon a particular animal. The materials were compiled from commercial and handmade sources.

A Validation Study Of The Predictive Screening Test Of Articulation, Stanley G. Kibbey

All Master's Theses

The primary purpose of this study will be to conduct a test of the validity of the Predictive Screening Test of Articulation. Does the PSTA identify first grade children who will master their articulation errors without speech therapy by the time they enter third grade? Conversely, does the PSTA identify first grade children who will not master their articulation errors without speech therapy by the time they enter third grade? In short, does the PSTA predict as expected? Secondary purposes of this study include the assessment of the possible effects of sex, age, intellectual functioning and socioeconomic status on the …