Education Commons^™

Journaling As A Tool To Improve Story Comprehension For Kindergarten Students., Carisa L. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated story journaling to enhance story comprehension. Eighteen kindergarten children participated in this six-week study with the teacher reading a total of twenty-four stories to the class. The class was randomly divided into Group A and Group B, with 3 focus participants from each group retelling the story. The retelling was audio taped and analyzed using Morrow's (2001) procedures. Group B experienced the intervention of story journaling on the third week of the study and showed an improvement in story comprehension during the fifth and sixth weeks of story journaling. Group A did not experience the intervention of …

Middle School Reading: From Reluctant To Strategic Reader, Amy S. Groetsema

Master of Education Program Theses

Research shows that student attitudes towards school reading declines dramatically as students reach upper elementary grades (Mckenna, 1995), yet as these students reach middle school and high school they will be faced with increasing demands to be critical readers. Reluctant middle school readers must have reading experiences that are successful in order to change their attitudes towards reading. Reading teachers must equip their middle level students to be strategic readers in order to be prepared for the critical reading and thinking demands of middle school and high school. This means that reading instruction must be organized in a way that …

A Case Study Of Reading Education For Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities, John Arthur Sargent

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate The Achieve Reading Curriculum, a reading curriculum based on whole language principles designed for middle school students with learning disabilities. A qualitative intrinsic case study was conducted using four sixth grade middle school students with learning disabilities as participants. Ethnographic methodology was used to focus on the multifaceted structure of classroom life and to acquire a thorough understanding of the connections between participants and teacher. A teacher as researcher approach facilitated insights on a daily basis due to the interaction between participants and teacher.

Data collection procedures included observations/field notes, teacher journal, …

A Practical Guide Using A Variety Of Instructional Methods For Teaching Reading To Gifted Students, Melissa Caveness

All Graduate Projects

Gifted students spend most of their school day, if not all, learning in the regular classroom. Often, this environment is not conducive to their learning needs, and there is a lack of readily available supplemental materials that teachers can use to meet the needs of the gifted students. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to create a handbook that provides different strategies for teachers to use when teaching gifted students in the regular classroom. The project contains five thematic units that incorporate and utilize literature and comprehension strategies. This project first focuses definitions and identifiers of gifted students academically …

Parent And Community Involvement: A Plan For Monthly Family Reading Nights, Lee Ann Fletcher

All Graduate Projects

Parent and community involvement in early reading education are crucial for the success of young children. Children are greatly affected by their parents' beliefs and reading practices. Parents need to know what they can and should do to foster reading development and success. It is essential that parents, teachers, and community members work together to provide quality, meaningful literacy experiences and activities for young children. This project outlines the development and implementation of monthly Family Reading Nights at North Omak Elementary School in Omak, Washington.

Supporting Reading Instruction Of High School Students With Learning Disabilities By Using Wynn Software, Linda Kilgore

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to create a student/teacher handbook, which contained information for the successful integration of the WYNN computer software into the general and special education classroom. Students with learning disabilities struggle with the general education curriculum and new technology provides an individualized approach to the accommodation of their needs. Research concerning learning disabilities and how the use of computers can support these students in the classroom was included.

Incorporating Literature Circles Into A Fifth Grade Classroom, Kenneth Michael Kron

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review available literature on literature circles within the framework of a balanced literacy program, and create materials to be used by fifth grade teachers as they work toward improving their language arts curricula. The results of the research review show that students are motivated to read when they choose their own reading material and can comprehend the material after engaging in collaborative, meaningful discussion of the text with peers. The project includes instructional frameworks, lesson plans for after-reading activities, and book selections for three rounds ofliterature circles.

First Grade Classroom Web Site Featuring Components Of A Balanced Literacy Program, Jennifer Renee Kummer

All Graduate Projects

A classroom web site for first grade families and community members of the llidgefield School District was designed for the World Wide Web. It was created as a resource to explain the components of balanced reading and writing programs in a first grade classroom. These components include reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, shared writing, guided writing, and independent writing. Included on the web site are photographs documenting monthly events in the first grade classroom, as well as, literacy internet resources for parents and children. Featured is research regarding balanced literacy programs, parent involvement, and effective web site …

Creating Motivation And Oral Reading Fluency Through Readers' Theatre, Kelly Leaverton

All Graduate Projects

Readers' Theatre is a wonderful teaching tool in which students practice and rehearse scripts in order to put on plays in front of an audience. The focus is on word accuracy and expression in reading without having to memorize lines. Studies have shown that Readers' Theatre can strengthen oral reading fluency by repeated readings, and increase confidence and motivation to read as students learn to read their parts with fluency and precision. Unfortunately, due to lack of availability and training, Readers' Theatre is not used in the classroom to the extent it should be, and many educators are uncomfortable with …

Model Title I Reading Program In Allignment With The Essential Academic Learning Requriements, Jeanne O'Hara Maxwell

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of the project was to design and develop a model Title I reading program for John Campbell Elementary School, Selah, Washington, in alignment with the state Essential Learning Requirements. To accomplish this purpose, current research and literature related to the fundamentals of reading/literacy and instructional strategies related to student mastery of this essential academic skill were reviewed. Additionally, related information/ materials from selected sources were obtained and analyzed. The model consists of a number of separately usable components, organized into four units: Student-Centered Classroom, Homogeneous Grouping, Building Fluency, and Phonics & Whole Language. Each unit contains its own …

Reading With Your Preadolescent Children At Home: A Workshop For Parents, Elizabeth Jane Keefe

All Graduate Projects

Reading comprehension is a continuous process of evolving thinking. When readers read, they carry on an inner conversation with the text. Readers respond with wonder, delight, and even outrage. They question the text, argue with the author, and nod their heads in agreement. They make connections, ask questions, and draw inferences to better understand and learn from what they read. Programs that involve parents in their children's education have been found to have a positive influence on a child's academic performance and cognitive development. Secondly, book-reading experiences have correlated strongly with success in reading, leading experts to conclude that preparing …

A Handbook Of Strategies For Making Intertextual Connections During Read-Alouds To Build Schema For Elementary School Students, Andrea Kay Manion

All Graduate Projects

A handbook has been created to give primary teachers strategies for building valuable schema and an awareness of text connections during their read-aloud time. The handbook consists of an introduction, ten read-aloud lessons which include some student responses, reviews and classroom activities for twenty read-aloud books, as well as a critique of popular web sites for quality children's literature. Current literature and research regarding schema theory, intertextuality, and reading aloud were reviewed.

Creating A Balanced Literacy Program For Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Students, Shayne T. Wrzesinski

All Graduate Projects

Balanced literacy instruction can be defined in a variety of ways. The important characteristic about a balanced literacy program is that it is neither phonics nor whole language. Creating a balanced literacy program within a classroom encompasses both phonics and whole language in a literature rich environment. Students who participate in a balanced program have opportunities to read and write daily through a variety of meaningful approaches including shared, guided, independent and direct instruction. The literature rich environment provides growth for all students, by teaching skills and strategies through literacy in a natural setting not in isolation. Teachers in the …

Comprehension And Vocabulary Strategies Using Related Tradebooks With Social Studies For Bilingual And Bicultural Middle School Students, Jennifer Suzanne Tindall

All Graduate Projects

In many schools, students from ethnic minority groups are immersed in secondlanguage reading curricula with minimal attention to their native language literacy (Droop & Verhoeven, 2003). These children face the challenge ofleaming to read in languages that they have not mastered orally. As a result, these second-language students can then experience considerable gaps in their understanding ofreading because reading instruction in any language strongly builds on oral language proficiency. For these reasons, second-language literacy learning is an enormous issue in our schools today (Goodman, Goodman, & Flores, 1984). This is why the author chose to research effective reading instruction for …

Effective Strategies For Emergent Readers: Practical Ideas For Everyday Reading With Your Child, Kristin Claire Williams

All Graduate Projects

Three workshops, supported by research in the areas of parent-school involvement, family literacy, the development of the reading process, and reading strategies, were developed. Each workshop provides families with specific reading activities and strategies to use at home. The intent of this author is to provide valid research to demonstrate that learning to read involves the semantic, syntactic, and grapho-phonic cueing systems.

The Utility Of Dibels As A Curriculum Based Measurement In Relation To Reading Proficiency On High Stakes Tests, Rebecca Gayle Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills or DIBELS reading measures and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition or SAT9 reading scores. The following research question was examined: What is the concurrent validity of the DIBELS reading measures in relation to students’ SAT9 reading scores? In this study, archival data from five firstgrade classrooms at a rural southeastern Ohio elementary school were collected. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive and significant correlation between DIBELS measures and SAT9 scores with the exception of …

An Assessment Of Student Reading Improvement Comparing Two Instructional Delivery Models: Reading Recovery (Rr) And Promoting Early Success (Pers), Robin Young

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Boys' Perceptions And Experiences Of Their Placement In A Secondary School Remedial Program : An Examination Of Self-Esteem, Attitude, Motivation And Reading Achievement, Angela Milmoe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Remedial EngIish education has long focused on the development of students reading and writing skills, but research suggests that greater emphasis may need to be placed on affective factors such as self-esteem, motivation, attitude and perception. The influence of such 'non-cognitive' factors on any adolescent student's literacy development is often underestimated. For students experiencing difficulties in literacy, the interaction between perceived ability of degree of success in literacy and the affective factors often impact negatively on self-esteem, attitude and motivation. The relationship between self-esteem, attitude, perception, motivation and literacy needs to be explored, especially when dealing with students with literacy …

Literacy As A Performing Art: A Phenomenological Study Of Oral Dramatic Reading, Neva Virginia Cramer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Based on semiotic, aesthetic response, reader response, and drama in education theories, this phenomenological study seeks to describe the literary experience of text through oral interpretation for middle to high SES, fourth and eighth grade students as compared to Low SES fourth and eighth grade students. Using the research methodology of Moustakas (1994) and data analysis of Teddlie (2000), this study proposes to describe and understand the relation of literary understanding and oral dramatic expression implicit in the descriptive paralinguistic and chronemic patternizations of the oral rendition of text and describe the act of reading as phenomenology. Descriptions of the …