Education Commons^™

Attitudes Of Mexican Nationals Toward The Use Of Code Switching In The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer M. Vojtko

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to establish the beliefs and attitudes of Mexican Nationals living in the Rio Grande Valley toward the use of code switching, or the use of two or more languages during a speech act. Because of the high influence of the Spanish language in the Rio Grande Valley, code switching is more commonly referred to as Spanglish. Researchers have been studying code switching since the early fifties; however, limited research has been conducted on attitudes toward code switching. The goal of this study is to offer a comprehensive look at the attitudes demonstrated by Mexican …

Differences In Language Acquisition Among Students When Using Materials They Choose Vs. Teacher's Reading Program, Alicia Gomez Bastar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This investigation considers four groups of university level students enrolled in remedial English as a foreign language courses at the University of Montemorelos, NL, México. The reading comprehension and vocabulary development of these 55 students were compared when the students selected their own reading materials and when the teacher's program of readings was used. In addition, the students' attitudes toward reading and the class procedures were considered. This research intended to compare two treatments, students' CHOICE and teachers' PROGRAM, in terms of student improvement for reading comprehension and vocabulary, as well as student attitude. The results showed significant differences for …

From Literacy Methods Classes To The Real World: Experiences Of Pre-Service Teachers, Francesca Pomerantz, Michelle Pierce

Francesca Pomerantz

Measuring Spelling Growth Over Time In Elementary Writing Samples, Pamela M. Ansell

Masters Theses

Developmental spelling stage theories have been proposed and disputed for 30 years. The current study used Gentry's (1982) model to assign category ratings to narrative writing samples produced by 32 students over two years to observe developmental growth over time. In addition, quantitative measures were obtained from the samples, including an index of control (Laminack & Wood, 1996) and a percentage correct. Analyses were also used to test the effectiveness of using a writing lab approach (Nelson, Bahr & Van Meter, 2004) on spelling development. During the last half of second grade, all 32 students received intervention guided by the …

Using Multimedia To Enhance Reading Skills In Modern Standard Arabic: Strategies To Enhance Reading Skills In Modern Standard Arabic – High Intermediate Level, Kamal Alekhnawy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an attempt to develop a software program designed to enhance reading skills of learners of Modern Standard Arabic at the high intermediate level. This is one of the very few attempts at creating CALL programs for Arabic learning, a medium that is in dire need of development if Arabic language teaching is to keep up with future trends in second language learning as a whole. Research was conducted on how reading skills can best be developed through traditional means as well as on how CALL programs might achieve better and faster results than those traditional means. The …

An Examination Of Relationships Of Reading And Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Standardized Placement Test Scores, And Diverse Community College Students' Perceptions Of Those Relationships, Ann Woolford-Singh

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Social cognitive theory explains the role that one's level of confidence plays in the accomplishment of a specific task. According to Bandura (1982, 1995), self-efficacy beliefs should align with performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing standardized placement test scores of diverse community college freshmen. Additionally, this study sought to understand the sources of these students' reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs through the descriptions of experiences they feel have influenced those beliefs.

There were three major research questions: (1) What is the strength of the relationships among reading/writing self-efficacy beliefs and reading/writing …

Aiding Non-Reading Spanish Speaking Adults With Worksource Orientation And Usage Through Low-Level Spanish Reading Workshops, Amy Claussen

All Graduate Projects

The goal of this project is to teach adult Hispanic low-level readers to utilize the Worksource of Kittitas County and to improve their reading in their language of origin. Research shows that the transfer of knowledge from the primary language to a new second language is not possible without mastery in the primary language first.

Resources To Support And Expand Native American Kindergarteners Shared Reading Experiences Integrated With Open Court Unit 6, Stephanie Lynn Hull

All Graduate Projects

Relevant literature pertaining to shared reading, the benefits of shared reading, shared reading and the diverse learner and recommendations for the Native American learner was studied. The need for using culturally relevant material in the classroom and creating a positive learning environment for Native American students was discussed. A project utilizing shared reading strategies in the kindergarten classroom was created for teacher use in the Mount Adams School District. The project included the integration of culturally relevant stories with the objectives of Open Court Unit 6. The project also included a list of resources available from the Harrah Elementary School …

Flexible Reading Groups For Literacy In A First Grade Classroom, Sharon Ann Parker

All Graduate Projects

The professional literature on the configuration of flexible reading groups for reading instrnction in a regular first grade classroom was examined to determine if flexible grouping yields any benefit to students who have been assessed to be below grade level in reading. The research showed support for the idea that flexible, fluid grouping is an accelerant to producing higher levels of reading improvement. As a result, an instructional handbook was created to aid educators in the implementation of flexible reading group instruction.

Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies For Native American Adolescents With Reading Difficulties, Mary C. La Velle

All Graduate Projects

The need for culturally appropriate reading comprehension pedagogy for Native American Adolescents was studied in light of multicultural philosophies. The historical trend to assimilate this group of students rather than acknowledge their unique contributions was an area targeted for improvement in this project. A need was established to target reading comprehension since the evidence points to a lack of explicit instruction in this area for middle school students. Strategies for promoting reading comprehension were identified in a teacher's manual that will be used in conjunction with the novel, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. Colville Tribal Elders discussed the comprehension …

Integration Of Keyboarding With Fourth Grade Writing, Kevin Russell

All Graduate Projects

Keyboarding is an enhancing tool in the writing process of elementary school children in grades one through four. Studies show that learning computer keyboarding with appropriate software and instruction in the elementary grade level is a skill that is proactive towards student growth in their own writing skills. The development of supplemental keyboarding and writing activities and assessment rubrics are presented. A total of ten different technologically enhanced writing activities are presented for use in the classroom or a lab setting. The activities are complete with lesson plans, design templates, overviews of materials and assessments. The activities are designed to …

Beginning A Book Swap Room: A Quantitative And Qualitative Study, Mari Lynn Stangland

All Graduate Projects

Many children do not have adequate access to print. To rectify this in her school, the author created an ongoing Book Swap Room. The author documented the reading growth of students by looking at their reading test data in conjunction with records of the number of books traded in the Room. A family survey was used on three occasions to determine book ownership in the home of students, and a student survey was used to determine whether the Book Swap Room was achieving its desired goal of reinforcing book ownership. Though results were mixed and inconclusive, the author has seen …

"Through The Looking Glass:" Teaching Literary Theory In The High School English Classroom, Alethea Young

All Graduate Projects

The project examines the historical context of Contemporary Literary Theories: Deconstruction, Marxist Literary Theory, Althusser's Theory ofldeology, and Feminist Literary Theory, through a review ofliterature. The project culminates in a 4-6 week unit on teaching Feminist Literary Theory, Marxist Literary Theory, and Deconstruction in connection with a unit on Rudolfo Anaya's award-winning novel, Bless Me, Wtima. The unit is designed for 10th grade Honors Language Arts classes.

Home-School Reading Journals And Parental Involvement, Annalisa Marie Miner

Graduate Research Papers

"When schools encourage children to practice reading at home with parents, the children make significant gains in reading achievement compared to those who only practice at school" (Tizard, 1982).

Throughout my teaching career I have always worked with many students who are from homes that do not participate often in school and do not appear to have school-like literacy activities as a part of their family culture. I want to find a way to involve all families as collaborators in increasing their children's literacy achievement, because I feel this will benefit the children academically and also create a love of …

Using Children's Literature With Young Learners, Eowyn Ferey

Intensive English Language Program Faculty Publications and Presentations

The biggest practical challenges in using English language children's literature rather than readers created specifically for EFL/ESL students are:

• choosing an appropriate book
• preparing to teach, from writing lesson plans to developing supporting teaching materials
• brainstorming creative teaching ideas

This paper will serve as a guide for those who would like to use literature in the classroom with their young students, but aren't sure how to begin.

If Aristotle Ran The Writing Center: Classical Rhetoric And Writing Center Administration, Melissa Ianetta

Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Creating And Using Wordless Picture Books To Stimulate Fictional Writing In First Grade Students, Kathryn Nicol Thompson

Graduate Research Papers

Beginning a written composition is a difficult task. Anyone who has ever , attempted to create a piece of writing can identify with this statement. Whether it is a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen, getting started on a piece of writing is often the hardest part. 1 The first sentence of this paper encompasses my own struggles as a writer, even with this composition. I tried to imagine how much greater this must be felt as I observed first graders wrestle with how to begin their own writing. Even for adults, thinking of the first sentence …

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, Karen Rowell, Rosemary Chance, University Of Southern Mississippi

Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival Programs

The program for the thirty-seventh annual Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival held on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2004.

Using Young Adult Literature : A Classic Way To Teach English, Matt B. Pries

Graduate Research Papers

Students are reading less, and enjoying reading less. Sticking to the same curriculum year after year in the hope that student attitude will suddenly change, that there will be an awakening in the classroom, and students will read the classics with enthusiasm cannot be done. It is a false hope. But there can be an awakening.

Using young adult literature in the high school English classroom is the solution. It will give new hope to teachers that as students come to enjoy reading, they will be more apt to, not only read more, but eventually come to read the classics. …

Measuring The Success Of Classworks Computer Instruction, Susan J. Boatwright

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to test the effectiveness of the computer program, ClassWorks Gold (CW) in improving student reading and writing scores. ClassWorks Gold is a computer program that merges parts of 150 commercially available language arts program with a built-in assessment and internal e-mail system.

Garfield Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received a grant from the Iowa Department of Education for the purchase and implementation of CW as a supplement to regular language arts classroom instruction. The grant required action research for an assessment. This paper focuses on the effectiveness of CW with two third grade …

Bridging The Gap By Using Mini Shared Reading, Ljubica Radisich Quilici

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate an alternative teaching strategy for assisting five first grade students who were struggling with learning how to read. This project examined how Mini Shared Reading, a melding of Shared Reading and Guided Reading, enabled these students to progress five to ten reading levels in five weeks.

The Role Of Imaginative Literature In First Year Composition, Randee Teresa Cowles

Theses Digitization Project

This study steps into a long running discussion of the place of imaginative literature in First Year Composition (FYC) courses. Chapter one surveys the scholarship, including the work of Erika Lindeman and Gary Tate, two compositionists whose debate has been at the center of this discussion, and three scholars' responses to the issues their debate raises. Instructors might be able to include imaginative literature in FYC courses if they use the literature to support the courses' rhetorical goals rather than to "teach the literature" itself.

Integrating Technology Into Literature Circles, Carrie A. Lutkenhaus

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project is to develop a series of in-services that train middle school literature teachers in the integration of technology into literature circles. A staff development workshop was created to coincide with the Fort Dodge Community School District reading improvement goal. The audience for this staff development workshop will include eight fifth and sixth grade teachers from Fair Oaks Middle School. A review of the literature concerning literature circles and the integration of technology confirmed that the integration of technology into literature circles would have a positive effect on the literature classroom. Literature circles and the integration …

The Impact Of A Word-Study Spelling Curriculum On Spelling Instruction And Student Spelling Achievement, Jan Baker

Graduate Research Papers

Word study uses direct instruction at the appropriate developmental level, hands-on activities, the study of orthographic structure, and a philosophy of problem-solving in a positive atmosphere. Pre- and post assessment data suggest that this is an effective instructional approach for improving student spelling achievement.

Morpheme Acquisition In Second Language Learners, Timothy Andrew Schuwerk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored morpheme acquisition in learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Specifically, it looked at the development of eight selected individuals from Korea over the course of an intensive 8-week instruction program and tracked their acquisition of three specific English morphemes: indefinite articles used with singular count nouns, progressive -ing forms, and third person -s markers. The individuals were given an assessment test to place them at the correct level within the program prior to their selection for the study. The participants provided four sets of data in the form of writing samples at fixed intervals during …

Educational Change Process: A Case Study Of A Rural School District's Reading Reform, Barbara M. Havel Bohach

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Beginning reading instruction is the subject of much debate in educational fields as well as in the political arena. The product of such debates is often a push to reform reading programs and teachers are targeted as the ones to carry out these reforms. If reading educators have been actively involved in a reading change process, what are their concerns about change and the influence of mandated legislation?

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine how teachers and administrators initiated and implemented a balanced reading innovation. It also investigated how the Concerns-Based Adoption Model identified teachers' concerns …

Vocabulary Development In A Literature-Based Instructional Program, Gwen Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

Teachers need to assist students in developing rich vocabularies in a variety of ways. As teachers present effective strategies for learning vocabulary, students will improve their speaking and writing abilities as they grasp newfound meanings of words. This project reviews the professional literature on vocabulary development instruction and then presents a staff development plan that will help teachers see the benefits of exploring different ways that students can increase their vocabulary knowledge in a literature-based instructional reading environment.

Implementing Writer's Workshop In A Kindergarten Classroom, Katie Hauschildt

Graduate Research Papers

Can children be taught to write in kindergarten? Should children be taught to write in kindergarten? How do you teach children to write in kindergarten? These and many other questions about the appropriateness of writing and how to teach writing have been swirling around the education community for many years. As a kindergarten teacher I myself began wondering about these questions and how to answer them. I was intrigued by the idea of providing a framework in my classroom that would encourage emerging readers and writers to create and manipulate their own text.

In an effort to better understand the …

Reflections About My Second Year Of Teaching Reading, Molly Melloy Recker

Graduate Research Papers

On the second day of school, I realized that four students had entered my first grade classroom – reading. As that school day concluded, at the beginning of my second year of teaching, I remember sitting down at my desk, and thinking to myself, "Now what?" These were not the students I was expecting.

In this paper I explain how I adapted my reading beliefs and teaching practices to meet the challenge the four students posed to me. I describe each student, and their reading behaviors. Next, I discuss perspectives about early literacy, in order to examine my beliefs in …

Perspectives On Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Executive Functions, Working Memory, And Language Disabilities, Carol Westby, Silvana Watson

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The conceptualization of the nature of attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD) has changed in the last decade. ADHD is now viewed as a neurologically based condition with primary deficits in executive functions and working memory (WM). Students with ADHD have deficits in discourse organization, inferring, and monitoring that are related to their executive function and WM deficits. A large number of students with ADHD also have comorbid reading and language disabilities that exist in addition to the deficits directly associated with the ADHD. Comprehensive evaluation of students with ADHD is essential to address their specific learning needs