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An Effective Small Group Reading Intervention Scope And Sequence For Students In Grades Three To Five, Caitlin Phan
An Effective Small Group Reading Intervention Scope And Sequence For Students In Grades Three To Five, Caitlin Phan
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question of this project is: What is the most effective scope and sequence for a reading academic support curriculum designed for small groups of students in grades three to five? The purpose of the project is to address the critical need for a well-defined scope and sequence for reading academic support teachers. Research that influenced the written scope and sequence includes reading intervention history, elementary students, struggling readers, types of approaches to teaching reading, and three schools of thought regarding teaching reading (Fountas and Pinnell, Orton-Gillingham, and Science of Reading). Integrating this research, the scope and sequence project …
Teaching Strategies For Low Literacy Adult Learners, Kelly Rynda
Teaching Strategies For Low Literacy Adult Learners, Kelly Rynda
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has demonstrated that low-literacy adult learners have different needs than children or more proficient adult readers, but teaching strategies are not often aimed at these students. The professional development presentation developed for this project focuses on the characteristics of these learners, how low-literacy skills affect their lives, and which interventions educators can use in the classroom. Key interventions include Robinson’s suggestions around word recognition, Tighe and Binder’s recommendations about morphology and fluency, Mellard and Fall’s ideas around language comprehension, Park’s suggestions for critical literacy, and Rodrigo et al.’s recommendations around reading for pleasure. The project shares information about the …
A Need For Culturally Relevant Texts To Motivate K-2 Students In Reading, Thi Hoai Anh Nguyen
A Need For Culturally Relevant Texts To Motivate K-2 Students In Reading, Thi Hoai Anh Nguyen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this capstone project was: How can K-2 teachers boost student motivation in reading through interactive read-alouds using culturally relevant texts? After delving into the research on reading motivation, Culturally Relevant Texts, creating a Culturally Relevant Text set, developing student identity, promoting students’ appreciation of cultural diversity, and Interactive Read Alouds, the author created a "We Are All Different and That’s Beautiful” Text Set Unit which promotes students’ appreciation of cultural diversity by incorporating culturally relevant texts and interactive read-alouds. The text set unit with eight chosen culturally relevant texts and matching interactive read-aloud lesson plans …
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Within my personal and professional experience, I have observed that the Hmong oral language has declined since the Hmong people arrived in the United States. Over the past 50 years in the United States, there have been growing concerns regarding the decline in usage of the Hmong language within Hmong children. In my personal experience, my children who are second generation Hmong, only the five older children are bilingual while my three younger children only speak English. As for my seven grandchildren, who are third generation Hmong, they only speak English. They do not understand nor speak the Hmong language. …
Key Components And Best Practices Of Early Decoding Instruction, Erika Fruetel
Key Components And Best Practices Of Early Decoding Instruction, Erika Fruetel
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The question that guided the research and project development was: What are key components and best practices in early decoding instruction? Throughout recent history, students in the United States have been taught to read based on two main theories: one that approaches literacy learning as natural development that should be supported by surrounding the child with rich and engaging literature, and the other that focuses more intently on teaching the student the patterns of spelling in order to decode words. Although educators have debated which is the most effective approach for decades, research consistently points to the importance of instructing …
Incorporating Opportunities For Diverse Literature Into The Early Elementary Classroom, Mary Cline
Incorporating Opportunities For Diverse Literature Into The Early Elementary Classroom, Mary Cline
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research shows that student engagement is positively impacted by literature that contains mirrors to their own lives and experiences. This is a set of lessons that are created to be incorporated into the school’s literacy curriculum for 1st and 2nd grade. Through reading and discussing various books, these lessons strive to add places for multicultural students to see their lives mirrored back to them as well as to give all students a chance to see another way of life by looking through a window into someone else’s world. The lesson plans focus on creating space for students to engage …
Creating Inclusive Spaces: Using Book Clubs To Increase Diverse Literature In Schools, Clare Ng
Creating Inclusive Spaces: Using Book Clubs To Increase Diverse Literature In Schools, Clare Ng
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Multiple studies have identified that many groups of underrepresented students, including non-Christians, LGBTQ+, Native-Americans, children of immigrant families, and youth of color, feel invisible or not included in school settings because there is a lack of visibility of non-dominant groups in school, or a lack of policies and practices that support the needs and experiences of non-dominant groups. This may include a lack of representation in recognized celebrated holidays, curriculum topics, or literature discussed in school. This capstone project will focus on how we can create inclusive spaces for students to promote positive school culture by obtaining diverse literature for …
Improving Early Literacy Outcomes Through Play, Kimberly Bice
Improving Early Literacy Outcomes Through Play, Kimberly Bice
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question asked in this capstone project is: how might incorporating playful learning into a literacy framework help improve early literacy outcomes? There is a growing body of evidence that playful learning, a mix of free and guided play, has a slew of benefits to school-aged children including: physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. The foundational research for this project explores the intersections of educational neuroscience, Culturally Responsive Practices, and foundational literacy skills and practices. In particular the scholarship of Eric Jensen, Drs. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Zaretta Hammond, and Hollis Scarbourough were foundational in the conception and development of this project. …
Understanding Effective Literacy Instruction For Primary Grade Teachers, Erika Hotchkiss
Understanding Effective Literacy Instruction For Primary Grade Teachers, Erika Hotchkiss
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research on the topic of literacy instruction, and the best practices for effective literacy instruction, has been around for decades, but not all educators are aware of this research. This capstone project was designed to provide support for educators as they strengthen their understanding of how skilled reading develops and the best instructional practices to use with beginning readers. As a part of this research, six self-paced professional development modules were designed to address the question: How can a deeper understanding of the science of reading support primary grade teachers to be more effective with literacy instruction for beginning readers? …
The Impact Of Systematic Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Instruction In A Spanish Immersion First-Grade Classroom, Elisabeth Boe
The Impact Of Systematic Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Instruction In A Spanish Immersion First-Grade Classroom, Elisabeth Boe
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Recent research suggests that structured literacy, the systematic teaching of phonological awareness, phonics, and word recognition skills, is highly indicative of students’ proficiency in reading. This is true not only in monolingual literacy programs but in bilingual programs as well. While many schools across the United States have implemented best practices, this is not the case for many Spanish immersion programs. This capstone seeks to address this problem with the question How does systematic literacy instruction of phonemic awareness and phonics in Spanish Immersion impact student mastery of early literacy skills in first grade? It analyzes the current research about …
Implementing Authentic Literacy Centers In A Kindergarten Classroom, Isabella Haeger
Implementing Authentic Literacy Centers In A Kindergarten Classroom, Isabella Haeger
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Cultivating a literacy-rich and engaging classroom community from the beginning of the kindergarten year is an important step to provide students with a positive experience with learning. Authentic literacy centers are a way for primary learners to interact with targeted literacy skills in a meaningful way. Teachers can plan intentional reading, writing, word work, and listening skills that are differentiated and hands-on. This capstone evaluates the question: What are the most impactful ways to establish authentic and engaging literacy work stations for kindergarten students that promote voice and choice? The summarizing website showcases authentic literacy tasks for each center and …
Joy In Choice: Cultivating A Choice-Centric Literacy Classroom In Upper Elementary, Alexandra Pickell
Joy In Choice: Cultivating A Choice-Centric Literacy Classroom In Upper Elementary, Alexandra Pickell
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project is: How do teachers initiate and nurture joyful, personally meaningful opportunities for reading in the classroom? This project is an introductory website detailing how and why teachers can shift their reading block to make it a time in the day when students are making choices for themselves. In so doing, student motivation and joy for reading is at the forefront of the classroom (Gambrell, 2015). The intended audience is any upper elementary teacher looking to decenter the teacher’s voice during independent reading, but is of particular importance for teachers who already have an …
An Intervention To Support Comprehension During Independent Reading Time, Jacob Klis
An Intervention To Support Comprehension During Independent Reading Time, Jacob Klis
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The question that guided this project was: How can using an intervention based on a comprehension strategy increase student reading interest? This question guided research on digital and print texts, student reading interest, and a brief history of balanced literacy. Many schools use a mix of digital and print resources and students need to be prepared to understand each. Using independent reading time at school has shown to give students greater success in literacy and other areas of school. It has shown that dedicated independent reading time is important at school. The goal of this project was to make independent …
The Science Of Reading For English Learners, Allison Hanson
The Science Of Reading For English Learners, Allison Hanson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
In recent years, a movement of researchers, educators, and parents promoting the science of reading has been reigniting the so-called “reading wars.” This movement has pointed out the ways in which typical balanced literacy practices do not reflect research on how students learn to read, especially in the acquisition of word recognition skills. However, the current debate is sometimes ignoring the unique needs of a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. student population: English Learners (ELs) and other multilingual students. This capstone project addresses the question: How does the science of reading inform reading instruction for ELs within a balanced …
Increasing Student Engagement In Kindergarten Read Alouds, Sydney Cassidy
Increasing Student Engagement In Kindergarten Read Alouds, Sydney Cassidy
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has shown that when students are given the opportunity to showcase their learnings in various settings, there will be a greater chance of student engagement and motivation when completing various classroom activities. The curriculum designed for this project uses Howard Gardner’s (2006) Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Thomas Armstrong’s (2009) work with integrating these intelligences into a classroom environment to target the various ways that students learn in the classroom that is best suited to the way their brain processes and applies information. The project involved creating a curriculum that was suitable for kindergarten students to engage in various …
Creating An Elementary Reading Curriculum That Leads All Students To More Equitable Success, Ian Lyon
Creating An Elementary Reading Curriculum That Leads All Students To More Equitable Success, Ian Lyon
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Each year history repeats itself in the United States with high numbers of elementary students not being able to read proficiently, and an even higher number affecting BIPOC students. To address the opportunity gaps, teachers need an easy-to-follow road map of interventions led by the science of reading, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and student motivational strategies. This professional development capstone project will allow teachers to learn these three topics, one in each half day in the beginning of the school year. The first day will focus on the Science of Reading (SoR) with structured literacy influences from the Simple View of …
Strengthening Early Literacy Skills Through Data-Driven Decision Making, Kaari Bly
Strengthening Early Literacy Skills Through Data-Driven Decision Making, Kaari Bly
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
As part of this research, nine professional development sessions and a data workbook were designed to address the research question: how can a school establish a sustainable system for making data-based decisions to strengthen the literacy skills of kindergarten and first-grade students necessary for further educational success? Data-driven decision-making is an essential component of an MTSS framework and is based on the steps of a problem-solving model. Key tenets of a data-driven school include strong leadership, a comprehensive assessment system, easy access to data, time and resources to examine data, and clear connections between data and potential interventions. Often schools …
Phonological Awareness In The Elementary Classroom, Marisa Brown
Phonological Awareness In The Elementary Classroom, Marisa Brown
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has demonstrated that teaching all elementary aged students phonological awareness skills in an explicit manner builds a strong literacy foundation. The blog designed for this project focuses on each explicit instructional skill set to best set our students up for success and is inspired by the work of Dr. Louisa Moats. The creation of the project involved looking at the background of how educators teach students to read including whole language and balanced literacy approaches. The goal of this project is to provide an online resource that can serve as a form of a professional learning community. The blog …
Developing Critical Consciousness In The English Language Arts Classroom, Benjamin Moberg
Developing Critical Consciousness In The English Language Arts Classroom, Benjamin Moberg
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Critical consciousness, first conceived by Freire (2014), and later adopted into Ladson-Billings’ (1995) culturally relevant pedagogy, supports students in understanding systemic injustice and their capacity to create change. With a specific focus on the English Language Arts discipline, the curriculum designed for this capstone incorporates a number of reading, writing, and discussion strategies to answer the research question: What are the most effective strategies for developing critical consciousness in students in the English Language Arts classroom? In this eight week curriculum, students learn to read with and against a classical text, discuss and debate the ideologies underpinning the text, and …
Effective Reading Strategies For Multilingual Learners In The Mainstream Classroom, Megan Hebert
Effective Reading Strategies For Multilingual Learners In The Mainstream Classroom, Megan Hebert
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project was designed to provide educational support for the literacy development of multilingual learners in the mainstream classroom. The guiding questions this project seeks to answer are: How can multilingual learners develop strong literacy skills within their mainstream classrooms? What strategies, resources, and instructional models best support them in this learning? These questions led to relevant literature that provided research in the areas of instructional model design, engagement strategies, home language scaffolds, and cultural considerations. Through these four key areas, educators will be able to grow in their ability to meet the needs of their multilingual learners and …
Utilizing Bipoc Class Novels In The Middle School Classroom To Promote Empathy, Bailey Fowler
Utilizing Bipoc Class Novels In The Middle School Classroom To Promote Empathy, Bailey Fowler
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research focus for my capstone is: Utilizing BIPOC Class Novels in the Middle School Classroom to Promote Empathy. I have designed a website titled “Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Literature” to be accessed and utilized by parents and teachers of middle school students. For adults who seek high quality literature by / about People of Color that also incorporate empathy-building Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) skills, this website is an excellent resource. As the adolescent brain develops, so does the capability for empathy. Perspective-taking occurs after learned experiences. The perspective-taking element of empathy can be explicitly taught to adolescents in …
The Joy Of Reading: Increasing Intrinsic Motivation Through Choice Texts And Reading Conferences In Middle School, Joshua Overby-Lang
The Joy Of Reading: Increasing Intrinsic Motivation Through Choice Texts And Reading Conferences In Middle School, Joshua Overby-Lang
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has proven that middle school is the time in which students abandon recreational reading for the rest of their lives if they do not find the process to be engaging. In order to hook readers and urge them to continue this pursuit, teachers need to give students access to high interest books and the time to read without any high stakes assessment attached to it. The curriculum designed for this project uses the influences of Allen, McClure, and Serravallo to implement a series of reading conferences in conjunction with independent silent reading time and mini-lessons in the middle school …
How Can Guided Reading Help Elementary Students Read At Grade Level By Middle School?, Magan Graham
How Can Guided Reading Help Elementary Students Read At Grade Level By Middle School?, Magan Graham
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Elementary students who struggle with reading are a common concern among elementary school teachers. This capstone project documents how teachers can use a guided reading curriculum as a way to help their students grow in their reading success. The literature review focused on two main topics; guided reading, and the importance of comprehension in reading. This project and literature review help to answer the question, How can guided reading help elementary students read at grade level by middle school? According to the literature, guided reading has a positive impact on helping elementary students learn to read (Richardson, 2016). This capstone …
Effective Teaching Of Embedded Phonics Instruction In A Middle School Special Education Resource Room, Amanda Nichols
Effective Teaching Of Embedded Phonics Instruction In A Middle School Special Education Resource Room, Amanda Nichols
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone addresses a gap in middle school instruction for students identified for special education services in reading. In Minnesota’s state standards, phonics instruction is only required through 5th grade (Minnesota Department of Education, 2011). However, students in middle school and beyond still may be learning to read past 5th grade. This research question is: What is the most effective way to integrate phonics instruction into reading lessons in a middle school, resource room special education classroom? This paper introduces what phonics is, the reason phonics should be integrated into reading instruction, a framework for embedded phonics, a description of …
Increasing Student Motivation In English Language Arts Through Student Choice, Jennifer Baker
Increasing Student Motivation In English Language Arts Through Student Choice, Jennifer Baker
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The purpose of this capstone project was to design and implement a digital website where resources are readily available for teachers and students in order to increase motivation in reading. This project sought to answer the question Can providing student choice improve student motivation in a middle school English Language Arts class? My love of reading happened early in my life and it has made me a lifelong reader, and this inspired me to instill that love in middle school students. The research conducted in this capstone indicates that increasing student engagement in reading is highly dependent upon building student …
Supporting Beginner English Learner Success In Low-Incidence Districts: Reading Accommodations For The Content Classroom, Ashley Gilbertson
Supporting Beginner English Learner Success In Low-Incidence Districts: Reading Accommodations For The Content Classroom, Ashley Gilbertson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this capstone project is: “How can low-incidence high school content teachers provide reading accommodation strategies with beginner ELs to impact student success?” This paper focuses on a way to provide equitable instruction for high school beginning English Learners (ELs), through researched reading accommodation strategies. The context in which this project was created was for low-incidence districts whose content-area teachers may not have formal training on working with beginner ELs. The professional development sessions include a focus on who ELs are, as well as the following reading strategies: oral scaffolds, text discussion activities, vocabulary instruction, and …
Using A Text Set Of Diverse Media To Teach Alternative Perspectives To Third Grade Students, Christina Benson
Using A Text Set Of Diverse Media To Teach Alternative Perspectives To Third Grade Students, Christina Benson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project is centered on the question, how can a text set made of diverse books be used to teach alternative perspectives to third grade students? The author documents their experience both personally and professionally as well as their research that led them to create a fifteen lesson third grade literacy unit that teaches the critical literacy skill of alternative perspectives. This literacy unit focuses on students being able to distinguish their perspective from that of an author or character. Through the creation of this project, the author discovered important things about the topics of critical literacy, diverse books, …
Poverty In Education: The Impact On Academic Vocabulary And Need For Early Interventions, Carly Spillner
Poverty In Education: The Impact On Academic Vocabulary And Need For Early Interventions, Carly Spillner
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this extended literature review was: How does poverty impact academic vocabulary skills and how can early vocabulary interventions be used effectively in order to strengthen the academic vocabulary skills of students living in poverty? To determine effective interventions to use with low-income students, an extended literature review was conducted that analyzed research studies that implemented academic vocabulary interventions including explicit instruction of phonics and vocabulary, embedded instruction, class discussions, shared book reading, and guided reading. Ten research studies were reviewed with intervention lengths varying from five weeks to two school years. These studies measured improvements …
How Does The Use Of Annotation Affect Reading Comprehension In The Primary Grades Of Immersion Education?, Erin O’Flaherty
How Does The Use Of Annotation Affect Reading Comprehension In The Primary Grades Of Immersion Education?, Erin O’Flaherty
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project is developed to support students’ reading ability and comprehension. I want to improve my students' interaction with texts. I hope for students to not just passively read but to actively engage in their reading which will lead to a deeper understanding and better comprehension. The purpose of this capstone project is to address the following research question: How does the use of annotation affect reading comprehension in the primary grades of immersion education? Through my research and literature review I found that annotation of text has a positive effect on promoting students’ reading ability including improving reading …
Promoting Early Literacy Learning, Margaret Baird
Promoting Early Literacy Learning, Margaret Baird
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone addresses the importance of early literacy exposure for later literacy development and academic achievement. Literacy levels when students enter school have been shown to be related to later reading achievement and academic success. Caregiver involvement is a significant part of early literacy development. The influence of caregiver involvement is the primary focus of the project. The website created for this project provides caregivers of children birth to age 5 with activities to facilitate the development of early literacy, and community resources dedicated to promoting early literacy. The project is intended for anyone who spends an extended amount of …