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Increasing Engagement And Effectiveness Of Independent Reading In The Kindergarten Classroom, Sarah Swanson
Increasing Engagement And Effectiveness Of Independent Reading In The Kindergarten Classroom, Sarah Swanson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this study was: What are the most effective and engaging methods for independent reading in the kindergarten classroom? Additionally, this study addressed the subquestion of: What are the benefits and disadvantages of reading traditional books and books on a digital device for young readers? The literature topics that were researched and reviewed included history and current trends in independent reading, academic success, motivation and engagement, technology, and effective independent reading strategies. For this study, a mixed methods approach was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data within the kindergarten classroom. At the beginning of …
Does Lexia Core 5 Support Accelerated Reading Growth In Third Grade Intervention Students During Independent Reading Time With Minimal Teacher Support?, Whitney Strand
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This capstone addresses the following research question: Does Lexia Core 5 Support Accelerated Reading Growth in Third Grade Intervention Students During Independent Reading Time With Minimal Teacher Support? The author first examines the previous research around Lexia Core 5 done by O'Callaghan et al. (2016) & Maracuso et al. (2019). This mixed methods study investigates how using Lexia Core 5 impacts participants’ overall reading growth via pre- and post- assessment data. It follows participants’ Lexia Core 5 usage over the course of 7 weeks tracking both the minutes spent and number of units completed. Data for this study also includes …
Representation Of Cultures And Languages In Children’S Picture Books, Kristen Neff
Representation Of Cultures And Languages In Children’S Picture Books, Kristen Neff
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This study investigated cultural representation in children’s picture books located in classroom libraries. The literature review explored what is culture, the history of children’s books, what past studies have found on representation in books, and why this topic is important. The research methodology was a qualitative study that involved inventorying classroom teachers’ libraries, as well as interviews with teachers about diversity and their libraries. The results included each of the individual teachers’ libraries as well as all the libraries’ data together; data revealed that the majority of characters were animal or non-human characters. Additionally, most of the books in these …
Teachers Describe Their Confidence In Teaching Secondary Students With Low Literacy Skills, Tamara Polzin
Teachers Describe Their Confidence In Teaching Secondary Students With Low Literacy Skills, Tamara Polzin
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
For some students, grasping the concept of literacy is completed with ease. For others, the challenges of developing literacy skills to aid in their ability to move from learning to read to reading to learn proves challenging. These challenges cause a gap in literacy growth and have shown to increase as students get older preventing them from fully accessing the concepts found in the secondary setting. As such, secondary educators are being called upon with the assumption that all teachers are teachers of reading. With this in mind, this qualitative research study aimed to uncover secondary social studies teachers’ understanding …
The Texts Matter: Essential Text Characteristics For Comprehension Intervention In The Intermediate Grades, Tia Clasen
The Texts Matter: Essential Text Characteristics For Comprehension Intervention In The Intermediate Grades, Tia Clasen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
Results on state and national reading assessments indicate that students in the U.S. overall, and in Minnesota specifically, continue to struggle to comprehend expository texts; only one-third of fourth graders meeting grade level proficiency on state assessments designed to analyze reading achievement. Further, a significant gap persists for fourth grade students based on race, language, and socioeconomic status. Contemporaneously, technology continues to advance rapidly, demanding increased literacy skills and a better understanding of comprehension intervention. This research study aims to identify essential text characteristics of expository texts that will eventually be included in an online, automated reading strategy tutor providing …
Analyzing Perspectives With Relevant Grade-Level Texts To Improve Engagement In A Rural Fifth-Grade Classroom, Micah Peters
Analyzing Perspectives With Relevant Grade-Level Texts To Improve Engagement In A Rural Fifth-Grade Classroom, Micah Peters
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to improve engagement in a rural classroom by analyzing perspectives in relevant texts using a literature circle format. The literature reviewed in this study was centered on adolescent literacy, engagement, critical literacy, relevant texts, and literature circles.The study was conducted over an eight-week period with a small group of fifth-grade students; they selected their own text and read it together while utilizing a traditional literature circle format. The unique literature circle roles were designed to promote analysis of perspectives, critical literacy practices, and basic comprehension strategies. This mixed-methods case study utilized primary data from …
Administrator Role In Successful Volunteer Based Reading Programs, Heidi Frye
Administrator Role In Successful Volunteer Based Reading Programs, Heidi Frye
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research addressed in the capstone considers programs that utilize volunteer reading programs using tutors from the community to work with elementary students who need extra support to reach grade level reading goals. The research question is: How do administrators of elementary schools implementing volunteer reading tutoring programs describe their role in the program’s success? The thesis considered research of Stanovich and Torgesen around the needs of struggling readers and of Wasik and Slavin about the essential elements in volunteer tutoring programs aimed at increasing student reading achievement. The research utilized qualitative semi-structured interviews with two administrators working in buildings …
Can You Repeat That, Please? Using Repeated Reading With Low-Intermediate Adult English Language Learners, Jennifer Siegfried
Can You Repeat That, Please? Using Repeated Reading With Low-Intermediate Adult English Language Learners, Jennifer Siegfried
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
Reading fluency is an important component of reading comprehension. Elements of oral reading fluency include reading rate, accuracy, prosody, and comprehension. The technique of repeated reading has been shown to increase the oral reading fluency of both K-12 and adult L1 readers, and it may help improve learners’ attitudes toward reading. This study explored the potential benefits for adult English learners. Assisted repeated reading, using a model oral reading, was implemented with low-intermediate adult English learners from a variety of L1 and educational backgrounds (n=8). Participants practiced a repeated reading technique during eight treatment sessions over the course of four …
Flexible Reading Groups And Social Emotional Needs In A First Grade Classroom, Miranda Pogulis
Flexible Reading Groups And Social Emotional Needs In A First Grade Classroom, Miranda Pogulis
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The goal of this curriculum design project is to design and integrate new lessons in my current first grade reading program that will enable students the opportunity to grow as a reader at the same time they are also strengthening their social emotional skills. Research from Michael Optiz and others demonstrates that students benefit from working with peers of varying ability levels through flexible groups. Joseph Zins, Roger Weissberg, Margaret Wang, and Herbert Walberg also have research that explains how integrating social emotional learning into the curriculum can be an important factor contributing to students success. Using this research as …
Timing Is Everything: Adapting Rewards Intermediate For 4th And 5th Grade Striving Readers, Ruth Kerl
Timing Is Everything: Adapting Rewards Intermediate For 4th And 5th Grade Striving Readers, Ruth Kerl
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this study was “Does REWARDS Intermediate remain an effective intervention for striving readers when adapted for a 30-minute time frame?” This research emerged from a concern for upper elementary aged students who are striving to catch up with their peers when it comes to phonics and decoding skills. The study explored students’ and teachers’ mindsets, as well as the effectiveness of the REWARDS curriculum when adapted for 30-minute rather than 50-minute lessons. Effectiveness was measured in terms of: 1) multisyllabic word part and whole word fluency growth, 2) mindset and attitude changes, and 3) connected …
Ninth Grade Student Reaction To Using Summarization And Annotation, Teresa Day
Ninth Grade Student Reaction To Using Summarization And Annotation, Teresa Day
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This capstone uses a qualitative research approach to address how a group of ninth grade students who struggle with reading describe their reactions to two reading strategies, summarization and annotation. In order for students to meet the rigors of the Common Core Standards, students must be able to read and comprehend complex texts independently. This capstone seeks to understand how students felt about the strategies and how well they felt they used them. In the literature review the topics explored include the new reading expectations of high school graduates, students not meeting those standards, and the theory and application behind …
The Most Effective Methods Of Small Group Reading Instruction In Upper Elementary Grades, Nicole Snoberger
The Most Effective Methods Of Small Group Reading Instruction In Upper Elementary Grades, Nicole Snoberger
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this thesis was, what is the most effective way to group students for reading instruction in the upper elementary classroom? This work documents one teacher's experience of grouping students in two main ways, trying to determine if one way is more effective than another. Students were grouped based on reading level using a common text during part of the research. Students were also grouped based on their reading strategy need, using self-selected books during the remaining research time. The goal was to determine if one grouping method was more effective. While the research and data …
How Can Fluency Instruction Using Readers' Theater And Paired Reading Impact Reading Comprehension In The Third Grade Classroom?, Angela Koski
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can fluency instruction using readers’ theater and paired reading impact reading comprehension in the third grade classroom? It documents one teacher’s experience of implementing Readers’ Theater and Paired Reading in an attempt to increase fluency which can impact comprehension. The project integrates whole group, small group, and partner activities with a third grade class. The author details her review of best practices in reading instruction, implementation of Readers’ Theater and Paired Reading for fluency instruction, and the results seen from adding explicit fluency instruction. She describes the successes seen in teacher …
How To Integrate Vocabulary In A Fourth Grade Classroom Of English Language Learners To Accelerate Reading Achievement, Randi Kay Weiland
How To Integrate Vocabulary In A Fourth Grade Classroom Of English Language Learners To Accelerate Reading Achievement, Randi Kay Weiland
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
English language learners are prevalent in modern American schools, yet educators are often still grappling with how to best teach these unique students. Unsurprisingly, vocabulary plays a fundamental role in reading comprehension. This capstone presents the existing research on the foundational relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension as well as effective vocabulary instruction for English language learners. The research was then used to design a vocabulary curriculum for a fourth grade thematic literacy unit on Mexican Heritage. The curriculum focuses on four major aspects of vocabulary instruction: 1) the direct instruction of Tier II words, as defined by Isabel Beck; …
How Can An Intermediate Elementary Educator Use Critical Literacy To Promote Social Justice Through Book Clubs?, Grace Shields Mevissen
How Can An Intermediate Elementary Educator Use Critical Literacy To Promote Social Justice Through Book Clubs?, Grace Shields Mevissen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this action research is to better understand, “How can an intermediate elementary educator use critical literacy to promote social justice through book clubs?” The author researched and defined social justice, critical literacy and book clubs. After, the author administered a pre assessment, helped facilitate book clubs and a post assessment. The action research was conducted in a suburban school that is mainly comprised of white students. Two groups, having selected the same text, were chosen as a focus group. The author notes and highlights themes across all seven of the students’ experiences throughout the unit. The author …
Transitioning From Teachers' Words To Students' Words: Strategies To Promote Comprehension During Literature Circles, Tiffany Tozke Brian
Transitioning From Teachers' Words To Students' Words: Strategies To Promote Comprehension During Literature Circles, Tiffany Tozke Brian
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
Literature circles can be a powerful tool for motivating students to take part in discussions around text. The power of these literature circles lies in the success of the conversations students have. Those conversations are shaped by the words the teacher uses to facilitate them, and by the words students use within them. This capstone addresses how teachers can focus on words in a student-focused manner that supports students in having in conversations that deepen their understanding and connection to novels.
Using A Functional Language Approach To Modifiy Guided Reading For English Langauge [Sic] Learners, Kristen A. Young
Using A Functional Language Approach To Modifiy Guided Reading For English Langauge [Sic] Learners, Kristen A. Young
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The first research question addressed in this study was, how can one modify the standard methods of teaching guided reading to better meet the language needs of non-native speakers? The second question was, what adjustments need to be made to include the teaching of academic language functions with guided reading instruction? This study documents the teacher’s exploration of the most effective strategies for teaching English learners (ELs) to learn the language needed to accelerate reading levels. The author uses the Modified Guided Reading for ELs lesson model produced in the work by Avalos, Plasencia Chaves and Rascon, and combines it …
Relationships Between Comprehension And Fluency Levels Within Reading At A Second Grade Level, Erika Gregor
Relationships Between Comprehension And Fluency Levels Within Reading At A Second Grade Level, Erika Gregor
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this action research is to investigate the relationship between comprehension and fluency levels in a Spanish Immersion second grade setting and answer the question of: What is the effect of daily use of comprehension strategies, including inferencing, summarizing and visualizing, on fluency within a Spanish Immersion program? The literature review served the purpose to explore and deliver vital components in understanding the process of reading and how comprehension and fluency are achieved. I used a quantitative approach and utilized assessments throughout the school year to observe fluency levels when implementing comprehension strategies and assessments. The data revealed …
Effective And Engaging Online Learning A Research Based Blended Curriculum In The Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Emily Eggers
Effective And Engaging Online Learning A Research Based Blended Curriculum In The Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Emily Eggers
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
As technology becomes more prominent in today’s society, teachers need to be prepared to integrate technology into their classrooms. This capstone was made to answer the question “What is the best method to facilitate student learning in the online environment?” It documents one teacher’s creation of an all encompassing unit of study that incorporates many online learning strategies. Based on the Understanding by Design method of curriculum development, the unit includes learning outcomes, forms of assessment, and daily activities to help deepen students’ understanding of the material with the integrated use of technology. The methods of technological instruction are selected …
Texts In Reading Intervention Programs: Are They Culturally Representative Of English Learner Populations?, Lisa N. Marquardt
Texts In Reading Intervention Programs: Are They Culturally Representative Of English Learner Populations?, Lisa N. Marquardt
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
In this study, a total of 52 reading intervention texts were examined for cultural representation and authenticity; the texts under analysis were from Fountas and Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Intervention and Hasselbring’s Read 180. There were four major, interrelated research questions addressed by this work, two of which dealt with cultural representation in the texts and the extent to which they aligned to the regional population and national publishing statistics. The second set of research questions addressed the level of cultural authenticity through a comparative analysis of each program’s texts. The author concludes that, in this sample of texts, Read 180 …
Close Reading As A Means For Increasing Self-Perception In Struggling Middle School Readers, Megan Slinger
Close Reading As A Means For Increasing Self-Perception In Struggling Middle School Readers, Megan Slinger
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone was: How does explicit instruction in close reading skills impact self-perception as a reader in struggling middle school students? In this project, action research was conducted over a four week period in a seventh grade suburban summer school classroom with eleven students. All of the participants were categorized as struggling readers. At the beginning of the research, students were administered a survey to gather information about their self-perception as a reader. Over the next four weeks, students received explicit instruction in three close reading strategies. During this period, students were also interviewed one …
How Can I Best Support Classroom Teachers With Their Use And Understanding Of Tier Two Interventions?, Shelley Harris
How Can I Best Support Classroom Teachers With Their Use And Understanding Of Tier Two Interventions?, Shelley Harris
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this study was, how can I best support classroom teachers with their use and understanding of Tier Two interventions? It documents one teacher’s use of qualitative research to create a Tier Two intervention toolkit for classroom teachers. The author documents what the RtI process looks like at each tier and how to implement the Tier Two interventions into the classroom. She also created the toolkit digitally to help teacher access the interventions quickly and easily put them into practice. Each intervention can easily be found by clicking on the link on each skill page. In …
Using Repeated Oral Assisted Reading To Improve The Fluency Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Angela J. Leyk
Using Repeated Oral Assisted Reading To Improve The Fluency Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Angela J. Leyk
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This study explores the research question: How much does repeated reading improve the reading rate, accuracy, and prosody of students with learning disabilities in fifth grade? Three key topics: learning disabilities, fluency, and repeated reading are discussed. The author was greatly influenced by Timothy Rasinski and his work in the area of fluency. Repeated Oral Assisted Reading was administered to monitor and document accuracy, rate, and prosody utilizing both daily instructional-level reading probes and monthly grade-level reading probes as well as prosodic reading rubrics and a daily journal. The improvement in rate was compared to scores on nationally normed fluency …
How Reading Through Literary Lenses Impacts The Quality Of High School Students’ Arguments, Craig D. Zimanske
How Reading Through Literary Lenses Impacts The Quality Of High School Students’ Arguments, Craig D. Zimanske
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this study was: how does teaching high school students to analyze text through literary lenses impact the quality of students’ arguments? Topics explored in the review of the literature include the context of struggling readers, literary theory and literary lenses, teaching literary theory to secondary students, and argument writing. A cohort of 18 struggling readers in a co-taught high school English class were instructed to shift their reading focus from finding meaning to constructing meaning. To accomplish this, students were familiarized with the tenets of three literary lenses (social-class, gender/feminist, and psychological) and guided through …
Achievement And Engagement With The Workshop Model In The High School Literature Classroom, Sara Stensaas
Achievement And Engagement With The Workshop Model In The High School Literature Classroom, Sara Stensaas
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this study is as follows: does the use of the workshop model improve engagement and achievement in an honors senior level literature classroom? This action research study sought to discover how two workshop treatment groups, Blau’s literature workshop and Tovani’s workshop model, compared to a control group in achievement on the target unit learning objectives and engagement change over the unit with high school honors-level senior students. Using pre- and post-treatment surveys, focus group discussion, and a unit test, this mixed-method research project looked for a parallel between increase engagement and achievement. Engagement measures under …
Teaching Listening For Prominence In Combination With Reading To Help Students Determine New Information, Margaret Genereux
Teaching Listening For Prominence In Combination With Reading To Help Students Determine New Information, Margaret Genereux
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to assess whether teaching adult English Language Learners (ELLs) to listen for new information spoken with prominence on the target new information increased their ability to make inferences about meaning. Data collected included: a pre and post-test to assess students’ learning during the intervention; an uptake sheet to solicit students’ self-perception of their learning about pronunciation and placement of new information; and a Likert scale to elicit participants’ self-assessment of their ability to identify and use prominence. While results of the post-test on selecting the correct inference were inconclusive, quantitative and qualitative data indicated …
The Impact Of Effective Guided Reading Practices, Emily O'Rourke
The Impact Of Effective Guided Reading Practices, Emily O'Rourke
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This research question purpose was to see how the impact of guided reading can positively improve second grade reading comprehension, fluency and word recognition. Various researchers, such as Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener who have contributed to guided reading research are studied in this capstone. Guided reading is a pivotal element in a child’s journey in the reading process. It explores the specific teacher practices that are necessary to a beneficial guided reading experience. The author used quantitative method of study using district reading assessment and more specifically assessing comprehension, fluency and word recognition. As well as, studying the …
How Higher Order Questioning And Critical Thinking Affects Reading Comprehension, Lindsay A. Samelian
How Higher Order Questioning And Critical Thinking Affects Reading Comprehension, Lindsay A. Samelian
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question was, how I can increase fifth graders’ reading comprehension through the use of higher-order thinking questions and critical thinking? This qualitative action research was based on Anderson, Krathwohl, and Bloom’s (2001) work on the six levels of cognitive thought, Walsh and Sattes’ (2005) and Morgan and Saxton’s (2006) research on quality questioning, and Brookhart’s (2010) critical thinking assessments and rubrics. Their research incorporates into a fifth grade reading classroom while using Fountas and Pinnell’s (2001) guided reading model. The author creates higher ordering thinking questions for three WWII novels. She studies the types of questions and uses …
The Effects Of The Press Intervention On Kindergarteners With Limited Early Literacy Skills, Lindsey Peterson
The Effects Of The Press Intervention On Kindergarteners With Limited Early Literacy Skills, Lindsey Peterson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this Capstone is: What impact does the PRESS intervention have on Kindergarteners with limited early literacy skills? Many students enter Kindergarten with limited literacy skills and are in need of learning the basic skills of reading before they can learn to read.The action research that was conducted involved seven students and an intervention focused on phoneme segmenting. The students were given a phoneme segmenting pre assessment before the ten day intervention. A post assessment was administered after each ten day intervention. The data revealed that after two, ten day interventions that 100 percent of the …
A Family Literacy Approach In A Second Grade Classroom, Katie R. Coder
A Family Literacy Approach In A Second Grade Classroom, Katie R. Coder
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this project was, how does a family literacy approach affect students reading comprehension growth in a second grade classroom? It documents one teacher’s creation of a before and after school family literacy program. The family literacy program focused on teaching students and families explicit reading comprehension strategies that were being used in the classroom. The author documents the research analyzed that led to the creation of a family literacy program based on the parent involvement family literacy model. The author describes the implementation of the program and concludes that: 1) using a family literacy approach …