Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Stability Balls And Handwriting Proficiency In A Kindergarten Classroom, Megan Haan

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project investigated the impact on handwriting by the use of stability balls as chairs. The participants were nineteen students in an experimental group and nineteen students in a control group in two different classrooms. Students in both groups were given a pre-test using the “Handwriting Without Tears Screener of Handwriting.” The students in the experimental group were taught how to use a stability ball as a chair and used a ball as a chair for twelve weeks. During this time, both classrooms taught the same amount of letters using the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. All students then …

Kindergarten Phonics Instruction, Erika Hall

Master of Education Program Theses

Understanding phonics is a critical component in a young student's ability to read. Research studies have shown the important role phonics plays in helping students become strong readers. The purpose of this study was to discover the ways that kindergarten teachers in Christian schools in West Michigan are teaching phonics in their classrooms, and to determine if kindergarten teachers share a list of common phonics goals for each of their kindergarteners to achieve by the end of kindergarten. The present study was a qualitative design using a survey to collect information from teachers in private elementary school kindergarten classrooms in …

Rediscovering The Garden In Kindergarten: Towards A Holistic Approach, Beth R. Bleeker

Master of Education Program Theses

Dress-up clothes, wooden blocks, and art easels are seemingly collecting dust in the back closets of many of today’s kindergarten classrooms. Where once creativity, imagination, and exploration were vividly expressed during times of free play, the youngest of students in many of today’s education system are trading in their toys for textbooks. This was not the vision of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852), the German philosopher who provided the foundation and validity of play as a vehicle for learning within the establishment of the kindergarten movement. The 21st century kindergarten has evolved from nurturing the child’s sense of play towards a stronger …

Study Of The Effects Of A Buddy Reading Program On The Reading Achievement And Attitudes Of Kindergarten And Grade Seven Students At Abbotsford Christian School, Heritage Campus, Susan M. Dykshoorn

Master of Education Program Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a Buddy Reading Program on reading levels and attitudes towards reading. A Buddy Reading Program is a type of peertutoring strategy that can be used across various grade levels spanning from kindergarten through grade 12. As defined in this project, a Buddy Reading Program pairs older students with younger students in a language arts setting. The older students prepare a short reading lesson and tutor the younger students in hopes of improving reading success.

This study took place using a control group of one kindergarten class of 18 students …