Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Analyzing Phonics Curriculum For Early Learning, Candice Schultz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Debate surrounding the use of phonics instruction within the classroom to improve reading in young children continues across the country. Some may say that the reading curriculum used covers the core parts of phonics allowing children to learn essential skills within their reading lessons. Others may argue that though this may be true, children need additional work with phonics to further develop their reading skills. The state of Minnesota has introduced the READ Act which indicates the need for research-based reading curriculums providing instruction that is rich in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading fluency, and reading comprehension (MDE). Research …

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

The Impact Of Small-Group Multisensory Instructional Techniques On Kindergarteners’ Letter Sound Knowledge, Karly Walker

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was driven by the researcher’s interest in multisensory instructional techniques and the effect it can have on kindergarten students’ letter sound knowledge to aid in strengthening pre-reading skills. The researcher compared results of a control (traditional learning) group versus a treatment (multisensory learning) group of eight at-risk students while monitoring progress weekly using FastBridge earlyReading letter sound subtest. The research was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of multisensory instruction within small group learning. The researcher used a four-way factorial design test to analyze the control and the treatment group’s pre- and post-test scores in letter sound fluency. …

Major Components Needed In A Literacy Curriculum To Promote Student Success, Brooke Smith

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This school improvement plan focuses on what components are beneficial in a literacy curriculum to promote success in students' reading skills and improve FAST Test scores. Research has found phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, writing, and science of reading concepts should be included in a literacy curriculum to be effective. These components will help find a new literacy curriculum for a school district. In all success, an effective literacy curriculum will be found with creating a system to look through to find an effective literacy curriculum, piloting, and analyzing data. The objective in the end is to discover a …

Developing Teacher Knowledge Of The Science Of Reading: Phonemic Awareness & Phonics, Megan Erin Dziedzic

Culminating Experience Projects

In 2000 the National Reading Panel addressed the low reading proficiency of students in the United States with a report detailing the result of many meta-analysis studies regarding five key areas of literacy: literacy, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000). Through compiling research regarding literacy teaching practices, the panel concluded that to improve literacy scores, we need to focus on research-based, systematic, and explicit instruction, especially in the foundational years of lower elementary (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000). The science of reading is a broad heading that incorporates neuroscience research …

A Comparison Of Guided Reading And Systematic Phonics Approaches To Supplementary Reading Instruction, Madeline R. Berkowitz

Doctoral Dissertations

Early mastery of reading fundamentals is essential. However currently there is a debate on the best way to teach reading. Across the US schools are choosing to use varying forms or reading curricula aligned with different pedagogies. However, not all curricula are based in empiral science. This study compares two approaches to supplementary reading instruction: guided reading and explicit phonics. A randomized controlled design was used, and first grade students were assigned to receive either explicit phonics or guided reading intervention three days per week for approximately thirty minutes each lesson. Reading fluency and a broad reading measure served as …

Effects Of Play-Based Learning On Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Skills, Kristen Heidecker

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of play-based learning on phonemic awareness and phonics skills in kindergarten. This study aimed to determine whether or not play-based learning materials such as letter tiles, cards, timers, and literacy-based games were an effective way for kindergarten students to acquire skills such as segmenting, letter sounds, and sight word recognition. A pre-assessment was given using FastBridge to determine which skills the students were working towards mastering. Play-based learning materials were then offered to small groups of students during our regular literacy time, and data was collected using FastBridge after two …

Teaching Children To Decode Words: Connected Versus Segmented Phonation, Selenid M. Gonzalez-Frey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two methods of decoding instruction were compared. Kindergartners who could not decode nonwords participated in the study, N = 38, M = 5.6 years. Segmented phonation, frequently used in synthetic phonics programs, taught students to convert graphemes to phonemes by breaking the speech stream (“sss – aaa – nnn”) before blending. Connected phonation taught students to pronounce phonemes without breaking the speech stream (“sssaaannn”) before blending. Kindergartners were matched and randomly assigned to the two conditions. Both groups were taught to decode the same set of CVC nonwords consisting of continuant consonants and vowels that could be stretched and connected …

Beginning Reading: A Comparative Study Of Beginning Reading Phonics Programs, Michelle Lee Beishline

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

There is a gap in our understanding of effective early reading instructional approaches, particularly regarding identifying which specific core systematic phonics reading programs provide longer-lasting impact on literacy achievement. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to examine the effects of two distinct pre-kindergarten phonics programs, a linguistic phonics program and a basal phonics program, on short and long-term literacy outcomes. The overarching question addressed in this study was whether the type of literacy instruction in pre-kindergarten predicts outcomes in kindergarten and grade 3 and to what extent, if any, these relationships are moderated by demographic variables. More specifically, …

Parent And Teacher Perceptions About What Leads To Mastery In Reading At Classical Charter Schools In Texas, Brittany Kretz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Throughout the United States and in the State of Texas there are high percentages of students who are not reading at grade level. This study looked at the activities done at home by families of students who scored above grade level on the Third Grade Reading STAAR from classical charter schools. In this quantitative study, a survey was given to the parents of fourth-grade students and the teachers of elementary students. The families used in the study were from classical charter schools located in Texas. The literature review discusses the curriculum used in classical schools and how reading is taught. …

Phonics Preparation In Teacher Education Programs, Rosalyn Mccoy

The Kabod

Phonics is the basis upon which the English-speaking world learns to read. Students learn phonics in early elementary school to learn to read; therefore, teachers need to have a working knowledge of phonics with which to instruct their students. However, a report by the United States Department of Education found that few preservice teachers were competent in phonics. Liberty University, which teaches phonics as part of its teacher education program, has conducted a study on the level of knowledge demonstrated by the preservice teachers upon completion of the phonics course. The Liberty University students’ scores compared favorably with the national …

Probing The Enactment Of Reading Miscues: A Study Examining Reading Fluency, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

Subsequent to the National Reading Panel’s (2000) report, more researchers have been examining the role that reading fluency plays in the development of a child’s reading skills. This study investigated the efficacy of the National Reading Panel’s research claim that a child learns reading fluency skills mainly through phonics and decoding instruction. Using a methodology to track the source of reading miscues, this paper demonstrates that a student’s cultural and semantic knowledge of text vitally influences the development of reading fluency skills. Specifically, the findings suggest that a child culturally enacts reading fluency both through graphophonic and semantic knowledge of …

Employing Cueing Systems To Decode Text And Negotiate Text-Meaning In A Second Language, Timothy A. Rodriquez, Laureen Fregeau, Mary Kay Moskal, Robert Leier

Many educators state that teaching English-Language Learners (ELLs) is just a matter of good teaching. While effective teaching is something that all children deserve, there are some differences between the approach a teacher may have to take with ELLs and with other students. One aspect of this difference is the fact that, while children go through the same stages of language development, ELLs may be at stages typically not found in other students. Based on a case study of an EL and his teacher, this article explains cueing systems and their role in literacy for ELs.

Primary Teachers' Knowledge And Knowledge Calibration Of Early Literacy Practices, Tami Al-Hazza, Charlene Fleener, Jane Hager

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This research design was based on the knowledge calibration work by Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, and Stanovich (2004). One hundred and forty-one full time teachers participated in a four day professional development workshop on research-based reading instruction. Participants were administered a three-part survey comprised of 1) demographic information 2) knowledge calibration items measuring perceived understanding of phonics, phonological awareness, and syllabication and 3) phonics pretest published in Self-Paced Phonics: A Text for Educators (2005). There were statistically significant differences between participants who rated their knowledge as high and those who rated their knowledge as low on the phonological and phonics items. …

Self-Help Activity Exercises For Developing Independence In Reading, Ole Mcdowell

Graduate Student Research Papers

These activity exercises are based upon the premise that many elementary teachers are plagued with considerable confusion and insecurity in the area of teaching phonics. They persistently state that one of their greatest instructional needs is to understand phonics, and to know how to use phonics.