Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

The Science Of Reading And The Use Of Decodable Texts In The Classroom, Anna Hudson

Honors Theses

This honors thesis includes a definition and explanation of the Science of Reading research, decodable texts and how they are used in the classroom, my creative process in writing my own decodable text, and a copy of my original decodable text "Can Meg Get In?"

"The Blackbird Girls": Designing A Four Week Novel Unit For Upper Elementary And Middle Grades, While Navigating Teaching In An Ever-Changing Digital World, Ashley Kallhoff

Honors Theses

As a future teacher in an increasing digital world, I wanted to create an online curriculum I could use in my future classroom, students all over the world could use, and other teachers could implement in their own classroom. Taking all of this into consideration, I have designed a digital four-week, 20-day, novel unit for upper elementary and middle grades with social studies and language arts dual focus. The novel I chose was a historical fiction young adult text titled The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman. This novel follows the story of two young girls, one that is Jewish and …

Esperanza Rising And Identity: Exploring Literature And Self In Upper Elementary School, Emma Fuller

Honors Theses

Upper elementary students benefit from exposure to windows and mirrors in literature. The term “mirrors” refers to when students can relate to characters and situations, and see their own lives valued in an academic context. Mirrors are important for representation in schools because it allows students to reflect on their own learning. “Windows” allow students to see a perspective into other people’s lives. They are important because they encourage reflection on different ideas and empathy among students. One of many literary works with strong “windows” and “mirrors” is Pam Munoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising. In this Senior Project, I focused on …

Little Girl In The Country: A Children's Book, Holly Mcginnis

Honors Theses

A Work of Children’s Literature to Address Realities of Childhood in the Southern United States

This thesis investigated the intersection of life’s realities and children’s literature. Representation is an oft-talked-about area of children’s literature. It is coming to light that many groups are underrepresented in writings for children, and recent works are attempting to broaden the types and backgrounds of characters to represent the diversity of readers and authors. This thesis is the author’s attempt to accurately represent the types of students she encountered in student teaching experiences in the Oxford-area. Using inspiration from her own childhood and knowledge of …

Creating Dynamic Spaces: Exploring Student-Empowered Self-Expression Through Art, Meghan E. Charest

Honors Theses

Research suggests that students living in rural areas may be more likely to face adversity and stress due to intersecting challenges present in their communities including poverty, substance abuse, addiction, poor health, reduced economic opportunity, and geographic isolation. I conducted an engaged scholarship project in partnership with students and staff at JES to explore ways that open-ended art activities that provide students with self-directed creative spaces can cultivate a student-centered environment built around strong relationships. This type of environment can mitigate the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences potentially affecting rural Maine students and improve a culture of emotional wellness …

Puppetry For School Children, Gennie Eldridge

Honors Theses

All puppetry is a form of play. More than most forms, quick methods seldom have utilitarian ends as far as the performer is aware. If the puppets develop from the available materials, then its practical use will quickly lead from aimless play to a more formal form. It is at this stage that dangers lurk for the beginner. It is the liberating possibilities of this medium that are so very important and not the development of a set pattern for repeated performances.

Cursive Writing, Kathy Bittle

Honors Theses

There is no generally accepted agreement concerning the exact time when cursive writing should be introduced. Ruth G. Strickland says that the second grade appears to a number of people to be too early for two reasons: (a) children still have not developed enough muscular skill to make cursive writing easy and an excessive amount of time must be spent learning it, and (b) children have just reaching the stage in which they can enjoy manuscript writing as a tool and are beginning to be better writers. Herrick says that, in general, the time necessary for making the transition decreases …

Improving Reading Skills, Patricia L. Greene

Honors Theses

This study was undertaken as an aid for improving basic reading skills through the use of the Reading Lab instructed by Mrs. L. Durkee. This was thus a developmental project in reading.

Specifically stated the purposes of this study were: (1) to increase reading rate; (2) to increase the use of words through vocabulary building; and (3) to improve reading comprehension.

The approach here is one of practicality rather than theoretical. The course of study was therefore geared from the particular deficiencies of the student to improve reading skills. This afforded flexibility on the parts of the instructor and the …