Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of The Media On Parents And Teachers In Regard To Reading Aloud To Children, Darwin Spiller

McCabe Thesis Collection

Reading aloud to children has always been a part of classroom instruction, but it has been neglected in recent years because of time constraints in the classroom due to the requirement for accountability, competency testing, and other demands on time. The media, however, point out that reading aloud to children as young as one year of age will increase vocabulary, improve listening skills, and enhance ability to comprehend. It would appear that many parents and teachers hear the message but do not take this advice seriously.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether the media has influenced the …

Parent Workshops To Build Early Literacy In Preschoolers, Andrea R. Olson

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to increase the literacy skills of preschoolers through family involvement activities. Research on the factors that contribute to early literacy and ways that parents can be involved in the literacy development of their child was examined. Two workshops were designed based on this research which suggests that the development of literacy is a gradual process which occurs long before the child enters school. Two workshops were designed to provide parents with ideas. The first was to show how to create a literacy rich environment in their home, the second, to show how parents can …

Promoting Phonological Awareness For Primary Grade Students Through Read-Aloud Book Activities: A Teacher's Guide, Mary Sue Warrington

All Graduate Projects

This project investigated phonological awareness as it relates to beginning literacy acquisition. The literature review provided a rational and guidelines for phonological awareness instruction. A manual containing a sequence of research supported activities based on read-aloud books for facilitating acquisition of phonoiogica! awareness with primary grade students was created. Many of the activities were field tested with a class of 14 kindergarten students in the last quarter of the school year.

Literacy Standards In Australia, Geoff N. Masters, Margaret Forster

Monitoring Learning

This publication reports the percentages of year 3 and year 5 students meeting clear performance standards in reading and writing based on the 1996 National School English Literacy Survey. The performance standards described and illustrated in this report are informed by work to develop 'benchmarks' in literacy and numeracy under the direction of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. Examples of survey assessment tasks and student work samples are provided to illustrate performance standards for year 3 and year 5 students.

Effective Reading Programs And Strategies For Students With Learning Disabilities, Tina Irene Baggett

All Graduate Projects

This project was designed to identify effective reading programs and strategies for students with learning disabilities. Teachers need many different instructional strategies and techniques to effectively teach the increasing number of students with learning disabilities. Appropriate interventions have been compiled to assist teachers in teaching students who have reading disabilities in grades kindergarten through third.

Learning Style Adaptations And The Effect On Sight Word Recognition Achievement Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Andrea Elizabeth Wollett

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of the study was to investigate the sight word recognition of two students with learning disabilities from a private school in Virginia, after adaptations to their learning styles had been made. The experimental design used to assess the effects of learning style adaptations on sight word recognition was a multiple probe across word groups. A combination of the Dolch and Fry Sight Word Lists determined the unmastered sight words for both subjects. The Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Inventory was used to identify the subjects' preferred learning style. The results of the study indicated that when adaptations were …

The Generation Of Predictive Inferences And The Availability Of Contextual Information, Michelle Lenore Rizzella

Doctoral Dissertations

Five experiments were conducted to determine whether readers generate predictive inferences when biasing context was available at either a local level (i.e., in short-term memory) or global level (i.e., in long-term memory). Subjects read passages that described two characters; one description contained contextual information supporting a predictive inference and the other description did not. Experiments 1 and 2 examined whether subjects generated a predictive inference when biasing context was locally available. Reading time differences in Experiment 1 demonstrated that subjects experienced comprehension difficulty when critical sentences were inconsistent with biasing context. Experiment 2 showed that subjects had generated a predictive …

Why I Write, James Boyd White

Articles

It is a great honor for me to speak to you on this occasion, celebrating the publication of such an original and important book. It is a pleasure of a different kind as well, for Lash LaRue is an old and good friend, and I welcome the chance to join with others in congratulating him.

Multiple Readings In Multiple Choice Reading Tests: A Study Of Year 11 Students' Reading Practices Of A Multiple Choice Reading Test, Rosemary Naughton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines students’ responses to the questions in a multiple choice reading test. An analysis of the processes students used to negotiate meaning revealed the roles played by cognitive strategies and cultural framing in shaping students' responses to multiple choice questions. A descriptive/analytical study methodology was conducted with a group of forty eight Year II students in the final term of the school year. These students represented four mixed sex ability groupings and a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Think-Out-Loud protocols were used in an interview situation. Students responded to thirty four questions from three passages selected from multiple choice …

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 45, No. 1, Joan Saverino, Joseph Bentivegna, Nicholas V. De Leo, Catherine Cerrone, Janet Theophano

Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine

• "Domani Ci Zappa": Italian Immigration and Ethnicity in Pennsylvania
• A Study of the San Cataldesi Who Emigrated to Dunmore, Pennsylvania
• A Look at the Early Years of Philadelphia's "Little Italy"
• "An Aura of Toughness, Too": Italian Immigration to Pittsburgh and Vicinity
• Expressions of Love, Acts of Labor: Women's Work in an Italian American Community

The Last Butskellite, John D. Ayer

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Acts of Hope: Creating Authority in Literature, Law, and Politics by James B. White

Devoted To The Word : A Formational Approach To Scripture, Edward Lee Grant

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Sign Language On Letter-Sound Recognition Of A Non-Hearing Impaired, Developmentally Delayed Student, Joanne Bear

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sign language on letter-sound recognition of a non-hearing impaired, developmentally delayed student. A single subject was probed on letter-sound recognition skills and then three letters were selected that the subject did not know. The subject was taught sign language (i.e., fingerspelling for each of the three letters and a sign for a cue word for each letter) to enhance letter recognition skills . Using a multiple probe across behaviors design, it was found that after three weeks sign language improved the subject's performance at letter recognition and naming of …

Using Read Aloud Literature To Motivate Resource Room Readers In The Seventh And Eighth Grades, Stephanie M. Cady

All Graduate Projects

This project provides a reading resource for teachers of seventh and eighth grade reading skills program students. A series of lessons were designed to accompany daily teacher oral reading from a novel selected to match students' reading interest and listening level. The lessons incorportated strategies to increase students' comprehension of readings emphasizing motivation to encourage future reading.

The Language/Literacy Connection: Aiding The Dysnomic Reader, Danette Lipten

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study examines word-finding difficulties in the oral language of children and their impact on literacy learning. It presents suggestions for remediation in both domains, but focuses primarily on aiding the dysnomic reader. Specific strategies are discussed which are applicable to the teaching of normal emergent readers and that can be particularly useful to readers experiencing retrieval problems. A brief case study is presented of a child who is affected by dysnomia, along with a description of the author's work with this child. Appendices include games and sample lessons.

Integrating Drama Into The Basal Reading Program, Belinda Jo Mccormack

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a means of integrating drama into the basal reading program. This was accomplished by adapting Silver-Burdett & Ginn and Scott Foresman basal stories into plays at the second grade level. The benefits of engaging children in drama were studied. The literature suggests that drama is a fun and effective instructional tool: it effectively develops reading comprehension and language skills in young readers; drama has proven to be an excellent teaching strategy when used to motivate and interest reluctant readers. Drama can be an excellent supplement to traditional basal reading instruction by adding …

Let Us Now Praise Famous Students: A Qualitative Study Of High School Students With Learning Disabilities, Judith Elizabeth Day

Doctoral Dissertations

This study used qualitative methodology in order to gain understanding of the school lives of high school students with learning disabilities in the areas of reading and writing. Two resource room sections of students were observed, using methods of participant observation over a year long period and four case studies of students from these sections were conducted. Classroom work of all students was studied and special education files of those chosen as case studies were reviewed. Students and school personnel involved in the education of the students were interviewed.

Research findings suggested that, despite years of intervention, high school students …

Syntactic Awareness And Reading Development: A Training Study With Young Children, Barbara E. Milner

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A number of previous research studies have examined the relationship between syntactic awareness and reading, but few training studies have been reported. In the present study, a 1 a-week training study employing an experimental design, was conducted with 34 Year 1 and 38 Year 2 children to determine whether training in syntactic awareness increased levels of syntactic awareness and reading performance. Prior to the commencement of training, all children were pretested in syntactic awareness as measured by an oral correction task, and in reading. On the basis of these tests, matched pairs of subjects were assigned to experimental and control …

The Reading And Writing Connection: A Writer's Workshop Guide For Second Grade, Monica Louise Donovan

All Graduate Projects

The primary purpose of this project was to develop a writers' workshop curriculum guide for the second grade. The relationship between reading and writing was studied. Data was presented to support the reading and writing connection. By integrating reading and writing through the use of a directed guide, an effective educational curriculum for a writing workshop was developed. The research and results from writing samples received showed support that an integrated reading and writing program is advantageous. Implications for using a writers' workshop format are discussed.

Let's Decode: Inservice Manual, P. J. Formentin

Research outputs pre 2011

This manual contains inservice material that was prepared for a research project that came to be known as Let's Decode. My motive for publishing the material in this form is to make it available to other teachers who may wish to apply the same principles and procedures in their own classrooms. Typically, they will be teachers who are concerned about children experiencing difficulty learning to read, and teachers responsible for students with special education needs. I am confident that regular classroom teachers will also find the material valuable for all children in the early stages of learning to read. My …

Is Anaphoric Resolution Instruction More Effective Than Existing Instruction At Improving The Reading Comprehension Achievement Of Secondary Students With Poor Reading Comprehension?, Christian Busing

Theses : Honours

This study examined the effect of teaching anaphoric resolution skills on the reading comprehension of Year 10 students with poor reading comprehension. Two direct teaching programmes, an anaphoric resolution programme (A.R.Programme) and a reading comprehension skills programme based on the Unit curriculum objectives of the Ministry of Education of Western Australia (U.C. Programme), were developed and taught to two groups of eleven Year 10 poor reading comprehenders. The two groups were pretested and posttested for anaphoric resolution skill and reading comprehension achievement, and the increases in mean scores were compared for significant differences using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The Anova …

A Sixth-Grade Literature Discourse Community: Making Social Meaning With Illustrated Literature During Interactive Reading Events., Elizabeth Lee Willis

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The study focused on six at-risk students enrolled in the sixth grade at a large urban Southern middle school. These students, along with their classroom teacher, participated in two interactive reading events using illustrated trade books. The purpose of the study was to examine how these students used the pictures and text to create meaning for the stories. The two illustrated selections differed in story complexity, amount of world knowledge required for interpretation, and relationship of pictures to text (i.e., a close relationship indicated both picture and text communicated similar information, while a distanced relationship indicated one source provided story …

The Effect Of Reading And Discussing Literature With Strong Women Characters On Sixth Grade Students’ Sex Stereotype And Occupational Attitudes, Leslie Caspi Edd

Dissertations

There is considerable evidence that children develop stereotyped attitudes early in life and that these attitudes affect their futures. Many researchers agree that children's attitudes can be influenced by what they read and some studies have shown that attitudes can be changed by exposure to selected literature. This study focused on a group of sixth grade children reading selected short stories and novels with female main characters. Literature discussion groups and written journals were used to facilitate response. The clays was racially and socioeconomically mixed as a result of busing through the Voluntary Ethnic Enrollment and Magnet Programs. The class …

The Effects Of Different Methods Of Cloze Test Construction And Their Relationship With A Standardised Reading Comprehension Test, Trevor Michael Edward Forde

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to classroom teachers for the construction of valid and reliable cloze comprehension tests. Review of the related literature suggested there are many diverse and contradictary opinions as to the most appropriate method of constructing cloze tests. The subjects were 49 Year 5 primary school children from two metropolitan schools. Three different comprehension tests were administered. The Gap Reading Comprehension Test and two Cloze Comprehension Tests consisting of 50 and 100 word deletions, in which the deletions began at either the fifth or sixth word of the second sentence. The Cloze Tests …

The Benefits Of Reading Aloud To Children, Lori Ann Prince

All Graduate Projects

The benefits of reading aloud to children are studied. Observations indicate that the more young children are read to, the more they are motivated to become readers themselves. When young children are participating in the dialogue of a story that is being read aloud, their interest in that story increases dramatically. Using a variety of children's literature is an excellent supplement to the first grade curriculum and language activity lessons. Recommendations from the conclusions are presented.

Monthly Parent Involvement Reading Packet, Beverly J. Severtsen-Meeks

All Graduate Projects

The importance of parent involvement in reading with their child at home was studied. A review of literature was done on this topic. Many researchers strongly supported the importance of parents reading with their child and many suggestion were given. The author put together nine monthly parent involvement reading packets (September-May) and implemented them in a self-contained first grade classroom. The parents spent quality time, each month, completing the packet with their child.

Parental Involvement: Using Workshops To Promote Beginning Reading, Dana Krieger Clauson

All Graduate Projects

Four workshops are designed to help parents of young children facilitate beginning reading. These workshops focus on techniques for reading aloud, using predictable materials, using environmental print, and constructing games. The workshops are aimed at parents of kindergarten children. The project includes research which provides a definition, rationale, and practical application of each topic, specific workshop designs, parent handouts, and teacher materials. Implications of the benefits of parent education and recommendations for future workshops are discussed.

Activities For Teaching Letter Identification, A. Kristin Seibel

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to compile and design research based letter identification activities. Emphasis was placed on the highly confusable letters "b-d", "p-q", and "n-u". The activities were for use in the first grade curriculum. Learning objectives were stated for each activity. The activities, utilizing a variety of materials, were chosen and designed for hands-on application. Needed materials were listed, directions and patterns for construction were included, directions for use were provided, and classroom management was suggested. Use of the activities was divided into three parts: whole group introduction, guided practice, and small group activities.

Does Our Complex Writing Lower Test Scores On Mathematics Word Problems?, William (Bill) H. Williams, Sandra P. Clarkson

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we describe one of a series of studies at Hunter College to determine whether students' reading proficiency affects their performance on mathematics "word" problems. Based on this study, we reached some specific conclusions:

1. Reading ability is a separate, quantifiable factor which impacts the performance of all students on mathematics word problems.

2. Less complex writing leads to better results on word problems for all students.

3. Less complex writing leads to even more improvement in test results for “weaker” readers [those needing reading remediation] than for “average” readers [those exempting reading remediation].

Critical Thinking In Reading: A Whole Language Approach, Deborah Anne Adkins

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

The importance of good instruction in reading education has long been recognized. What constitutes good instruction and what materials should be used have been the focus of much debate, however, over the years. Two relatively new movements in education have recently added fuel to that debate, namely the movements in critical thinking and whole language. The fundamental purpose of the thinking skills movement is the development of higher level thinking in students. In the area of reading this means that students should be challenged by questions and problems in literature which cause them to go beyond a literal understanding. They …