Reading and Language Commons^™

Performing Literacy: How Women Read The World In The Late Eighteenth-Century British Novel, Amy Hodges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the intersection of sensibility, Social identity, and literacy practices among representations of women readers in four late eighteenth-century British novels. Through an analysis of the authors' use of identity constructs which shaped and were shaped by reading practices, this study documents the rise of Social identity formation as mutually constitutive with the history of reading. The first chapter reveals how Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote uses Arabella's follies as education for readers about the corresponding processes of reading their society and reading novels. The second chapter argues that Frances Burney's Evelina considers women's ability to read others …

More Than Just Nonsense Verse?: The Language Of Dr. Seuss And Children's Literacy, Nicole Hewes

Senior Scholar Papers

In this Senior Scholars project I wanted to demonstrate that Dr. Seuss books are much more than just nonsense verse. For the first part of my project, I familiarized myself with all of his texts and scrutinized his use of language in a textual analysis. By scrutinizing Geisel’s use of language and wordplay, I hoped to isolate some characteristics that make a Seuss book different from other types of stories and texts. The second part of my project was an empirical study that tested what influence reading a real Seuss text versus a fake Seuss text has on students’ performance …

Ancient Iconic Texts And Scholarly Expertise, James W. Watts

Religion - All Scholarship

This essay probes the origins of iconic textuality in the ancient Near East, informed by post-colonial perspectives on iconic texts. The surviving art and texts from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia exhibit at least four forms of iconic textuality: monumental inscriptions, portraits of scribes, displays and manipulations of ritual texts, and beliefs in heavenly texts. The spread of literacy did not displace the social prestige of scribal expertise that was established in antiquity. The every-growing number and complexity of texts accounts for the continuing cultural authority of scholarly expertise. The tension between expert and non-specialist uses of texts, however, explains scholarship’s …

Multiple Literacies, Fragmented Identities: Arab Students At American Universities, Gamil Mohammed Al-Amrani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a combination of ethnography and case study which describes the Social and cultural context of literacy acquisition among Arab students at the University of Arkansas. I examine the power relations that define this minority group in the larger Social context and describe how these relations shape, transform, and sometimes threaten their cultural identities in the classroom. The dissertation investigates the different Social and cultural factors that facilitate or obstruct their learning process, factors such as age, gender, religion, and marital status. It explains how the students' acquisition of literacy exists within a larger dynamic process of Social …

Literacy And Cultural Assimilation In Rural China: A Report From The Interior, Amanda C.R. Clark

Library Faculty Scholarship

The American Library Association has long been concerned with the promotion of literacy, particularly as it pertains to the equity and global universality of access to information. When libraries focus on the accessibility of information, literacy is understandably an initial step in the process. This essay focuses on challenges to literacy in rural China, and how technology may be improving access to information for many of the inland population.

Teacher Understandings Of Responsibilities For Reading Instruction In Stage One And Two English Courses Of Study In Western Australian Schools, Liana Strutt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of the study was to explore secondary teachers’ understandings of their responsibilities towards students who demonstrate poor literacy skills with regard to the Reading Outcome in the Western Australian English Courses of Study. As an experienced secondary English teacher, the researcher was aware that the reading demands of senior secondary classrooms were challenging for some students and that many teachers were unsure of how they should respond to the needs of the students. Since the education reforms which began in Western Australia in the late 1990s and the subsequent introduction of Courses of Study in 2006, a great …

"Good English": Literacy And Institutional Systems At A Community Literacy Organization, Charise G. Alexander

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the impact of institutions and the systems and communities of which they are a part on literacy instruction, practices, and rhetoric at a community literacy organization in Lincoln, Nebraska. A majority of students served by this organization are adult English Language Learners, many of whom receive instruction from volunteer tutors. In this unique context, a number of factors affect literacy learning, particularly the perpetuation of conservative, hegemonic discourses about literacy by the organizations which fund literacy education programming at this site.

The power dynamics at work in these granting organizations and in larger systems that control and …

Flexible Literacies, Cultural Crossings And Global Identities : Three Singaporean Adolescent Boys' Reading And Identity Practices' In A Globalized World, Chin Ee Loh

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This case examines the reading and identity practices of three highly literate adolescent boys from an elite all-boys school in Singapore, focusing on how they constructed their identities as global and local citizens through their reading practices. There have not been any studies examining the reading and identity practices of adolescent boys who have had every access to literacy, and this study contributes to much-needed research on youth literacy, identity, and globalization. The data consist of survey and interview data, classroom observations and email reading logs collected from September 2008 to September 2009.

Emerging Theoretical Models Of Reading Through Authentic Assessments Among Preservice Teachers: Two Case Studies, Eileen S. Oboler, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This two-part study examines the emerging understanding of the reading process among preservice teachers (PTs), enrolled in a teacher preparation course on diagnostic reading. The study focuses on the use of reading assessment tools to understand the process of reading, while using reading inventories for diagnostic as well as pedagogical purposes' PTs' self-reflections support a developing insight into the reading process. Through the process of inquiry and self-reflections, PTs discovered critical issues related to literacy, namely, metacognition, prior knowledge, cultural factors, instructional implications, and content area reading. These findings have implications for the teaching of reading as inquiry-based instruction, enabling …

Working For And With Latino/Latina Immigrant Newcomers In The English Language Arts Classroom, Bernadette Musetti, Spencer Salas, Theresa Perez

Faculty Articles

The article discusses how the English language arts practitioners work with the Latin immigrants who are newcomers in learning English language in middle and high school in the U.S. Accordingly, practitioners provide more instructional time to contextualized learning and literacy on first and second language and advocate them to attain a high level of literacy. Moreover, it states that the literacy development of the newcomers must be anchored in patience, flexibility and conscientiousness.

The Act Of Writing A Children's Book, Alexandra Mancini

Senior Honors Projects

Literacy is one of the most important aspects of teaching and education for young children and old in the US and across the world. There have been numerous studies indicating the profound impact that reading has, not only in academia but also in the workforce later on in life. The earlier children are exposed to literacy topics, the better success they demonstrate in the future. It is for these reasons that I selected a topic concerning literacy. The purpose of my project was multifaceted. I had purposes for young children ages 3-5. The essence of my project was to write …

Net Generation Researchers: An Inquiry Into Hypertext Reading And Research Strategies Of First-Year Composition Students, Susan Wilensky Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertext and hyperlinks are present on almost every web site or electronic document. As integral components of visual rhetoric, they are foundational to any discussion of technology and literacy. This inquiry is designed to explore first-year composition students' advances in technological literacy, specifically hypertext reading and research strategies. To accomplish this, a hypertext-reading project was designed to investigate the ways in which first-year composition students assimilate and employ hypertext information as a source from which they must extract information to use in the development of an argument. A program, designed and written specifically for this project, presented research participants, 76 …

Read To A Child And Change The World, Dorothy Famolare

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Chocolate Bunnies And Pork For Passover: The School And Home: A Symbiosis For Family Literacy, Karen C. Waters

Education Faculty Publications

This article explores the literacy partnership between school and family when intergenerational stories are made public.

The Literacy Lexicon, Susan Statkus

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Geoff Bull & Michele Anstey (eds) (2002). The Literacy Lexicon Second Edition, Prentice Hall.

Inservice Videos In Guided Reading, Writers' Workshop And Working With Words, Hester Thompson Turpin

Theses Digitization Project

This project was developed to meet the needs of teachers who have been trained in the components of balanced literacy: reading aloud, shared reading, guided writing, writers' workshop and working with words.

Parent Involvement In Family Literacy, Eloise Nobis Johnson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Learning To Read In An Experiential Cooperative Learning Centers' Classroom: Effects On Reading Comprehension, Valerie Ann Martin-Rivers

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to examine the reading program of a cooperative learning centers classroom and the theories that support the benefits of cooperative learning centers within the context of a literacy program in a first grade classroom.

The Effects Of Parent Volunteers On A Child's Literacy Growth, Francesca Marie Formolo

Theses Digitization Project

Research has shown that the more active parents are in their child's education the more likely their child is to achieve academic success. Based on these findings this research project focused on how parent volunteers influenced their child's literacy growth. It is hypothesized that as the parent spends time in the classroom they are given more opportunities to interact with other members of the classroom community. It is believed that this interaction will influence the way in which the parent works with their child and have a positive influence on their child's literacy growth.

Creative Drama As A Source For Literacy Development, B. Joanne Kirkner

Theses Digitization Project

Students achieve knowledge by different means. I find that a child allowed to learn from one's personal style finds purpose in learning and develops a desire to read. With this in mind I have designed this project to be used as a resource for teachers wanting to implement creative drama, in the classroom, as an avenue for improving reading abilities of low-progress readers.

Parent Handbook For Emerging Literacy, Darlene Lucia Johnson

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Hands-On Approach To Literature: Designing A Grade 1-3 Whole Language Literature Unit, Bonnie L. Griffith

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Relationships Among Selected Reading, Linguistic, And Piagetian Tasks, Gertrude A. Terrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships among Piagetian levels of cognitive development, linguistic skills, and reading achievement in elementary pupils. The subjects were 212 pupils in grades K-3 at a school in Sullivan County, Tennessee. The subjects were administered conservation tests of number, quantity of matter, and length and linguistic tests of syllabication, synthesis of phonemes into words, and analysis of words into phonemes by the researcher. Scores on pre-reading skills from the reading subtests of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests and scores on meaning vocabulary, reading comprehension, and word study skills from the Stanford Achievement Test …