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Full-Text Articles in Education

Incorporating Multicultural Literature Into The Upper Elementary Language Arts Classroom, Elizabeth M. Burgos Oct 2019

Incorporating Multicultural Literature Into The Upper Elementary Language Arts Classroom, Elizabeth M. Burgos

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Read-aloud is a strategy that is used in many fifth-grade language arts classrooms, although more often than not it is used to fill time and the only expectation of students is to listen passively. Therefore, the research question addressed in this capstone focused on how to make read-aloud in language arts engaging to students in a fifth-grade classroom. Components and best practices to create an effective read-aloud were explored so that students can participate more actively through different responses during read-aloud. A complete read-aloud guide including sixteen lessons to lead a class through the book The War That Saved My …


Culturally Responsive Curriculum And Literature For Primary Grade English Learners, Katherine Behrend Oct 2019

Culturally Responsive Curriculum And Literature For Primary Grade English Learners, Katherine Behrend

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning is being implemented in many school districts to better meet the needs of all students. Using culturally authentic literature is equally important. Research demonstrates the need for culturally authentic texts so students can see themselves mirrored and see windows to other cultures during school. English learners (ELs) benefit from seeing their culture in the texts they are exposed to as well as culturally responsive learning strategies, or protocols. According to the CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2019), non-majority ethnicities represent a small percentage of all children’s literature …


Middle Level Literacy: Individual Skills Screener And Plan For Response To Student Data, Emily Margaret Olson Oct 2019

Middle Level Literacy: Individual Skills Screener And Plan For Response To Student Data, Emily Margaret Olson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The guiding question addressed in this project is “What is the most effective way to identify areas of need for struggling middle school readers and how can teachers intentionally target those areas of need once identified?”. Research into key literacy skills, effective literacy skill screeners, and intervention resources are presented in this project. This ultimately culminates in the presentation of a literacy skill screener complete with guide book and recommendations of methods for responding to student data based on the results of the literacy screener. This literacy screener can be easily used by classroom teachers, literacy coaches, and reading interventionists …


Literacy Strategies For Secondary Social Studies Classrooms Website, Rachael Shaner Jul 2019

Literacy Strategies For Secondary Social Studies Classrooms Website, Rachael Shaner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Multiple experts agree that using literacy in secondary classrooms can be a gateway in multiple content areas (Alvermann, Phelps, & Ridgeway, 2007; Kottler & Gallavan, 2008; Schneider, 1994) and this project is focused on integrating different literacy strategies into secondary social studies classrooms. The website project is focused on three main categories of literacy: Reading (pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading), Writing (formal and informal), and Speaking and Listening (discussions and debating). The website is designed with over 25 literacy strategies, each of which has its own web page with a detailed explanation of how to integrate and use the strategy …


A Montessori Reading Intervention For Nonliterate First Grade Children, Benjamin Dorer Jul 2019

A Montessori Reading Intervention For Nonliterate First Grade Children, Benjamin Dorer

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone paper seeks to address the question, How could traditional literacy interventions be integrated into an authentic Montessori classroom in order to help public Montessori teachers address the specific needs of nonliterate first grade students? The literature review explores the topics of authentic Montessori, Montessori literacy curriculum, traditional reading interventions, school readiness and teacher challenges. The researcher was influenced by the works of M. Montessori, C. Anderson, R. Ungerer, National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), and B. Goldsbrough. The researcher produced a project to address the specific needs of nonliterate first grade children in Montessori classrooms. The project created for …


Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton Jul 2019

Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question covered in this project was: how will a Trained Home Literacy Program provided with a curriculum, implemented in a child’s home, help improve literacy skills for students pre-kindergarten through first grade? The research indicated a need for more literacy intervention in the home setting. This project addresses this need through a fifteen week literacy curriculum written for parents, to be implemented in the home literacy environment. The curriculum consisted of a series of literacy based activities, designed to help parents support their children’s literacy development at home. The researcher used the Understanding by Design model when developing …


Ipad Initiatives In The Elementary Classroom Enhancing Literacy Instruction, Vanessa Forsman Jul 2019

Ipad Initiatives In The Elementary Classroom Enhancing Literacy Instruction, Vanessa Forsman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project answers the question: How can the use of iPads in the elementary classroom enhance literacy instruction? The paper reviews how to best implement technology, motivation for using it and how technology has evolved. Research has demonstrated that a balance of technology and traditional print has the greatest benefits for students. These resources show how and why technology can be used to guide, differentiate and enhance student learning. The framework of the website was created for teachers to explore all areas of literacy with ideas, lessons and information on how to include technology. The website will be most beneficial …


Strategies To Enhance The Positive Effects Of Bilingualism, Danielle Mcmillan Jul 2019

Strategies To Enhance The Positive Effects Of Bilingualism, Danielle Mcmillan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Supporting bilingual students is critical not only for the bilingual students but also for monolingual students. Prominent bilingualism in the classroom can translate to higher test scores, increased engagement, and long-term impacts on brain agility. This capstone project seeks to answer the question: What strategies are available to educators to enhance the positive effects of bilingualism in their students? The final result of this project is a website which includes a series of strategies focused on the four domains of language which seeks to meet the educational needs of both bilingual and mainstream students. The website includes a description of …


Can You Repeat That, Please? Using Repeated Reading With Low-Intermediate Adult English Language Learners, Jennifer Siegfried Apr 2019

Can You Repeat That, Please? Using Repeated Reading With Low-Intermediate Adult English Language Learners, Jennifer Siegfried

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Reading fluency is an important component of reading comprehension. Elements of oral reading fluency include reading rate, accuracy, prosody, and comprehension. The technique of repeated reading has been shown to increase the oral reading fluency of both K-12 and adult L1 readers, and it may help improve learners’ attitudes toward reading. This study explored the potential benefits for adult English learners. Assisted repeated reading, using a model oral reading, was implemented with low-intermediate adult English learners from a variety of L1 and educational backgrounds (n=8). Participants practiced a repeated reading technique during eight treatment sessions over the course of four …


Personalized Core Vocabulary Books In A Federal Four Special Education School, Carley Hoffman Apr 2019

Personalized Core Vocabulary Books In A Federal Four Special Education School, Carley Hoffman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The world of special education has progressed through leaps and bounds over the past 25 or more years. Students who were previously underserved or not served at all are being fully included within the educational environment. Through teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities, the author determined that an area of special education that was lacking adequate supports was communication, specifically supports that included the use of alternative and augmentative communication. The area of core vocabulary is part of the best practice systems when supporting students who are non-verbal or are early communicators. Though this strategy was considered by many …


Creating Intrinsic Motivation To Read In Middle School Students, Steven Jeffery Schaeppi, Jr. Apr 2019

Creating Intrinsic Motivation To Read In Middle School Students, Steven Jeffery Schaeppi, Jr.

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that there is a decline in intrinsic motivation to read as students transition from elementary school to secondary school. As students make this transition their reasons for reading change from enjoyment-based to academic. This leads to the question: What are effective strategies for building middle school students’ intrinsic desire to read? Based on Wiggins and McTighe’s (2011) The Understanding by Design - Module: D, the curriculum designed in this project is focused on returning the reason for reading to enjoyment so middle school students can once again become intrinsically motivated to read, and to also realize the …


How To Make A Read-Aloud Engaging To Students In A Multi-Age Setting, Katie Cates Apr 2019

How To Make A Read-Aloud Engaging To Students In A Multi-Age Setting, Katie Cates

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Children’s literature as a read-aloud is a purposeful way for children to engage with books. This capstone explores the question: How can teachers make read-alouds engaging to students in a multi-age setting? While the story is being read, students actively listen and visualize the story by using their imagination. Teachers also ask a wide variety of questions to allow students to share their prior knowledge, ask questions, and support each others’ learning. By listening to and discussing multiple perspectives, students are able to critically think about the text. Engagement in this way can also help students better connect on an …


Using Reading Fluency Assessment To Target Intervention In The Middle-Level Mainstream Ela Class, Ashley Gaschk Apr 2019

Using Reading Fluency Assessment To Target Intervention In The Middle-Level Mainstream Ela Class, Ashley Gaschk

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Secondary English language arts teachers are often responsible for teaching reading, writing, and language standards in a single class hour. Although the goal is to have all students reading at grade level, all too often that is not the case. Many secondary teachers are not trained to identify or provide the best interventions to help their struggling readers, many of whom are several grade levels behind in reading achievement. The capstone reviews the literature to answer the research question, How can middle-level English Language Arts teachers use reading fluency assessment to better know their students and target reading interventions in …


Utilizing Culturally Relevant, Multimodal Text Sets In Older Adolescent And Adult Learner Classrooms, Tamara Twiggs Apr 2019

Utilizing Culturally Relevant, Multimodal Text Sets In Older Adolescent And Adult Learner Classrooms, Tamara Twiggs

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

There are negative consequences for older adolescents and adults who lack a high school diploma. Statistically, in families with low literacy rates, there is a direct correlation to poverty rates, incarceration, and a negative impact on the children of those without a high school credential. Building a classroom curriculum utilizing culturally responsive, multimodal, thematic text sets, incorporating Critical Literacy via a social justice lens, and integrating an inquiry-based learning model increases learner engagement and motivation in the classroom, leading to the likelihood that students will achieve their high school credential. Since much of Andragogy theory is highly applicable to both …


Utilizing Text Sets To Teach Critical Literacy: Bringing Literacy Into The Social Studies Middle School Classroom, Brenna C. Balkus Apr 2019

Utilizing Text Sets To Teach Critical Literacy: Bringing Literacy Into The Social Studies Middle School Classroom, Brenna C. Balkus

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone project was: How can text sets be used in a middle school social studies classroom to teach critical literacy? This capstone project is based on the premise that integrating critical literacy strategies through the use of text sets is one way to address the lack of reading strategies being taught in social studies classrooms. The Immigration Text Set designed for this project focused on the Minnesota State Sixth Grade Social Studies Standards while highlighting the critical literacy strategies of problem posing, alternative perspectives, and seeing beyond the bias. This project developed an electronic …


Student-Led Book Clubs Support Reading Engagement In Primary Grades, Cassie Torbenson Apr 2019

Student-Led Book Clubs Support Reading Engagement In Primary Grades, Cassie Torbenson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Torbenson, C. Student-Led Book Clubs Support Reading Engagement in Primary Grades This Capstone project was created to support primary grade teachers in learning about student-led book clubs as a format of literacy instruction. The author set out to answer the question: how can student-led book clubs support the development of reading engagement in primary grades? As an elementary teacher responsible for creating an engaging classroom, the author feels strongly that when students are able to make meaningful connections from school work to real life, learning is more authentic and therefore supports students in building skills for lifelong learning. One intriguing …


The Impact Of Critical Reading Strategies On Reading Comprehension Among Middle School Students, Jolynn E. Mcalpine Apr 2019

The Impact Of Critical Reading Strategies On Reading Comprehension Among Middle School Students, Jolynn E. Mcalpine

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated that there is a positive correlation between the use of critical reading strategies and reading comprehension in students. This capstone project was created as a resource for educators to increase the number of critical reading strategies that are used in the classroom to essentially increase reading comprehension among students. The research question addressed in the project was, How can using a variety of critical reading strategies and increasing the frequency of their use impact reading comprehension among middle school students? Reading is the basis for many components of learning and positively contributes to academic success. The literature …


Effectively Teaching Metacognitive Strategies Across Content Areas To Enhance Comprehension, Jessica F. Johnson Apr 2019

Effectively Teaching Metacognitive Strategies Across Content Areas To Enhance Comprehension, Jessica F. Johnson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question answered in this project is: “Does the use of metacognitive strategies contribute to increased reading comprehension?” Although often comprehension strategies are the focus of reading instruction, there is an ongoing need, based on research, to explicitly teach and model metacognitive strategies in the classroom setting, leading to independent student use. The benefits of teaching metacognition across grade levels, specific strategies and teaching structures to use, as well as cross­curricular connections and integration are included in this project. The Metacognitive Teaching Framework (MTF) (Kelley & Clausen­Grace, 2007) serves as a basis for the interdisciplinary six­week curriculum unit, which …