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Technology Based Interventions Impact On Phonemic Awareness Growth, Je'naya D. Brown
Technology Based Interventions Impact On Phonemic Awareness Growth, Je'naya D. Brown
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question that was addressed in this project was What impact do technological based interventions have on student’s phonemic awareness growth? It followed the author’s desire to discover a supplemental online literacy tool that would be beneficial to their kindergarten students and help them progress through the early stages of reading. According to Saine (2012), when students are exposed to digital literary activities, they do not see the activities as school work, but as new and exciting tools for learning. The author looked at two online literacy tools and created a tool for teacher use that focused on components …
Using Diverse Literature Along With Critical Literacy Strategies To Support Diversity And Equity In Spanish Immersion Classroom, Claudia Milena Noguera Yara
Using Diverse Literature Along With Critical Literacy Strategies To Support Diversity And Equity In Spanish Immersion Classroom, Claudia Milena Noguera Yara
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
In the capstone project, the following research question was addressed: How can diverse literature be used along with critical literacy strategies to support diversity and equity in Spanish immersion classrooms? The purpose of this capstone is to support teachers from K-6 when incorporating diverse literature books in their curriculum and how the use of critical literacy strategies can benefit students when analyzing topics using a critical lens. The use of critical literacy strategies allow students to have a multiple perspective of topics or aspects related to other cultures that will connect them with their own cultures and their identity will …
A Family Approach To Family Literacy With Latino Parents, Jessica L. Davies-Lopez
A Family Approach To Family Literacy With Latino Parents, Jessica L. Davies-Lopez
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project is, How can Latino parent involvement and direct teaching of literacy skills help to improve their child’s reading skills? Over the years, research has demonstrated the importance of parent involvement in the success of students’ achievement. Furthermore, Latino parent involvement has demonstrated benefits that far exceed expectations. When families and schools work together utilizing different Family Literacy programs, students and families succeed. This Capstone reviewed different literature to help understand Latino family involvement, in addition to reviewing different family literacy programs to help answer the research question. The Capstone also included a project …
Incorporating Multicultural Literature Into The Upper Elementary Language Arts Classroom, Elizabeth M. Burgos
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
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
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 …
Using A Fun And Frugal Approach For Teaching 21st Century Digital Literacy Skills To Teachers, Rochelle Lockridge
Using A Fun And Frugal Approach For Teaching 21st Century Digital Literacy Skills To Teachers, Rochelle Lockridge
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
With the high-value placed on digital learning and the consequential need for accompanying 21st-century digital literacy skills, effective teacher professional development is crucial. Surveys report that K-12 teachers are largely dissatisfied with their current training options. They prefer collaborative learning experiences that are energizing, supportive, and hands-on; focusing less on presentations and lectures and more on opportunities to apply learning through demonstrations, modeling, and practice. An underfunded public education system combined with a perceived “tech bloat”, the juggling of too many digital tools, exacerbate training and support issues. The 10-week professional development curriculum designed for this project facilitates the development …
Literacy Strategies For Secondary Social Studies Classrooms Website, Rachael Shaner
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
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 …
Teaching Multicultural Texts At The Secondary Level, Benjamin Tully
Teaching Multicultural Texts At The Secondary Level, Benjamin Tully
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project answers the question: What are the best practices for selecting and teaching multicultural literature in secondary schools in order to represent and build empathy for students from traditionally marginalized populations? The focus is two-fold as multicultural literature offers benefits to students in several forms. The research behind the project reviewed the literary canon that is traditionally taught, who holds curricular decision making power, the impacts and best practices for teaching multicultural literature, as well as strategies for building empathy via multicultural literature. The project is designed to serve as a consolidated resource for secondary English teachers who are …
Ipad Initiatives In The Elementary Classroom Enhancing Literacy Instruction, Vanessa Forsman
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 …
Do Believe The Hype: Teaching Literacy To Urban Students In A Secondary Social Studies Classroom With Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Jeffrey Engelen
Do Believe The Hype: Teaching Literacy To Urban Students In A Secondary Social Studies Classroom With Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Jeffrey Engelen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Statistics indicate that urban students often underperform in testing for literacy competency and educators have argued that literacy is crucial to narrowing the achievement gap. This project was guided by the research question: What is a more effective approach for delivering literacy strategies and content instruction to urban students in a secondary social studies classroom? Research has shown that the more effective teachers of urban students build positive classroom environments based on restorative behavioral practices, asset perspectives and strong relationships. To answer the guiding question, three areas of focus drove the research: literacy comprehension, culturally relevant pedagogy and authentic social …
Integration Of Social Studies And/Or Science Within Your Literacy Workshop Model: A Professional Development Presentation, Karry Helgestad
Integration Of Social Studies And/Or Science Within Your Literacy Workshop Model: A Professional Development Presentation, Karry Helgestad
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question examined for this capstone was “How does the integration of science and/or social studies standards with language arts standards impact the reading comprehension of upper elementary students? Topics explored in the literature review were different models of integration, such as CORI - Concept of Oriented Reading Instruction; Science IDEAs - In-Depth Expanded Application of Science; Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences; and project-based learning. Additional literature was examined on how background knowledge and vocabulary impact reading comprehension. A teacher professional development workshop was developed as the project to educate teachers about the benefits of integrated instruction. …
Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton
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 …
Improving Language Skills Through Digital Storytelling For Primary Students, Stefanie Topinka
Improving Language Skills Through Digital Storytelling For Primary Students, Stefanie Topinka
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question addressed in this project is how can we improve language skills through digital storytelling for primary students? The main idea of this capstone is to address the changes that are occurring in classrooms today and how students can gain confidence in the reading and writing process. Throughout this project capstone, there are multiple examples of how young children can benefit from extending literacy elements through the process of digital storytelling using technology tools. The research for this capstone is based on early childhood psychology and aspects of how incorporating digital storytelling into the classroom can benefit children …
Strategies To Enhance The Positive Effects Of Bilingualism, Danielle Mcmillan
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 …
What Advantages Can Be Leveraged By Offering A Spanish For Heritage Learners Class As An Elective To Spanish Speaking Long-Term English Language Learners In Middle School?, Claire Milne
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
There is increasing evidence of academic underachievement in school-age Spanish speaking emerging bilingual students - the largest second language speaking group in the USA. Research in the field of heritage language learning has been ongoing since the 1970s. Most research has been concentrated at the elementary school level. This capstone seeks to answer the question of what advantages can be leveraged by offering a Spanish for Heritage Learners class as an elective to Spanish speaking long-term English language learners in middle school. Research is reviewed on themes of long-term English language learners, bilingual literacy, academic self concept and cultural identity. …
Black Males And The Literacy Gap: How Can Professional Development Help Support Literacy Development Of Elementary Black Males In A Western Suburban School District?, Keenan Jones
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question addressed in this project was how can professional development help support literacy development of elementary Black males in a western suburban school district? This project was intended to provide going professional development for educators addressing the Black male literacy gap. The achievement gap amongst Black and White students has been well documented by many in the world of education. Data also shows that there is a gap between Black male and White male students in our American classrooms. Four-two hour sessions were created for this professional development.The first session is to explain what the literacy gap is, …
Personalized Core Vocabulary Books In A Federal Four Special Education School, Carley Hoffman
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 …
Greek Mythology Vocabulary Building, Samantha Levinson
Greek Mythology Vocabulary Building, Samantha Levinson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question addressed in this Capstone is: How will the use of task-based vocabulary activities to support literacy development affect the vocabulary acquisition of elementary Korean English language learners? It documents one teacher’s curriculum development of two units that offer a new perspective to ELL vocabulary acquisition by building vocabulary using morphological training then access and build on background knowledge through practical applications which lead to higher comprehension. This project explores a) the role that task-based curriculum plays on literacy development focused on the development activities that supports the vocabulary development of elementary Korean English language learners using Greek …
How To Make A Read-Aloud Engaging To Students In A Multi-Age Setting, Katie Cates
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 …
Utilizing Culturally Relevant, Multimodal Text Sets In Older Adolescent And Adult Learner Classrooms, Tamara Twiggs
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 …
Creating A Love For Writing, Mary Kornmann
Creating A Love For Writing, Mary Kornmann
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can primary teachers intrinsically motivate their reluctant writers through narrative writing? It documents how teachers can encourage their struggling writers to write narrative stories. The literature found was focused on motivation strategies, how to identify and teach struggling writers, and effective writing strategies. During the research, there was the idea of interactive writing and how seeing the writing being done by the teacher, before the students try is effective. The research has shown that young writers need scaffolding and modeling to effectively learn how to write different genres. The project is …
A Necessity For Social And Emotional Learning In Kindergarten The Teaching Of Self-Regulation Through Literacy, Kirsten M. Pinkerton
A Necessity For Social And Emotional Learning In Kindergarten The Teaching Of Self-Regulation Through Literacy, Kirsten M. Pinkerton
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this capstone project was: How can kindergarten teachers begin the year using a text set to teach the social and emotional learning skill of self-regulation? This capstone project was identified through the author’s experience observing many kindergarten students struggling to positively interact with their peers due to ill-developed social and emotional skills. The Self-regulation Text Set Unit lesson plans designed for this capstone project incorporate the teaching of social and emotional learning skills through literacy instruction. This project developed a text set unit with 13 lesson plans and accompanying texts to be used by kindergarten …
Creating Intrinsic Motivation To Read In Middle School Students, Steven Jeffery Schaeppi, Jr.
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 …
Using Reading Fluency Assessment To Target Intervention In The Middle-Level Mainstream Ela Class, Ashley Gaschk
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 …
Using Novels In The Science Classroom To Increase Literacy In Middle School Students, Elizabeth Mae Das
Using Novels In The Science Classroom To Increase Literacy In Middle School Students, Elizabeth Mae Das
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Literacy in science is an important aspect of a student’s education. However, it is often not explicitly taught by teachers. The material chosen for reading is typically from a textbook, boring, and difficult to comprehend for most students due to the large number of low occurrence vocabulary words and sentence complexity. This is especially true of ELL students who are still developing their general vocabulary. This project was chosen after working in a school with a student population of over 90% ELL students who are mostly below grade level in reading. The research question for this project was how does …
Utilizing Text Sets To Teach Critical Literacy: Bringing Literacy Into The Social Studies Middle School Classroom, Brenna C. Balkus
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
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 …
Effectively Teaching Metacognitive Strategies Across Content Areas To Enhance Comprehension, Jessica F. Johnson
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 …