Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Departing From Tradition: Innovation And Accountability In Two Primary Schools In Denmark And The Usa, Pamela Evanshen, Charlotte Ringsmose

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Symbolic Play As A Component Of The Early Childhood Curriculum, Sheila Reed

Essays in Education

Educational research has linked the quality of early childhood education programs to a reduction in special education enrollment and later academic success (Smith, 2004). High quality programs offer curriculums with academics and socialization. Russian developmental psychologist and social constructivist, Lev Vygotsky, believed culture and social interaction guide cognitive development. He, also, suggested that play stimulates the development of abstract thought (Santrock, 2006). The purpose of this literature review was to determine the importance of Symbolic play as an early childhood curriculum component for the development of cognitive and social skills.

Rubin (as cited in Umek & Musek, 2001) identified role …

The Critical Relationship Of Dramtic Play And Literacy Development: Primary Plays Handbook, Activity Packets And Dramatic Play Kits For The Primary Classrooms, Connie Lewellyn

All Graduate Projects

Dramatic play is a critical element of programs for young children as a means of acquiring literacy. Literacy-enriched play encourages children's exploration of reading and writing in the world around them. Although child-structured dramatic play is widely recognized as being important, few opportunities are provided for primary educators to incorporate this type of drama into their reading curriculums. This project provides a foundation to implement dramatic play activities in the preschool through third grade reading curriculums.

Maximizing Early Childhood Practices By Incorporating Constructivist Principles In An Elementary School, Pamela Evanshen, B. Clark

ETSU Faculty Works

In most public schools, children begin school in kindergarten. Recently, many school systems have begun to implement programs for preschoolers, ages three and four. Georgia introduced the first statewide universal pre-K program in 1995 which offers all 4 year old children free preschool. New York, Oklahoma and Florida have followed (Barnett & Hustedt, 2003). Tennessee recently passed a bill to use $25 million of lottery money to fund preschool for children considered "at risk" ("Latest Pre-Kindergarten News," n.d.). The substantial amount of research involving brain development has stressed the importance of quality experiences in the early years of life (birth-8 …

Inquiry In Early Childhood Teacher Education: Reflections On Practice, Jane Tingle Broderick, Seong Bock Hong

ETSU Faculty Works

As teacher educators we work to make inquiry methodology explicit to help teacher candidates construct the link between theory and practice. Bringing inquiry learning into the early childhood curriculum method courses raises the potential for inquiry teaching practice for teacher candidates and models a constructivist practice in a higher education setting. Of the numerous curriculum studies available, few focus on methods of inquiry to guide adult learners’ to construct inquiry- teaching practices that they can transfer to their work with children. To improve the quality of our teaching in an Early Childhood Teacher Education program we researched and developed several …

Initiating Experiences With Clay And Drawing As Dynamic Conversations, Jane Tingle Broderick

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Reading And Writing Workshop In A Multiage Primary Classroom, Pamela Evanshen, Susan Lewis

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Non-Graded, Multiage Classrooms: Structural Processes That Actually Work, Pamela Evanshen

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Phonemic Awareness Activity Book For Parents Of Pre-School Age Children, Lori Eileen Cottle

All Graduate Projects

This project examined the role of poetry and rhyme to assist in the development of phonemic awareness in the pre-school years. The review of current research found that phonemic awareness along with parental involvement is vital for children's academic success. Included is a phonemic awareness activity book focusing on the letters of the alphabet. It was written for parents of pre-school age children. Activities included in the book, support basic phonemic awareness skills, are age appropriate, and encourage parents to become involved in their child's playing and learning.

Determining Best Practices For Supporting The Emergent Writer In Kindergarten And First Grade Classrooms: A Handbook For Educators, Lynn Pearl

All Graduate Projects

Best practices for supporting the emergent writer in kindergarten and first grade were researched. The research suggests ways to assist emergent writers as they move through the developmental stages of writing. A handbook for educators was created to not only compliment existing curriculum, but also to help educators organize a writing workshop in their classrooms. This handbook contains activities already field tested in many classrooms, and organized procedures for conducting a writer's workshop. iii

Educational Reading Games, Paula Anna Pina

All Graduate Projects

This project consists of a collection of educational reading games specifically for teachers and reading resource educators to use in the classroom. The games were designed for students in kindergarten and first grade. The games were organized according to the specific reading skills that will be reinforced. The specific skills were phonics, letter identification, and sight vocabulary. The games were collected from a variety of commercially available sources, teacher made games, and other educational resources. Furthermore, the author will discuss the rationale for using educational games in the classroom.

Daily Journal Writing In The Early Childhood Classroom, Kristin Fisher

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study was to develop a handbook to assist teachers who wish to use daily writing journals as a part of the reading and writing curriculum in a preschool, kindergarten, first, or second grade classroom. The project describes procedures, materials, activities, and routines needed to institute such a program. The Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements and assessment methods are addressed. Variations on the journal format that have been used in other early childhood classrooms are mentioned. Current literature and research on the topics of emergent literacy and journal writing is explored.

Readiness: Is Your Child Ready For Kindergarten?, Cynthia L. Nott

All Graduate Projects

A handbook has been designed to aid parents or care givers in guiding their preschooler towards a successful formal education. The handbook will allow parents or care givers to be more involved in their child's first five years of learning. It will also enable the preschooler to have a better chance for success in his or her education. The handbook consists of suggested activities developed by the author with the parent or caregiver in mind. These activities are designed for the parent or caregiver to incorporate within their everyday routine. These activities are organized in order of age levels and …

Transition From Preschool To Kindergarten: A Description Of Area Preschools For West Valley Kindergarten Teachers, Susan Graham

All Graduate Projects

Old and new definitions are given for readiness. Concerns about kindergarten readiness testing and current practices for those children identified unready for school are addressed. New strategies for success in the early years of education are discussed with a particular emphasis on easing the student transition between preschool and kindergarten through awareness of local area preschool programs.

Supporting Emergent Writing In Kindergarten, Lynne L. Dufault

All Graduate Projects

The development of emergent writing and the factors which support writing were studied. Five ways that teachers support emergent writing in the classroom were identified and used as the foundation for the developed activities in this project. The activities were designed by the author for use in kindergarten and can be adapted to fit other primary levels. Recommendations for supporting emergent writing in classrooms were given. iii

Thematic Approach To Teaching Science In Kindergarten For Use With First And Second Language Students, Gerene Marie Sadberry

All Graduate Projects

Thematic Science units were established for the Wapato kindergarten in both Spanish and English. Approximately three hundred students are participants in the program for which this curriculum was designed. This study suggests how selected science objectives may be implemented using the thematic approach. Each theme contains a media resource list of Items available from the Wapato Primary Media Center and suggested activities which will help to integrate the science unit with other subject areas. The Intent of the curriculum design ls that children learn language and science naturally when they are developed in a meaningful context.

Teachers' Beliefs Regarding School-Wide Integration Of Mildly Handicapped Students In The Ephrata School District, Charlotte Throgmorton

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to determine the attitudes of teachers in the Ephrata. Washington. School District regarding the school-wide integration of mildly handicapped students in the classroom and the supports needed to insure its success. To accomplish this purpose, a survey instrument was designed and administered to elicit teacher responses. Survey responses were tabulated by frequency, rank order, percentage, and average, and provided a basis for descriptive analysis of data obtained.

The Effects Of Early Education On The Receptive Language Development Of Kindergarten Children, Barbara C. Everly

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in the receptive language of children who had attended an early childhood education center, and those who had not. Subjects were 64 kindergarten students from an elementary school on a military base in the southeast. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Revised (PPVT-R) was administered to all subjects. The t test for independent means was computed; no significant differences in mean scores existed between the two groups. Further analyses of the subjects were made to assess if age or gender influenced the results. The only significant difference …

An Investigation Of Multicultural Education In Public And Private Schools At The Primary Level, Karon K. Greyer

Theses and Dissertations

Thirty public school early childhood teachers and seventeen private school early childhood teachers were surveyed to compare 1) their attitudes toward multicultural education; 2) their access to multicultural materials and methods; and 3) the frequency with which they actually utilize multicultural materials and methods. The North Carolina Multicultural Education Survey was completed by both teacher groups. Four scale scores and a total score were compared using a t-test. The results of the study indicated no significant difference between public early childhood teachers and private early childhood teachers on either of the four scale scores or the total score. Both teacher …

An Instructional Packet Of Teacher Activities Designed To Teach Elementary Students K-3 About Exceptional Children, Lori J. Hanson

All Graduate Projects

The need for and delivery of programs in our public schools to educate elementary students K-3 about Exceptional children was studied. An Instructional packet of ideas, resources, and activities was presented that could be used in an elementary classroom K-3, to help children overcome negative attitudes toward the handicapped and to recognize the rights of the handicapped individual to pursue a normal life.

Conservation Concepts Of Migrant And Resident Mexican-American And Resident Anglo Six- And Seven-Year-Old Children, Tom E. Morris

All Master's Theses

This study presents the comparison of conservation levels of six- and seven-year-old children from three different ethno-cultural backgrounds- migrant Mexican-American, resident Mexican-American, and resident Anglo. Scores on conservation tasks were analyzed by age and culture using a two-way Analysis of Variance. Mexican-Americans in the sample school were found to be at a significantly lower level of conservation.

A discussion of possible cultural effects, and educational and research recommendations were given.

An Experiment With Third Grade Pupils To Determine The Observable Relationship Between Decoding Instruction And Comprehension Growth, D. Pope

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study to determine if there is a relationship between concentrated decoding instruction and comprehension growth of third grade pupils. The program was designed as follows: 1) a comprehension pretest was administered to twenty-four third grade pupils; 2) an experimental and a control group of equal comprehension ability was established; 3) each day for twenty minutes, isolated from the control group, the experimental group, underwent intense decoding skills instruction; 4) upon completion of 90 days of instruction a comprehension posttest was administered and the mean raw scores of the two groups analyzed by the t …

A Procedure For Teaching Spelling Rules Inductively, Eula Irene Hickam

Graduate Student Research Papers

There is some indication that the inductive or discovery method might be an effective way of helping children learn in many if not all areas of the curriculum. This paper will attempt to show that the method might successfully be applied to the teaching of at least some aspects of spelling.

Six Books On Child Development, Robert E. Mcconnell

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

In the education of teachers for the elementary schools, it is important that they be tutored in the field of child-development as well as in subjects that give them a knowledge of life such as art, science, social science, mathematics, language and literature. The first deals with the learner and the second with those phases of life to be learned. Many young teachers report that in their early endeavors at teaching they have greater concern over the dealing with the child than in the branches of knowledge. The understanding of the child is the important consideration in many of their …

When Should Reading Begin?, Amanda Katherine Hebeler

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

With many changes taking place at the present time in the elementary school curriculum we find that there are significant related developments in our reading program. We are now considering such questions as, When and how should reading instruction begin? If children do not begin reading as soon as they enter school, what other types of worthwhile learning experiences and materials will be provided?