Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Great Lakes Great Books: Making Classroom Connections, Lynette Suckow

Michigan Reading Journal

Use stories from the Great Lakes Great Books list to connect readers to the classroom curriculum.

A Comparison Of Guided Reading And Systematic Phonics Approaches To Supplementary Reading Instruction, Madeline R. Berkowitz

Doctoral Dissertations

Early mastery of reading fundamentals is essential. However currently there is a debate on the best way to teach reading. Across the US schools are choosing to use varying forms or reading curricula aligned with different pedagogies. However, not all curricula are based in empiral science. This study compares two approaches to supplementary reading instruction: guided reading and explicit phonics. A randomized controlled design was used, and first grade students were assigned to receive either explicit phonics or guided reading intervention three days per week for approximately thirty minutes each lesson. Reading fluency and a broad reading measure served as …

Better For Gifted Students? Comparing The Sem-R Program For Gifted And Typically Gifted Students, Catie Snowden

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading will raise comprehension and retelling in typically developing and gifted and talented students. The research questions ask whether the program will increase comprehension (question 1) and if the program was more effective for the gifted students versus the general classroom population (question 2). The Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading was implemented through a 4-week study with pre- and post- assessments to measure the changes in comprehension and retelling. The results showed that the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading was effective in raising comprehension and retelling …

Culturally Relevant Teaching For The 21st Century: The Success And Challenges Of Pre-Service Teachers When Using Technology In Critical Ways, Virginie Jackson, Stacy Delacruz, Dominique Harry

Georgia Journal of Literacy

This case study examined pre-service teachers' use of technology as they implemented culturally relevant literacy lessons while tutoring elementary students in their field placement sites. As we enter a new decade, we want our students to be future-ready with technology skills. Here, we present an examination of how pre-service teachers integrated culturally relevant teaching with technology along with a discussion of the tools and devices their students used. Findings provided evidence that as pre-service teachers experienced authentic and engaging learning experiences within a supportive space, they emerged equipped to teach in culturally responsive ways that supported student learning and deeper …

Efficiency Of Teaching Sight Words In Similar Vs Dissimilar Sets, Jensen Chotto

LSU Master's Theses

Early reading intervention can decrease the likelihood that children who struggle with reading develop long-term reading problems. Due to the prevalence of words that cannot be read phonetically in the English language, sight word instruction is required to supplement phonics instruction. In this study, we compared the effects of creating sets of sight words with the same starting letter (3 words per set, 3 total sets) versus distributing words with the same starting letter across sets when assessing acquisition of the combined set (9 words) in five 4-to-6-year-old children using a combined adapted alternating treatments design and pre-posttest design. All …

Evidence-Based Best Practices For Kindergarten Reading, Rachel Dolehanty

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review aims to highlight evidence-based best practices for kindergarten reading instruction. Popular reading curriculums and instructional cueing strategies are discussed in relation to their effectiveness for kindergarten reading success. Meaning-emphasis versus code- emphasis reading curriculum philosophies are explored, and specific curriculums that fall into these categories are discussed. Metacognition strategies and their relation to successful reading instruction are underscored. Interventions are examined in the areas of kindergarten phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, and writing. Successful interventions in each of these areas of literacy instruction are highlighted through current research.

Teaching Children To Decode Words: Connected Versus Segmented Phonation, Selenid M. Gonzalez-Frey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Two methods of decoding instruction were compared. Kindergartners who could not decode nonwords participated in the study, N = 38, M = 5.6 years. Segmented phonation, frequently used in synthetic phonics programs, taught students to convert graphemes to phonemes by breaking the speech stream (“sss – aaa – nnn”) before blending. Connected phonation taught students to pronounce phonemes without breaking the speech stream (“sssaaannn”) before blending. Kindergartners were matched and randomly assigned to the two conditions. Both groups were taught to decode the same set of CVC nonwords consisting of continuant consonants and vowels that could be stretched and connected …

Read, Write, Rhyme: Increasing Reading Performance With Hip-Hop Texts, Crystal Monique Lavoulle

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation describes the Harlem Renaissance to Hip Hop Movement, a literacy program that uses best practices in literacy instruction to improve reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing. Moving beyond educational hip-hop songs and videos, this presentation offers insight into effective ways to increase Georgia Milestone Assessment scores in both English language arts and social studies using a variety of hip-hop texts.

The Missing Mirror: A Critical Content Analysis Of Multicultural Children's Literature With Black Male Characters, Wendy Harris

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Education in America is facing many challenges, such as the adoption of common core standards and the demand for highly qualified teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Further, the achievement gap lingers on, with Black males often performing poorly on national assessments of reading proficiency (Tatum, 2005). Although Black males are highly literate, they may feel alienated from traditional school systems and classroom reading selections (Kirkland, 2013). One of the most effective strategies for teachers to bridge the gap in reading is to inspire Black males to get engaged with their books and read for longer periods of time. However, children are …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Reading Wonders: Is It Really A Wonder? A Program Evaluation, Myra A. Richardson

Dissertations

Reading programs are essential tools for leaders to use while building literacy. The transfer from instructional delivery to student knowledge should be easily recognizable in the end-of-year assessment data. As the principal analyzing the end-of-year data, I discovered a problem when I struggled to see this transfer in my data. The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine whether teachers perceived Reading Wonders to be an effective reading program for the school district as well as whether the assessment data aligned with teachers’ perceptions. A survey was used to collect responses from the participants and an Excel spreadsheet was …

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

Motivating The Unmotivated: How Are We Supporting Struggling Readers In Upper Elementary Classrooms?, Maci V. Wood

Honors College Theses

Motivating struggling students to read is a question considered by many general education reading teachers and special education teachers alike. Since student classroom experiences today differ greatly from classrooms of the past in terms of instructional practices and learning supports, scripted materials that seldom cater to student interest have often been promoted due to the pressure of standardized assessment. With little to no student engagement present in the classroom, it is up to the student to find the will to read or to the teacher to utilize alternative strategies in increasing student motivation (Cambria & Gunthrie, 2008). However, there is …

Lit Symposium Presentation.Pptx, Karyn Allee-Herndon, Annemarie Kaczmarczyk

Karyn Allee-Herndon

Employing Cueing Systems To Decode Text And Negotiate Text-Meaning In A Second Language, Timothy A. Rodriquez, Laureen Fregeau, Mary Kay Moskal, Robert Leier

Many educators state that teaching English-Language Learners (ELLs) is just a matter of good teaching. While effective teaching is something that all children deserve, there are some differences between the approach a teacher may have to take with ELLs and with other students. One aspect of this difference is the fact that, while children go through the same stages of language development, ELLs may be at stages typically not found in other students. Based on a case study of an EL and his teacher, this article explains cueing systems and their role in literacy for ELs.

Effect Of A Balanced Literary Program In Kindergarten, Holly Parker

The Corinthian

The purpose of this study was to show the effect of a balanced reading instruction on kindergartners. The subjects were students from 10 kindergarten classes in 2 consecutive school years. This was a causal-comparative study with 129 students in the control group and 151 students in the experimental group. Both the control group and the experimental group were pretested in the the fall and posttested in the spring, using the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test. The posttest mean of the experimental group (M = 28.0, SD = 10.3) was higher than the mean of the control group (M = 24.1, SD …

The Effects Of Lexia Phonics Based Reading Software On First Graders' Lexia Comprehensive Reading Scores, Paula Snider

The Corinthian

The research conducted in this paper provides information about using computer software to remediate reading skills in first grade. The pre- and posttest is the Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test (2001). This research was conducted in a first grade classroom with 22 students of which half were in the experimental group. Students were matched using Lexia Comprehension Reading test scores and randomly divided into the two groups. The experimental group used the Lexia Phonics Based Reading Program (2004) for 30 minutes a day 3- 4 times a week to build upon individual needs. After one month, the posttest was administered. The …

Activities For Elementary Libraries To Integrate Nonfiction Reading, Cynthia L. Debock

All Graduate Projects

The focus ofthis project was to create activities that would encourage Kindergarten through Fourth grade elementary students in the use of nonfiction texts for personal enjoyment and information gathering. The project consists of activities designed to increase reading of nonfiction by the early elementary student. The activities are developed based upon a review of research that indicates improved reading comprehension of expository text among students who are taught to use interactive strategies. The activities include activation of prior knowledge through K-W-L, various graphic organizers, and DR-T A/DL-TA and providing a method for the reader to discover the structure or organizational …

Parent Involvement In Reading: Parent Workshops To Promote Critical Thinking, Rachelle Kristine Skeen

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to create an at-home reading program that would encourage parent participation and promote the development of critical thinking skills necessary for our children. The project implements a program that emphasizes using higher level questioning strategies in order to develop critical thinking skills. The project's focus is on educating and training parents as to the importance of their involvement and the importance of using higher level questioning strategies when they read with their children. Parents are educated and trained during two parent workshops. During these workshops, parents will also be introduced to the Read Together …

A Balanced Reading Approach To Teaching Reading In Kindergarten And First Grade, Leah Ann Bodeen

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to create specific activities that teach children various tools that assist in learning how to read. The project implements a balanced reading curriculum with an emphasis in kindergarten and first grade. Throughout this project the students will be exploring a variety of ways to acquire the knowledge of reading. The project concentrates on two philosophies of how to teach reading; phonemic awareness and whole language. The final product encompasses both philosophies and creates a curriculum that links the two into a balanced approach to reading.

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.

Incorporating Holistic Activities Into A First Grade Phonics-Based Basal Reading Program, Kristine Marie Williams

All Graduate Projects

This project reviews the literature on basal reading programs, the whole language approach, and phonics instruction. The related research was used to identify the need for a more balanced approach to elementary reading instruction. Holistic strategies, based on the whole language philosophy, were explained. These strategies were applied to a first grade phonics-based basal reading program. Lessons and activities were developed to integrate holistic strategies with the phonics-based basal reading program. Implications for further research and teacher training were discussed.

An Integrated Emergent Literacy Curriculum For Primary Students, Katrina M. Clark

All Graduate Projects

A completely integrated reading curriculum has been developed for the primary classroom. The curriculum may be used in whole to cover all academic subjects or as a supplement to an already existing program. The main theme, interdependence, is sub divided into: home/family and farms. Any specific directions or copies of activities are included as well as a teacher reference list and a children's literature list. The Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as interpreted for kindergarten are covered by use of this curriculum.

Teacher Tricks A.K.A. Parent Tools: Workshops To Promote Healthy Family Literacy, Timothy A. Martin

All Graduate Projects

Four workshops, supported by research on parent involvement, were developed to help promote family literacy. Each workshop incorporates both parents and students as they are encouraged to read preassigned books together. In addition, each family was given tasks to complete as they read their books. Workshops incorporating helpful tips and suggestions were provided to the families so they could better assist their children with their reading needs.

Multiple Intelligence Motivational Activities Using Literature For Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Heidi Jo Ann Otis

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to identify a set of multiple intelligence activities that foster motivation for reading. These activities were to accompany specific pieces of children's literature. Children who are motivated and spend more time reading become better readers (Gambrell, 1996). The central element for this project was to develop activities for children's literature using Gardner's multiple intelligence theory. Gardner lists those seven intelligences as: Linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, music, kinesthetic/body, interpersonal and intrapersonal (Gardner, 1983). By giving young children a variety of intellectual modalities associated with children's literature it was hoped that all students would develop an early …

Curriculum Based Measurement And Portfolio Assessment: An Effective Evaluation System, Johanna Roberts

All Graduate Projects

The researcher reviewed current literature regarding curriculum based assessment, curriculum based measurement (CBM) and portfolio assessment. The researcher developed a curriculum based measurement for kindergarten prereading and premath skills as a part of a portfolio system. A first grade math curriculum based measurement was designed collaboratively with two first grade teachers. A beginning reading assessment was also designed for the first grade. Results showed that a portfolio assessment with CBM's is an effective evaluation tool.

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.

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.

Handbook For Parents: How To Improve Your Children's Reading (Ages 9-12), Janice De Cordova Beil Rudeen

All Graduate Projects

From this writer's classroom experience, children's reading achievement improves when there is cooperation between teachers and parents. This author felt that a handbook should be developed to help guide them in improving their children's reading. The purpose of this project is to create a handbook which develops comprehension and vocabulary skills. Increased parental involvement in home reading with children will help the children to read better to enjoy it. Parents have powerful influence on their children in developing reading interests. This paper deals with parental participation in improving children's reading from age pre-kindergarten to twelve. The handbook deals with the …