Elementary Education Commons^™

Bee Busy, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on pollination and seed formation in plants for grades 2 through 5.

Friend For All Seasons, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the seasons and the way plants react to the changes for grades kindergarten through 5.

Taking Flight: North By South, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the migration of birds and the flyways in North America for grades 6 through 8.

Wildflower Season, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the life cycle of wildflowers for grades Kindergarten through 2.

Blindfolded, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades Kindergarten through 3 about using senses other than sight to explore nature.

Is This A Plant?, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 6 about identifying plants.

Mental Vacay, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 8 to help with relaxation and calmness.

Micro-Hiking, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 8 to explore a small area in the school yard.

Nature Blanks, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades Kindergarten through 8 for students to make a picture of a item in nature.

Nature Charades, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 8 for students to act out aspects of nature for others to guess.

Nature Framing, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline for an activity program fro grades Kindergarten through 8 to select an area they enjoy.

Painting Nature, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades Kindergarten through 3 for students to explore textures in the natural world.

Does Systematic Phonological Awareness In The Early Primary Grades Impact Student Learning Beyond Primary Grades, Renee Lyn Sorenson

Graduate Research Papers

This meta-analysis literature review was conducted by examining 24 scholarly articles to investigate the effects of systematic phonological awareness in the early primary grades and beyond. Children in these studies ranged from preschool, and in some studies continued to be monitored through fourth grade and beyond. The articles were gathered from APA Psycinfo and ERIC with search terms that included phonological awareness instruction in kindergarten aged students. The effects of these studies varied with the extent of the classroom’s rich phonological awareness and their intentional scaffolding.

This review was set up to investigate the correlation between phonological awareness and the …

Communicating Emotions Through Art And Conversation, Paige E. Kayvan, Samantha R. Doyle, Payton Cannon, Traci Jolley

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Anchored To A Community: Middle School Students’ Experience Of Belonging In The Classroom: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Angela Thera Butler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A student’s sense of belonging in the classroom makes a difference. Students who experience a feeling of belonging within the learning environment are more engaged and prepared to learn and contribute. Students who do not feel this sense of belonging in the classroom often pull away from school norms, and may separate themselves from formal education entirely. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of belonging for a small group of 6th grade students from a suburban, midwestern school. Experiences and intentions of three educators who shared these students were also collected and compared to the experiences and perceptions …

A Next Generation Science Standards (Ngss) Aligned 3rd Grade Weather Unit, Jennifer Hageman

Graduate Research Papers

This unit is the culmination of work on taking the NGSS for weather and climate and creating an inclusive unit for third grade students. At the time this unit was started, many teachers were taking the NGSS and creating units for the classrooms. This unit integrates math, literacy, and social studies standards to help explore the NGSS for weather and climate.

After completion of this unit it was given to two reviewers in the field of teaching. They read the unit and provided feedback for improvement. After review of the feedback it was noted that adaptations for students need to …

Partnership To Grow Effective Readers: Professional Learning For Interventionists And Classroom Teachers, Jennifer Lane

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Using Internet Reciprocal Teaching To Develop Second Graders' Online Text Evaluation Skills, Annika Buell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was designed to explore the relationship between Internet Reciprocal Teaching (IRT) and young students’ online text evaluation skills. It built upon previous research that identified four main online reading comprehension skills: locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information that are similar yet more complex than offline reading comprehension skills. In the majority of previous research, participants were in fifth grade or above. This study aimed to observe the processes younger students go through while reading online text. Participants were second grade students in a Midwestern suburban elementary school.

Qualitative methods were used to collect data while students participated in …

Teaching Race Through Multicultural Children's Literature, Kaley Bailey, Maiya Duthoo-Wolpert

Graduate Research Papers

There is considerable confusion in today’s society when it comes to talking about race. In result to this, race talk in schools can be overseen with challenges, leading to problematic conversations, disconnection, and ultimately student disengagement. This study is used by two Elementary educators one an Asian, the other a Caucasian - found in the Midwest, showing how teachers can break that uncomfortable barrier of the topic about race and navigate conversations through multicultural children’s literature books. The study demonstrated how to choose the most effective multicultural children’s literature to share to a classroom of students and how beneficial it …

Inspiring Students To Take Action In Order To Make Positive Change Through The Integration Of Social Studies Themes In Children's Literature, Morgan Ives, Taylor Marsho, Ashtyn Riley, Deidra Rudd

Graduate Research Papers

This study explores the use of children literature to teach social studies concepts within literacy instruction. Fifty-eight kindergarteners and twenty seventh graders, attending four different rural elementary schools, are the participants in this study. All four schools included in the study were racially and ethnically homogeneous, with a majority of the students being White. The study focuses on the effects of limited social studies instruction within all schools and how social studies can be integrated within a literacy time block. The kindergarten general education teachers and the seventh grade English Language Arts teacher provided all of the instruction. The results …

Representation Of Native Peoples In Picture Books About Christopher Columbus: A Literary Analysis, Mari Butler Abry

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative content analysis analyzes how Native peoples and their culture are represented in 21 children’s picture books published between 2008-2019, written for students in grades K-4, about Christopher Columbus or Columbus Day. The books were evaluated using Slapin, Seale, and Gonzalez’s (1992) framework: “How to Tell the Difference: A Checklist for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias.” This study found that books in the sample did not represent Native peoples well, with only four books having positive and detailed representations overall.The most common offense in the sample was a stereotypical portrayal of Native people. This study concluded that one …

Culture In Transitional Chapter Books: Assimilation Or Inclusion, Jeanette P. White

Graduate Research Papers

In the context of schools experiencing an influx of students from a more diverse range of cultures, and with a goal of assisting librarians to better serve these students, this qualitative research focuses on the presence of cultural diversity in transitional chapter books and, when present, identifies whether characters modify culturally determined behaviors. The cultural diversity within books, especially transitional chapter books, can allow newly independent readers an opportunity to deepen their identification with and connection to reading. The value of identifying with a character in a book is established in prior research (Alter, 2016; Goodale, 2012; McNair & Brooks, …

Hansen Elementary School Counseling, Brianna Swarm

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

Last semester I had the opportunity to work closely with Jen Alexander, a school counselor at Hansen Elementary School. As a school counselor, Jen helps kids develop social skills, improve their learning, understand their emotions, and much more in order to help them thrive while they are in school. My poster discusses all the things I learned from interning at Hansen. It also goes into detail about what school counselors do, the best parts about being there, and research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and how they can affect kids.

Influence Of Book Clubs On Reading Motivation For Third Through Fifth Grade Students, Allyson Reister

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative case study reports the influence book clubs have on the reading motivation of third through fifth grade students, including reluctant readers, and examines how book clubs can be used as a reading promotion tool to enhance the reading culture of the school library program. Forty-one third through fifth grade students and their teacher librarian from a small Pre-K through eighth grade private school in Midwestern suburb met via Zoom in separate grade level book club meetings once during the spring 2020 semester. The researcher discovered three main themes in response to the research questions: 1) Sociability with Others …

Three Cases Of Makerspace Integration In School Library Programs In Conjunction With District Initiatives: Steam, Design Thinking, And Literacy, Lisa Tegels

Graduate Research Papers

Note: This study refers to three co-researchers who each collected data in their respective schools and collaborated in reviewing that data, but each separately authored a paper using that data; the co-researchers are Kris Baldwin and Sara Pflughaupt.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether makerspace or STEAM activities can support inquiry learning and meet specific American Association of School Library (AASL), Next Generation Science (NGSS) and Common Core Literacy (CCSS ELA) Standards. For purposes of this study, the three co-researchers were also focused on how this type of learning activity can support district initiatives in …

Gazing At Scattered Stars: Immigration Through The Lens Of Elementary Graphic Literature, Jennifer K. Stanerson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to analyze graphic literature for respectful and authentic portrayals of immigrants to help librarians and classroom teachers build culturally inclusive library collections. The study sought to answer the question of how immigrants are portrayed in elementary level graphic texts. Nine books were chosen utilizing reviews from authoritative sources along with the Wilson’s Children’s Collection and Wilson’s Middle and Junior High Core Collection databases to ensure the study was comprised of high-quality literature. The selected texts were analyzed to determine the themes present in both the text and illustrations. Results of the study found the …

Using Mentor Texts To Enhance The Teaching Of Reading Comprehension And Writing, Alexandra Jordyn Cushman

Graduate Research Papers

This project is an instructional unit designed to teach knowledge of both the Civil Rights Movement and racial/social injustices across multiple curricular areas and academic settings using mentor texts. The academic areas that will be addressed are reading, language arts, and writing. This unit includes lesson plans and materials that accompany mentor texts and provide additional information to students in the classroom.

Elementary School Library Program Integration With Art, Literacy, And Steam Through Makerspaces, Kristi Baldwin

Graduate Research Papers

Note: This study refers to three co-researchers who each collected data in their respective schools and collaborated in reviewing that data, but each separately authored a paper using that data; the co-researchers are Sara Pflughaupt and Lisa Tegels.

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to find out how makerspace use might influence an inquiry-based focus in student learning through the use of design thinking. The researchers were interested in how makerspaces support the National School Library Standards and local school district goals. This study investigated literacy, critical thinking, and inquiry-based processes that might justify having a makerspace …

Portrayal Of Diverse Family Structures In Children's Literature, Beth Grafft

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout their daily lives, students continuously make connections between themselves and their world, which aids in constructing meaning, strengthening understanding, and facilitating empathy toward others. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis is to ascertain the extent to which diverse family dynamics are represented within books nominated by students for consideration of the 2019-2020 Iowa Children’s Choice Award. The research questions addressed in this study include: What is the extent of representation regarding diverse family dynamics within books nominated by students for consideration of the 2019-2020 Iowa Children’s Choice Award book award, and how human families are portrayed. All fifteen …

Student Engagement Within The Use Of Graphic Novels, Melissa Felsenthal

Graduate Research Papers

Student engagement in novels is a key factor in whether or not a student can be successful in reading. The purpose of this study was to analyze student engagement with graphic novels and traditional novels, and to describe any preferences students had when selecting novels to read independently. The study was centered around two questions: How does the reading of graphic novels impact the level of reading engagement? Do students prefer the use of graphic novels over traditional novels within their own independent reading? The study consisted of interviewing eleven sixth grade students about a graphic novel that they picked …