Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Computer Assisted Instruction As Reinforcement To Initial Reading Instruction, Deborah Lemke

All Graduate Projects

Computer drill and practice reading programs were developed to supplement basal instruction in first grade. The project was created to provide drill and practice on basal vocabulary and promote sight word acquisition. Five program types were developed. The programs were sequential in level of difficulty. Students were required to complete a sentence from which a word had been omitted. Responses varied from choosing from two given vocabulary words, choosing from familiar and unfamiliar rhyming words, and completing the spelling of a word.

A Curriculum Guide Based On Developmental Stages Of Second And Third Grade Writing, Dana J. Persson-Zora

All Graduate Projects

The relationship between the developmental stages of a child's written language acquisition and the achievement of written language efficiency was studied. Through research, developmental stages were identified, and used to suggest objectives for a second and third grade writing curriculum guide. Activities that would aid in the achievement of the given objectives are suggested.

Identifying The Readability Of The First Grade Books In The Vale School Library Using The Computerized Spache Formula, Doris Jean Byerley Rogers

All Graduate Projects

Books were identified with first grade readability in the Vale Elementary School library, Cashmere, Washington, utilizing the computerized Spache formula. Listing of supplementary books and ways the supplementary books could be used in the classroom were also studied. Forty-one books with first grade readability were found in the 8,000 voiume collection. ·Three bibliographies were included: (a) Vale books with first grade readabili_ty, (b) publishers with first grade supplementary materials, and (c) a list of book selection aids. The writer concludes that trade books with first grade readability were difficult to identify.

[A Curriculum Plan For Teaching Prereading And Beginning Reading Skills To Kindergarten Children Using The Language Experience Approach], Shelby Scott

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop and execute an effective method of teaching prereading and beginning reading skills to kindergarten children using the language experience approach in a center-oriented classroom. The ultimate goal was to have, at the end of the kindergarten year, a roomful of children who felt good about themselves, talked freely and expressively, demonstrated a measure of independence, imagination and creativity, understood and used some basic reading skills, [...]

The Use Of Children's Literature In Improving The Secondary Remedial Reader's Attitude Toward And Fluency In Reading, Jane Watson

All Master's Theses

A six week course in children's literature was taught to ten alternative tenth through twelfth grade students. The purposes were to determine if the secondary student's attitude toward and fluency in reading were improved by working in easy and pleasurable material. The Estes Attitude Scale and an informal reading inventory were administered to the students at the start and end of the course. No statistically significant difference was found in the attitude scale, but reading fluency increased significantly.

Strategies For Improving Student Abilities To Comprehend Science Textbook Material, Kathleen H. Coyne

All Graduate Projects

Fifty-five supplementary lessons were developed to be used in conjunction with a science text entitled Introductory Physical Science (1976). The lessons consisted of the following comprehension strategies: (a) structured overviews, (b) cloze procedures, (c) locational skill strategies, (d) vocabulary reinforcement strategies, and (e) reading guides. The lessons were prepared to enrich and improve the reading and understanding of the science textbook.

A Practical Guide For The Classroom Teacher To Help Students Read More Efficiently With Emphasis On Speed, Karen Lynne Nelson

All Graduate Projects

This project was developed to supplement the Holt Basic Reading Series. One hundred seventy lessons were designed and sequenced to be used to increase reading speed and flexibility in order to develop more efficient reading.

Diagnostic/Prescriptive Teaching Of Language Arts And Mathematics, Molly Montz Sato

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project is to provide a Language Arts and Mathematics curriculum for the elementary level special education classroom by correlating remedial materials and activities to objectives determined by the Brigance Inventory of Basic Skills. This project is limited to the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics; however, the areas of Readiness and Reading are also tested by the Brigance.

[Improving Instruction In Reading Comprehension Utilizing Basal Readers], Patsy Carol Cada

All Graduate Projects

The specific purposes of this project were to:

1. Analyze the instructional comprehension questions suggested by the Houghton Mifflin teachers' manual for the basal reading series grades 1, 2, and 3. This included oral questions used to guide silent reading and post-story discussion questions.

2. Develop additional instructional resources to correlate with the Houghton Mifflin basal reading series grades 1, 2, and 3. Specifically created were alternative questioning strategies to aid early readers in the development of a process for comprehending written passages as they are reading.

These resources will be submitted for use in the author's local school district.

A Participation Approach To Be Used With Disabled Readers At The Secondary Level, Shirley Kinsel

All Graduate Projects

The project resulted in the development of participation based reading selections and their accompanying teaching suggestions to be used with disabled secondary readers. The complete materials stressed hands-on applications and product-producing activities. The reading selections were written for several levels of reading difficulty. They incorporated the teaching of literary skills, study skills, and functional-living skills and provided practice in following directions. The approach produced materials meant to be a specific fit for disabled secondary readers who prefer to learn by doing.

Mat-Sea-Cal Oral Language Packets, Janet L. Esquivel

All Graduate Projects

This project is the development of a curriculum of language packets in Spanish dealing with the communication concepts which are tested in the MAT-SEA-CAL Oral Language Proficiency Test. The packets develop one specific skill in each of the communication concepts: numerality, temporality, spatial relations, identification, classification, case relationships, interrogation, and negation. The packets are designed for native Spanish speakers, grades K-3, who have certain structural problems in oral Spanish.

A Study Of Student Learning Objectives In Selected School Districts, Jeffrey P. Beaudry

All Graduate Projects

With the impending implementation of the Student Learning Objectives (SLO) Law, it seemed useful to examine and compare the objectives and programs actually developed by three school districts--University Place School District No. 83, Tacoma School District No. 10, and Sumner School District No. 320.

A Training Program For Use With Aides And Volunteers In A Middle School Remedial Reading And Language Arts Program, Jeanette Johnson

All Graduate Projects

This project consists of three parts. Chapter 1 establishes the need for more concentrated teaching of poor readers among school children and suggests volunteer tutors as a possible source of help. Chapter 2 examines the history of tutoring by non-professionals and concludes that volunteers can indeed be effective tutors, but that appropriate training is a crucial factor. Chapter 3, the main part of the project, presents a set of ten training modules each consisting of taped instructions and accompanying printed material. The script for each tape is included in this paper.

Reading Strategies For Content Teachers, Constance Dallman Luna

All Graduate Projects

This project, designed for content teachers wishing to improve their students' reading skills, includes lesson plans, procedures, and materials for learning modules in the following content field reading problem areas: readability, vocabulary, diagnosis, questioning, using the textbook, organizing for instruction, and notetaking and listening. The key recommendation was that the project be seen as an evolving process and not as an end product.

An Approach To The Teaching Of Handwriting, Patricia J. Belter

All Master's Theses

Present systems for teaching handwriting are based largely on custom or preference of previous systems utilized (Templin, 1960). Groff (1960) mailed questionnaires to seventy-two large city school systems and found that decisions on handwriting programs are based on tradition and not on research findings.

Nineteen different handwriting systems supply about ninety-five percent of the instructional materials in use today in the United States. Many of these systems have not been changed in the last fifty years (Mullins, Turner & Saltzman, 1972).

Comparison Of Oral And Silent Comprehension Scores On An Informal Reading Inventory, Linda Leah Carlton

All Master's Theses

The study presented in this paper was designed to compare the comprehension scores of an informal reading inventory taken orally with the scores of an informal reading inventory taken silently to determine any significant differences. The final data analysis indicated that no significant difference existed when the scores where compared using the two-tailed t-test at the .05 level of significance.

Further study and testing with the informal reading inventory is recommended for additional information.

Effect Of Oral Reading Rate Improvement Program On Reading Rate, Comprehension, And Reading Level, Julianne Mickie Clise

All Master's Theses

This paper presents a control-experimental group study of a reading rate improvement program for a self-contained grade four classroom. The program was designed to improve oral reading rate and oral sound symbol rate using the principles of behavior modification. A t test of significance was used to compare statistically the progress of students in control and experimental groups in specific skills.

Recommendations include comparison of experimental program with other than the basal reading approach and suggestions for additional research.

A Study Of The Effect Of Varied Amounts Of Oral Reading On Reading Comprehension In A First Grade Classroom, Melinda Anne Dickson

All Master's Theses

In this study an experimental group was compared with a control group to determine what effect, if any, varying amounts of oral reading would have on the comprehension scores of first grade pupils. The two groups received identical reading instruction with the expectation of oral reading. The control group read aloud twice as much as the experimental group during each oral reading session. Using standard statistical procedure no significant difference was found between the two groups. Therefore, a reduction of the amount of oral reading could be initiated into the reading program described while still maintaining an acceptable level of …

A Synthesis Of Learning Theories For Language Development And Classroom Activities, Dawn Jackson

All Master's Theses

This paper examines the similarities among three established theories of learning with special attention given to the role of symbolic functions (especially language) in primary learning processes. The major premise suggests that educators need to know how children form concepts and how they give expression to those concepts. It also discusses general classroom implications.

Appendices are attached presenting specific classroom activities and an evaluative discussion of collaborative learning, dramatization, and affective technics.

A Diagnostic Procedure To Measure The Student's Ability To Use The Index Of A Textbook, William L. Miller

All Master's Theses

This thesis involved the construction of a 37-item true/false diagnostic test which measures the ability to use an index of a textbook. Sixteen separate indexing skills were identified and sequenced. The reading level of the test is third grade; however, it may be used through the high school level. The test was administered to 28 fifth grade students and statistically analyzed.

Recommendations include additional testing and refinement of test items and the construction of a larger sample index.

Students' Selected Reading Materials According To Interest And The Relationship To Comprehension, Carol Lynn Olson

All Master's Theses

It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference between students' comprehension of a passage which was of high interest and students' comprehension of a passage which was of low interest.

Eighty-six high school students read two articles they indicated interest in and two they did not. Comprehension questions were answered on each of the four articles.

Of the 20 t tests conducted only two showed significant differences. This suggest that factors other than interest affect comprehension.

Analysis Of Content Of Four Reading Programs For Students With Moderate Intellectual Disabilities, Susan D. Peters

All Master's Theses

This paper presents a content analysis of four reading programs being used by the moderately intellectually disabled in three Intermediate School Districts in the state of Washington. The four programs analyzed were Distar Reading I, Edmark Reading Program, Language Master Card Programs, and Programmed Reading--Webster. The learning characteristics defined for this educational group were perception, discrimi­nation, mediation, retention, concept learning, generaliza­tion, transfer, problem solving, and motivation. Each program was analyzed as to its incorporation of each of the specified learning characteristics.

The Effectiveness Of A Gestural Cue Language Program For Children With Severely And Profoundly Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Meredith Jean Nicholls

All Master's Theses

This study proposed to teach a group of institutionalized children with profound intellectual and developmental disabilities, functionally non-verbal children a gestural-cue language system.

Techniques of shaping and imitation were employed in the training of the subjects. Daily assessments were taken and recorded on 6 cycle logarithmic graph paper.

Of the 17 subjects involved in the study, 3 showed measurable progress and retention and were retained in the gesture program.

Recommendations included studies to further investigate the "sign" language medium as a means of communication for the severely and profoundly intellectually and developmentally disabled population.

Strategies For Achieving Every Pupil Response, Royal Lucendia Payton

All Master's Theses

This paper presents the identification, development and assessment of Every Pupil Response (EPR), a teaching technique devised to promote individual instruction-- diagnostic teaching within reading group situations. The study included the development of five reading lessons utilizing the EPR technique which were taught to five groups of first through fourth grade students at Garfield Elementary School in Toppenish, Washington. The technique was evaluated by three trained observers who rated the technique high in its effectiveness.

Recommendations included additional EPR target studies and suggestions for additional research.

Personalized Reading Program For Intermediate Grades, Pamela Kay Kelly

All Graduate Projects

As the reading specialist in an elementary school, it was my responsibility to assist the classroom teachers with their reading program; specifically, with those students who were having difficulty. It was not feasible for me to meet with all who needed help; at the most, I could help forty-three students per week. The pace at which I had to function to assess and meet their individual needs became too great. In view of this situation, the following program was designed to stimulate every intermediate student's desire to read and to do so at his own pace.

A Language Arts Curriculum For The Seventh Grade At Morgan Junior High School, Lois A. Fisher, Marianne Mcafee

All Graduate Projects

The goal of this project is to develop a meaningful program for Seventh Grade Language Arts. The factors to consider are the following: (1) handling large numbers of students, (2) meeting varied interests and abilities, (3) using available materials profitably and efficiently, (4) selecting specific skills and determining the amount of emphasis given the skills, (5) utilizing the physical setting.

The Effect Of Systematic Phonics Instructions On The Reading Ability Of An Intellectually Disabled Fifteen Year Old, Sherlive E. Edens

All Master's Theses

This paper presents a case study of the effect of systematic phonics instruction and systematic reinforcement on the reading ability of one intellectually disabled fifteen year old boy. This study way designed to see whether the subject could attain reasonable literacy in a two year period from non-reading status. Evaluation was made along the lines of grade level improvement; the results indicated that systematic phonics instruction with systematic reinforcement resulted in substantial reading improvement.

Recommendations included suggestions for additional research.

An Evaluation Of The Value Of Physical Education In Helping The Slow Learner To Achieve, Donald B. Eldred

All Master's Theses

This study investigated the effects of daily and bi-weekly physical education on physical fitness and development of motor skills in mentally retarded boys. It also investigated the relationship of physical education and improvement in reading ability.

Twenty boys were selected from children attending special classes whose chronological ages ranged from nine to twelve and whose grade level was classified as fourth grade.

Analysis of the data indicated that the experimental group made significant gains over the control group in the Washington State Physical Fitness Test and Johnson's Fundamental Motor Skill Test for Elementary Children. The gains on the Informal Reading …

Remediation Of Deficit Automatic Level Functions As Related To Second Grade Reading Achievement, Jack R. Hall

All Master's Theses

This paper presents a study designed to determine if remedial procedures suggested by the authors of the ITPA would improve specific psycholinguistic functions and reading achievement. The Ss were 18 second grade children placed in matched pairs. They received 15 minutes of instruction per day for 60 days. The results did not indicate a significant improvement by the experimental group when compared to the control group

Recommendations include repeating the same experimental procedures using Ss with greater psycholinguistic deficits.

A Study Of The Effect Of A Concentrated Program Of Attitude Improvement On Reading Skills, Jo Ann M. Greer

All Master's Theses

This study investigated the effects of a concentrated program of attitude improvement on reading skill. Seventeen low-achieving students participated. The year's instruction was divided into three phases: developmental reading during the first and third phases, and an attitude improvement program during the second.

Results from Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test and Roach Van Allen's An Inventory of Reading Attitude indicated accuracy, speed and comprehension decreased significantly during the attitude program. Vocabulary and attitude did not show significant gains. Upon reinstatement of the developmental reading program, comprehension increased and vocabulary decreased, both significantly.