Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Marveling At The Art Of Language: Centering Adolescents In Developing Disciplinary Literacy For Ela, Christina M. Ponzio

Michigan Reading Journal

This article explores how we invite adolescents to be insiders in the discipline of ELA by inquiring together into the art of language. I begin with a brief overview of the varied perspectives, research and frameworks about the importance of apprenticing students’ into disciplinary literacy in ELA. Next, I share examples of authentic contexts, purposes, and audiences for inquiring into the art of language with adolescents across a school year and zoom into one unit through the lens of Moje’s (2015) 5E framework for designing inquiries that foster the development of students’ disciplinary literacy. I conclude with a “before and …

From Theory To Practice: How Job-Embedded Professional Learning Labs Support Implementation And Application, Megan Kortlandt, Samantha Keesling, Asha Williams, Jay Haffner

Michigan Reading Journal

Educators in any role know that supporting application of new learning is critical. Classroom teachers ground their instruction in the gradual release of responsibility, problem-based learning, and other frameworks that support students in taking on new learning themselves. Similarly, it’s long been understood that, in order for professional learning to be effective for adults, it must support educators in transferring new learning to practice (Darling-Hammond et al, 2017). Yet most professional learning frameworks still involve large groups that often take place in settings removed from the students and settings where educators apply the learning. Though they may ask participants to …

The Dangers Of Teacher Deficit Thinking And Language: Practices To Disrupt The “They’Re So Low” Literacy Paradigm, Heather Rottermond, Bridget Regan

Michigan Reading Journal

Teacher deficit thinking, a deeply ingrained paradigm in education, attributes students' academic challenges to their backgrounds, families, and cultures rather than examining systemic inequities. This mindset fosters low expectations, reinforces stereotypes, and limits student success. Research indicates that deficit-oriented teachers believe students must be "fixed" to achieve academic success, perpetuating harmful educational practices. Furthermore, data-driven decision-making, particularly in high-stakes testing environments, can exacerbate deficit thinking by framing students in terms of their weaknesses rather than strengths. Studies reveal that teachers often use labels such as "low" or "deficient," reinforcing biased instructional decisions that fail to leverage students' existing knowledge and …

Using Picturebooks To Promote Student Inquiry, Inferential Thinking, And Reading Comprehension In A 9th Grade Ela Classroom, William P. Bintz

Michigan Reading Journal

This article reports findings from a classroom-based, action research project that used one award-winning picturebook to promote student inquiry, inferential thinking, and reading comprehension in a 9^th grade English/Language Arts classroom. It begins by describing a read-aloud experience that sparked my interest in developing and implementing an action research project, followed by an overview of action research as a research methodology. Next, it shares samples of work that resulted from students using three interrelated, instructional strategies with the picturebook to promote inquiry, inferential thinking, and reading comprehension. Then, it discusses major findings and implications and ends with concluding thoughts.

Recentering Family-Teacher Partnerships Through The Lens Of Unconditional Positive Regard, Lindsay Stoetzel, Jennifer Vanderground, Karen Abraham

Michigan Reading Journal

This paper examines the complexities of building family-teacher partnerships in the literacy classroom. While research continues to support the need for family engagement in literacy learning, a number of contextual factors pose barriers to building such relationships, negatively impacting children, families, and teachers alike. While organizational approaches are needed to fully address this long-standing issue, we offer the lens of unconditional positive regard as an approach individual teachers might adopt in their own work. Unconditional positive regard supports educators to partner with families by focusing on emotional regulation, acknowledging agency over ideologies, and prioritizing shared goal setting. Recommendations illustrate how …

Creating A Dynamic Online Teaching Environment: A Review Of Engaging Online Language Learners: A Practical Guide (2022), Aaron David Mermelstein

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

Review of Pawan, F., Daley, S. L., Kou, X., & Bonk, C. J. (2022). Engaging Online Language Learners: A Practical Guide. TESOL Press.

Effective Elementary Vocabulary Instructional Strategies, Staci A. Brown

Masters Projects

Vocabulary knowledge upon entering school is a known predictor of literacy success (Moody et al., 2018; NPR, 2000). However, students enter school with various levels of vocabulary knowledge, creating gaps in literacy skills. Teachers must be equipped with the most efficient and effective vocabulary instructional strategies to compensate for these deficits in vocabulary and help all students become successful readers (Moody et al., 2018). This project seeks to research the most successful methods of structuring and implementing vocabulary instruction and provide this knowledge to kindergarten and second-grade teachers through professional development (PD). The PD will consist of several workshops introducing …

Increasing Parental Involvement Of Low Socioeconomic Status Families, To Help Increase Student Reading Achievement, Jean M. Routley Robinson

Masters Projects

There is a gap in reading achievement for children from low socioeconomic status families despite efforts to the contrary. A major factor contributing to achievement in reading is parental involvement. This involvement is important for all children, but is especially important when it comes to raising the reading abilities of children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. A focus on Pierre Bourdieu and his theories around social and cultural capital shape the framework for understanding why a lack of involvement can exist, as well as what can be done to increase it. Four main themes emerged to improve participation. They are: shifting …

Promoting College And Career Ready Readers And Writers: A Guide For English, Science, And Social Studies Teachers To Support Instruction Of Sat Reading And Writing Skills, David Fitzpatrick

Masters Projects

In Michigan and across the United States, student scores on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing section of the SAT have been steadily declining. This project responds to this decline by developing a set of resources for skills-based literacy instruction that English language arts, social studies, and science teachers can use to revise their approaches to teaching literacy skills. Highly effective curriculum design and literacy instruction strategies were reviewed to design guides, templates, and models for practicing high school teachers at all grade levels to adapt in order to improve literacy instruction in their classrooms. By scaffolding literacy skills across …

Mentoring And Supporting All Writers: Strengthening Writing Instruction In Pk To 5th Grade With Halpern’S “Interactive Writing” And Anderson’S “Mentor Texts”, Chad H. Waldron, Meghan K. Block, Alicia D. Fluker, Mariah C. Schepak, Michelle R. Snyder

Michigan Reading Journal

Shared, co-authored book review by educators and researchers of Matt Halpern’s (2023) A Teacher’s Guide to Interactive Writing, Grades PreK-2 and Carl Anderson’s (2022) A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts, Grades K-5 (Heinemann)

Reclaiming And Celebrating Our Names: Storytelling-As-Connection Through An Elementary-Middle School Partnership, Christina M. Ponzio, Janine Kopera, Jennifer Krueger, Katharine Kwiatkowski, Heather Shiveley

Michigan Reading Journal

Affirming each student’s identity is fundamental to fostering the connection needed for our students to grow as a community of readers and writers across the year–and this begins when teachers learn their students’ names. This article highlights how students, teachers and literacy coaches through a partnership between an elementary school and middle school in southeast Michigan connected together through storytelling as an avenue to reclaim and celebrate their names. The second author shares her collaboration as the literacy coach with elementary teachers, which began with a read aloud of read Alma and How She Got Her Name (Martinez-Neal, 2018) and …

Developing Adolescent Word-Level Knowledge: Challenges And Opportunities In Professional Learning With Secondary Educators, Jenelle Williams

Michigan Reading Journal

This article aims to highlight the research base for disciplinary literacy approaches, emphasize foundational literacy components that apply to the majority of adolescent learners, and propose tangible approaches to attend to morphological development in multiple academic disciplines. The article will conclude with a call for additional research into the role of morphological awareness in strengthening adolescent reading comprehension, as well as further study of the implications for systemic approaches across all disciplines in secondary educational settings.

Back To The Future: Looking At Nostalgic Practices To Conceptualize A More Inclusive Literacy Future (Part 2), Darreth R. Rice, Rebecca L. Witte

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

It’S “A Good Day” To Make Inferences: Helping Emergent And Reluctant Readers, Amy Davis

Michigan Reading Journal

A skilled reader can understand and connect to relationships that are not explicitly stated in text. The process of making inferences can be divided into two categories: text and prior-knowledge-based. This paper offers examples of inference questions using the picture book, “It’s a Good Day” by Kevin Henkes, that teachers can use during shared book readings with emergent and reluctant readers.

Improving Elementary Fluency Instruction Through Professional Learning And Development, Katherine Paulsen

Masters Projects

Research has proven that reading fluency is an important bridging process between word recognition and comprehension for early readers. However, many students in elementary classrooms across the United States struggle with the ability to read with sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression to make sense of the text they are reading. Additionally, many curricula, assessments, and professional development programs do not sufficiently incorporate reading fluency instruction, leaving teachers and students without adequate knowledge about and practice of reading fluency. This project explores history, theories, and research-based practices that support reading fluency development. It also explores research behind the importance of effective …

Understanding The “L” In Cslp Within The Literacy Conundrum, Julia Lynch, Andrea Perrone

Michigan Reading Journal

Rooted in culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally sustaining literacy practices (CSLP) focus on equity in education (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris, 2012). Our view of CSLP emphasizes integrating the arts into literacy instruction to leverage students' cultural assets, stimulating their cognitive processes and recognizing literacy's interdisciplinary role in learning. As we align literacy practices with state standards, high-stakes testing, and research-based methods, it's crucial for educators and society to embrace them. Traditionally, literacy instruction has prioritized written language, creating hierarchical structures that lead to learning gaps and inequitable opportunities. An arts-based CSLP framework addresses these issues by ensuring literacy includes diverse …

Teacher Candidates Develop And Apply Pedagogical Content Knowledge To Support Multilingual Learners, Kyongson Park, Danielle L. Defauw

Michigan Reading Journal

To ensure English Learners (ELs) / Multilingual Learners (MLs) have access to well-prepared educators, one regional university integrates a seven-credit block of courses to ensure teacher candidates learn and apply English as a Second Language methods within clinical experiences. Teacher candidates must create a technology-integrated Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) lesson plan by utilizing the following key strategies designed to support EL/MLs’ literacy development for academic purposes: adding both content and language objectives, building background knowledge through connecting students’ cultural experiences, and developing comprehensible input in different proficiency levels.

Nurturing A Community Of Literacy Coaches: A Comprehensive Approach To Improved Literacy Instruction, Heather Rottermond, Colleen Whalen, Laura Gabrion, Joseph L. Musial

Michigan Reading Journal

Because equitable literacy practices provide students with access and opportunity, it is essential to build strong and supportive communities for literacy educators. At the center of these communities are literacy coaches who work extensively to cultivate trusting relationships to disrupt the status quo, thereby improving literacy instruction and student success. Literacy coaches build coaching structures and learning cultures that equitably expand educators’ knowledge, skills, and capacity to increase student literacy within and beyond classrooms. This article examines Years One through Three of the Wayne County COSA (Coach on Special Assignment) Initiative. It explores the value of building and sustaining an …

Implementing Siop In Online Teaching: Experiences From An Elementary School Teacher, Emily Dulaney, Virginia David, Amira Eldemerdash

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

This paper describes how one ESL elementary school teacher implemented the SIOP Model in her teaching when her school shifted from in person to online learning in the spring of 2020. Ms. Dulaney serves as the ESL teacher in a rural school district with 15% Multilingual Learners (MLs). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all schools in the state of Michigan were shut down for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year in early March, forcing K-12 teachers to shift to online learning. Ms. Dulaney met with her MLs online once a week for 30 minutes and planned lessons that incorporated …

Review Of Rubin, H., Estrada, L., & Honigsfeld, A. (2022). Digital-Age Teaching For English Learners: A Guide To Equitable Learning For All Students (2nd Ed.), Hanrui He, Andrea Rakushin Lee

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

Review of Rubin, H., Estrada, L., & Honigsfeld, A. (2022). Digital-age teaching for English learners: A guide to equitable learning for all students (2^nd ed.)

Improving Fluency And Its Components To Enhance Comprehension, Amanda J. Skellie Ms.

Masters Projects

As students face many obstacles in their educational journey, it is agreed upon that literacy achievement is an essential skill for all humans. Once students are able to read fluently they can focus on reading to learn for a purpose. With numerous factors affecting literacy development, it is important to scaffold students learning to meet their needs in order to acquire necessary reading skills. The focus of this project is to improve fluency through a scaffolded model in order to focus attention on reading to learn as lifelong learners. Fluency and its components: accuracy, rate, and prosody, is an important …

Reflections On Justice: Empowering Ells Through Political Philosophy, J. Paul Marlowe

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

In today’s polarized political climate, language education that includes more critical thinking, develops argumentative skills, and fosters conflict resolution is vital to functioning democracies with increasingly diverse societies. To address this need, the popular Justice course taught by Harvard professor Michael Sandel was adapted for English language learners in the context of an English for Academic Purposes program at a Japanese university. The author describes the experience of adapting this course to the context including a discussion on why the topic is relevant, ideas for how materials can be adapted for English language learners in different settings, how to use …

Promoting A Truly Thriving L2 Writing Classroom For Bilingual And Multilingual Learners: A Review Of Losey And Shuck’S Plurilingual Pedagogies For Multilingual Writing Classrooms: Engaging The Rich Communicative Repertoires Of U.S. Students, Antonella Beatriz Dell'aquila

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

Book review of Plurilingual Pedagogies for Multilingual Writing Classrooms: Engaging the Rich Communicative Repertoires of U.S. Students by Kay M. Losey and Gail Shuck.

Developing Literacy Through Play, Molli Vanderjagt

Masters Projects

The loss of play in the classroom has had a significant impact on children’s foundational literacy skills. It has hindered children’s language development by reducing their verbal skills and language comprehension and decreasing vocabulary. Child development has not changed, and yet we continue to put more academic pressure on our youngest students. This project addresses the need for play in early education classrooms. It then provides research why play is important in developing foundational literacy skills, such as oral language and vocabulary, comprehension and recall and higher-level thinking, and possible classroom applications. The project concludes with a presentation for administrators, …

Phonics Intervention Supports In 3rd-6th Grade, Nicole Embury

Masters Projects

Older students have gaps in their foundational literacy skills, especially phonics. This project explores the causes of the literacy skills gaps and what types of interventions and instruction can support closing those phonics skills gaps in students who are in third through sixth grade. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory framework provides systematic, explicit instruction to support students in their phonics and reading skills. Although this research focuses on students' skills, how teachers supply the instruction is essential to helping students. This project provides various assessments to narrow down where a student is missing a skill and some activities to support the student …

Coaching And Developing Non-Certified Instructional Staff In Key Literacy Practices, Holly Nicole Bigos

Masters Projects

Paraprofessionals are vital staff members of elementary schools that often provide small group instruction for struggling students to develop key literacy skills. Despite the critical contribution paraprofessionals can provide, schools often neglect to adequately train and develop these staff members to support students’ instructional literacy needs. This project explores the relevant history of paraprofessional staff in schools and the current need for increased development and support of these staff members. Additionally, modern sustainable solutions are explored to develop paraprofessional literacy knowledge and instructional skills for these vital staff members. Programming recommendations are grounded in adult learning theory, feedback and coaching, …

Knowledge Building Through Interdisciplinary Units, Jessica A. Deboer

Masters Projects

Research demonstrates that developing a strong knowledge base is vitally important for students to demonstrate comprehension in reading. Comprehension strategies are an important skill to learn, but can only be utilized if a student has background knowledge of the subject. Schema theory supports the idea that knowledge is most effectively acquired through networks of prior knowledge built into the brain’s long term memory. The more vocabulary and concept knowledge a person has in their network of schemata the easier it is for them to connect and hold onto new information. An interdisciplinary curriculum can grow students' knowledge and their comprehension …

Effective Reading Intervention In The Intermediate Grades, Cassandra Baas

Masters Projects

Reading proficiency among intermediate-grade students remains below expected grade level, necessitating a comprehensive approach to teaching reading intervention. Research indicates that students struggling with reading often exhibit difficulties in both foundational skills and comprehension. To address these challenges, a multicomponent intervention combining explicit skill instruction with engaging comprehension practice is needed. A cognitive science framework, emphasizing active learning, metacognition, and the role of automatic decoding in freeing working memory for comprehension, is essential. Additionally, a reader-response perspective is beneficial, as it encourages deep engagement and critical thinking, helping to foster a lifelong love of reading.

Effective intervention requires a deep …

Increasing The Level Of English Language Learners Mathematical Word Problem Skills Using Language Interventions, Hannah M. Frederick

Masters Projects

This project highlights the possible solutions to the ever-increasing achievement gap between English Language Learners and native-English speaking students in United States’ schools. Standardized assessments are composed of mathematical word problems so instead of students being tested on their math abilities, they are also being tested on their reading comprehension. This adds an additional difficulty for English Language Learners who are in the process of learning English. This project outlines a plan to increase ELLs word problem skills through the explicit teaching of vocabulary and reading comprehension. These interventions will allow ELLs to improve their English abilities in a mathematical …

Utilizing Morphology Instruction To Improve Students’ Reading Proficiency, Michelle Marie Sweigart

Masters Projects

Many adolescent learners face difficulties with reading comprehension as grades progress. Research suggests that this is due to a variety of contributing factors, including deficits in decoding, fluency, and vocabulary, in addition to content-area vocabulary becoming increasingly challenging. While research has shown the vast benefits of utilizing morphology instruction across grade levels to improve vocabulary, especially in secondary education, it is a largely underutilized area for intervention. This project explores the potential benefits of offering adolescents a morphological intervention to make grade-level vocabulary across content areas more accessible. Through the use of explicitly-taught strategies to systematically break down and employ …