Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Family Literacy Project, Laura K. Scully

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of the family literacy project was to implement a partnership program connecting the Title I reading teacher and the school with parents of children receiving Title I reading services. It involved an effort to promote children's literacy in the home. The partnership emphasized collaboration and encouraged input from parents. The focus of the project was to integrate curricular activities that met the students' current educational needs with literacy activities that already occurred naturally in the home.

A Literature Base To Promote Peer Discussion Groups In A Third-Grade Reading Program, Angela L. Seifert

Graduate Research Papers

A decided trend in the literature-based reading program movement in the elementary school is the discussion of ideas that have been generated during the reading process. These interactions with peers and teachers can assist children in constructing meaning from the text and in considering alternative interpretations of the text, thus extending their thinking-language abilities.

To extend discussion in a third-grade classroom, an annotated list of picture books to accompany some of the designated themes of the reading program have been developed. An example teacher-directed lesson to promote inference-making through discussion is also included.

Connecting The Writing Process In The Science Program Through Learning Logs, Franda M. Shorey

Graduate Research Papers

Writing across the curriculum is an important trend in language programs. As children engage in the language processes within the functions of the content areas, they not only create meaning but extend their thinking-language abilities and their knowledge of science.

The writer as a third grade teacher used her students' learning logs in science as one guide to their writing instruction. This qualitative means gave much insight into students' application of writing tasks.

Portfolios As An Alternative Assessment, Carmine Z. Draude

Graduate Research Papers

During the past decade, there has been a shift in paradigms by educational reformers to provide a more authentic means of student assessment in our schools. These assessments need to be multidimensional and provide a more accurate picture of students' abilities. The portfolio is one type of alternative assessment that has proven to do this.

This paper discusses the use of portfolios with a group of ninth grade students enrolled in an English course. These portfolios were a systematic collection of the students' work to demonstrate how (1) they have developed and grown academically and (2) how their attitudes and …

Invented Spelling : The Role Of Developmental Spelling In Early Childhood Classrooms, Cynthia L. Ford

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a review of literature relative to the importance of Invented Spelling in early childhood classrooms. The primary focus of this paper was to develop guidelines which should be used to implement a model program. The literature examined included the features of Invented Spelling and the stages of Invented Spelling. Also, the advantage and disadvantages of Invented Spelling were discussed.

The conclusion of this paper offers suggestions to educators on how to implement a model Invented Spelling program. Recommendations for further research in the area are stated.

Reading/Writing Connection, Sandra J. Carpenter

Graduate Research Papers

Reading and writing have many common tasks. Children's language abilities are nurtured through instructional practices that connect these commonalities. In a second-grade language arts program, tasks presented through reading instruction were related to children's writing experiences. To support the reading-writing connection, a strong literature base was created. This base offered models of language and focuses for discussions to relate the commonalities of the processes. The teacher traced the transfer of reading instruction to the children's writing through a collection of their writing pieces.

Mentoring To Foster Children's Emerging Literacy, Janet K. Archer

Graduate Research Papers

Many children benefit from additional association with supportive adults at school. Mentoring programs are one way of providing support. Mentors can assist in fostering children's personal-social and thinking-language abilities.

A brochure with basic guidelines for mentors has been developed. It is intended as a reference source with suggestions for mentoring procedures and language activities.

A Literature-Based Thematic Unit For A Multi-Age Classroom : Friendship, Leslie Baxter

Graduate Research Papers

A literature-based thematic unit, friendship, has been developed for a multi-age classroom (grades three and four). This thematic unit can contribute to a major goal of a multi-age classroom: to provide students with a learning community in which they can find meaningful learning experiences, thus strengthening their personal-social and thinking-language abilities. The strands for the unit not only included friendship among peers, but also they extended the horizons of friendship to young children through mentoring, to peers at a distance through pen pals, and to the elderly through visitations to a retirement home.

In developing a print-rich learning environment for …

Parents And Literacy : The Importance Of Reading Aloud To Children, Phyllis A. Christiansen

Graduate Research Papers

Parents are vital to their children's emerging literacy. Reading aloud to children offers parents opportunities to extend their child's knowledge about reading. A review of professional literature suggests that reading aloud provides children with reading role models, positive attitudes towards reading, a sense of story, improved listening abilities, exposure to different language patterns, concepts and related vocabulary, exposure to the rhythm and sound of language, book handling abilities, and knowledge about print format.

The Take Me Home project provides parents with access to quality literature and related activities to enhance the family's read aloud experience. Packets have been developed with …

Implementing A Reading Recovery Shared Classroom : Good First-Grade Reading Instruction For All, Bonnie L. Hoewing

Graduate Research Papers

Reading Recovery is an early intervention designed by Marie Clay (1985) to be implemented in an educational system for the purpose of providing a second chance for success for first grade children who are at risk of failing to learn to read. Reading Recovery is preventive rather than a remedial intervention. Early intervention to deal with reading difficulties is much more powerful than remediation at a later time. Good teaching of reading skills, early in a child's formal education, will help create the foundation needed for continued learning throughout their lives.

Literature-Based Language Arts Extended To The Science Area : Flight And Space, Thomas F. Ryan

Graduate Research Papers

This instructional project is an integration of the language arts and science areas. A fertile learning environment was established with a literature base that included different genres and related expressive activities. This extensive literature base provided an in-depth study of flight and space, a unit that is part of the third-fourth grade science curriculum.

The goal of this project was to present quality literature, representative of many genres, to integrate study across the curriculum. As the learners progressed through the activities that were student-initiated as well as teacher-directed, they displayed an increased appreciation of literature as well as a working …

Discussion To Promote Inference Making, Leah J. Muxfeldt

Graduate Research Papers

Using discussion as an integral part of the reading program is a natural outgrowth of real literature in the classroom. Children need opportunities to engage in conversations about their literature experiences in order to enrich and refine their understanding of them. Teachers can facilitate discussions that promote in-depth understandings of reading experiences by providing children with opportunities to make inferences. As a result, children become accustomed to bringing their prior knowledge to reading experiences to discover inferred meanings, thus extending their thinking-language abilities.

Literacy In The Multiage Classroom : A Review Of The Research, Barbara Avaux Messer

Graduate Research Papers

Multi-age grouping has a long history and is once again being studied as a viable alternative to the age-graded education model. Research indicates that multi-age programs are academically effective as well as being beneficial in promoting feelings of self-efficacy in students. Our society has changed since the inception of the age-graded model and teachers today are looking at multi-age education as a way to meet the diverse needs of their students. Successful multi-age programs have similar characteristics, but each program needs to be designed to meet the needs of the community it serves. Specific teaching strategies, materials, and assessment methods, …

Through Whose Eyes, Susan Kay Aries Jolly

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to determine if third and fourth grade students enjoy reading and or enjoy books that are told from the first person point of view. Two versions of two different stories were used to determine reading preferences. The final samples included 46 third grade students and 38 fourth grade students. It was found that in the third grade, the first story, the boys preferred first person point of view and the girls preferred third person point of view. Fourth grade boys and girls both preferred the story told from the first person point of view. …

Writers Workshop In A Second Grade Classroom, Julie Ryan

Graduate Research Papers

A writers workshop consists of peer and teacher interaction in assigned small groups. For this project, a writers workshop was implemented in a second grade classroom. A print-rich environment and a careful introduction to the components of the writing process were the basis of the program. Students were offered a continuous and predictable workshop schedule. Guidance was given in the form of student-teacher conferences, mini-lessons and the introduction of many genres of writing.

Elements Of Writers Workshops In A Third Grade Classroom, Gale L. Nagunst

Graduate Research Papers

The act of writing is a natural process and should be treated as such. For children seven years and older, writing usually is not a linear act that follows a prescribed set of steps in a particular order, but a recursive process in which writers move forward and back through the different components of writing to make meaning. A classroom that includes writers workshops, or groups of children working together to interact about writing, must incorporate several important elements to allow this recursive, natural process to happen. These elements include classroom organization, ample writing time, models of writing, teacher instruction …

A Literature-Based Extension Of A Basal Reading Unit, Julie J. Holdsworth-Nagal

Graduate Research Papers

A unit on friendship in the basal reader was extended to include many literature experiences and teacher-directed and student-initiated activities for children in second grade. Quality pieces of literature from different genres served as the unit's basis. Many different expressive activities that extended the literature experiences were offered through learning centers, both sustaining and specific to the unit. Children worked in the centers individually, in pairs, and in small groups. Whole group sharing time at the end of daily center sessions was provided.

The print-rich environment with many opportunities for engaging in the language processes led to quality comprehension-composition connections. …

Integrating Literature-Based Language Arts And Mathematics, Lora L. Irvine

Graduate Research Papers

The National Counsel of Teachers in Mathematics in 1989 developed a list of 13 mathematical standards that would lead to a more effective way to teach mathematics. Before they began their list of standards, they made a list of goals. These goals stressed the importance of making learning relevant to the learner.

The goals that the NCTM developed are similar to the theoretical formulations that support instruction in the language arts. Many leading authorities in language arts advocate an instructional program that extends literature-based language arts across the curriculum. The content areas provide content and experiences with the functions of …

Literature-Based Language Arts Extended To The Science Area : Backyard Unit, Grade 2, Suzanne Jensen

Graduate Research Papers

This paper explores the process of integrating second grade language arts into a science unit through a literature base representative of the different genres. This experience will provide students with the opportunities to connect the content of a backyard theme with quality literature and related expressive activities. From the supporting professional references cited, it becomes clear that students' positive interactions with literature develop self-motivated learners.

Parental And Community Involvement In Reading Education, Rhonda S. Johnstone

Graduate Research Papers

Research shows the effects of parental involvement in reading education to be beneficial to students, parents, teachers, and schools. Parental involvement can aid students in keeping up with (and possibly catching up with) grade level reading, learn to appreciate books, and about the various ways of communication in real life situations. Parent involvement helps parents gain the understanding of their children's strengths and weaknesses in literacy acquisition and the opportunity to assist in their development. Teachers may gain an insight into students, and their literate activities outside of school, which might help with curriculum development. At the same time, schools …

Developing Literacy Through Symbolic Play, Lisa Kaiser

Graduate Research Papers

This study examined the effects of symbolic play on children's emerging literacy. Benefits, as well as problems, associated with facilitating literacy through symbolic play were discussed. Guidelines for teachers on the successful use of symbolic play as a tool for literacy development were presented. Conclusions were drawn from the literature and recommendations made for the future facilitation of literacy-based play.

Literature Circles, Diane Maclennan

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a review of the literature concerning the use of literature circles in elementary classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to present all aspects of literature circles, both the pros and cons, within the context of elementary classrooms. The content of the paper deals with the historical aspect of reading instruction, variations of literature circles, advantages of literature circles, and suggested guidelines for successful literature circles. This paper concludes that literature circles are a unique format for successful book discussions in which· students and teachers work collaboratively to enable optimal educational success.

A Thematic Unit For A Reading Program In Grade Two Oral History, Tracy M. Daugherty

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to present the benefits of a literature-based reading program. Included in this paper is an example of a literature-based unit presented to a second grade class. This instructional development unit included several components for student learning.

Phonemic Awareness : An Action Research Study, Pamela Miller

Graduate Research Papers

This study addresses the issue of phonemic awareness instruction and its effects on reading. Benefits of reading programs that encompass phonemic awareness training and problems with approaches that do not encompass phonemic awareness were discussed as well as benefits and problems associated with both direct phonemic awareness instruction and indirect phonemic awareness instruction. An action research study using Scholastic Phonemic Awareness Kit was conducted and conclusions were drawn from the study and from the literature. Recommendations were made for future phonemic awareness training.

Integrated Science Unit : Ponds And Water, Evelyn K. Oliver

Graduate Research Papers

This instructional development project integrated the language arts and the science areas. The science content was ponds and water from the second grade curriculum. A rich learning environment was provided through a literature base, representing the different genres and related expressive activity. The unit was presented through teacher-directed activity and learning centers that offered many options from which children could select experiences.

The goals of the program were to give children more control over their learning and to extend children's thinking-language abilities by capitalizing on the common processes of the language arts and science areas and offering many opportunities to …

Helping Students Learn To Spell : A Look Inside A Second Grade Classroom, Carolyn J. Nuss

Graduate Research Papers

Learning how to spell is a complex, developmental process. This research paper describes how second grade students improved their spelling development in the context of daily reading and writing. Realizing that instruction in spelling patterns and strategies is needed for most students, this paper describes how instruction was based upon the results of the Developmental Spelling Test and the students' writing samples. Four case studies will be presented in order to provide an in-depth look at the improvements that were demonstrated by the class as a whole.

A History Of The Development And Implementation Of A Whole Language Curriculum In A Rural Iowa Middle School, Anthony M. Pieper

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to examine the history of a whole language curriculum which was developed and implemented for grades five and six in a rural Iowa middle school and to discuss any insights gained from the process. This project presents a description of the whole language curriculum and a rationale for its development. It also explains the purpose of a whole language curriculum and its importance to students, teachers, administrators, and parents.

The project describes the procedures used by the middle school in the development and implementation of the curriculum. The project concludes with a description of …

Reading In The Kindergarten, Christine E. Resch

Graduate Research Papers

This study examines the effectiveness of implementing a formal reading program in the Kindergarten. Past and present reading instruction methods were reviewed. Benefits, as well as problems, associated with such implementation and instruction were discussed and conclusions were drawn from the literature. Guidelines and recommendations for implementing various approaches to the teaching of reading in the Kindergarten were outlined.

Perspectives On Early Literacy : The Monroe School, Mona S. Rosdail

Graduate Research Papers

This article is based on two days of observations and interviews in an all- kindergarten school in a small midwest city. The purpose of my research was to look at how the steps taken by this school correlate with the steps of Erickson's Dance in addressing the needs and development of the school when becoming an all-kindergarten literacy center. I feel that the information in this article would benefit educators who would like to implement changes in their schools.

Integrating Spelling Instruction In A First-Grade Balanced Literacy Classroom, Michele Smith

Graduate Research Papers

This article describes how one teacher integrated some explicit spelling instruction in her first-grade balanced literacy classroom. The purpose for this article is to give an overview of the latest research concerning issues that affect spelling instruction and describe activities that can be used to teach children strategies for effective word study. The spelling program described in this article provided students with a purposeful way to study words and provided them with authentic writing experiences. The conclusion states a need for a balance between authentic reading and writing and purposeful word study.