Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

The Status Of Phonics Instruction: Learning From The Teachers, Sherry Sanden, Deborah A. Macphee, Luminita Hartle, Stephen Poggendorf, Caleb Zuiderveen

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Increasingly alarmed by instructional mandates more founded on journalistic rhetoric and popular opinion than on research findings or practitioner expertise, researchers gathered survey data from teachers to better understand the status of K–2 phonics instruction. Data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of these K–2 teachers teach phonics, rely on a published curriculum, and teach phonics in systematic and explicit ways. These findings contradict media assertions that reading classrooms are largely devoid of phonics instruction and that teachers fail to include phonics as an important element of their reading instruction. Implications include calls for researchers to explore what teachers can share …

“Pockets Of Hope”: Changing Representations Of Diversity In Newbery Medal–Winning Titles, Kathleen A. Paciga, Melanie D. Koss

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Newbery Medal–winning books provide cultural models for children’s developing cultural understandings of themselves and others. This article presents results of a critical content analysis that used sociocultural and historical lenses to examine representations of race/ethnicity, gender, and ability of main characters across the Newbery-winning corpus and how these representations have changed over the history of the award, 1922–2019. Findings present a lack of consistent diverse representation across all fields, with increased diverse representation in the most recent decades. The discussion contextualizes findings against historical events. Understanding the representations of diversity in these texts and the historical contexts within which such …

Editorial Review Board

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Responding To Literature Through Student–Author Interviews: Eighth-Grade Students Challenge Chris Crowe’S Mississippi Trial, 1955, Danielle L. Defauw, Chris Crowe, Christine Burnett

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study explores virtual, student–author interviews eighth-grade students led with Chris Crowe in response to his young adult novel Mississippi Trial, 1955. The opportunity to interview the author motivated students to read the novel. Through their text-world development, students connected with the fictional and nonfictional characters, Hiram Hillburn and Emmett Till, respectively. Through their critical reader-responses, students sought truth about Emmett Till’s case as they questioned Crowe about the choices he made as an author and researcher, which supported students’ understanding of character development and historical significance of Emmett Till’s case. Crowe’s answers to the students’ critical questions were …

Effects Of A Combined Approach To Grammar Instruction In A Foreign Language Classroom, Kristy Eide (Ryan)

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the impact of brief, targeted explicit grammar instruction on Spanish I students’ achievement in the acquisition of a foreign language. The research was conducted in the action researcher’s classroom, in a 3A school district in rural Iowa with 88 participants, aged 14-17. Students were split into two groups; one receiving implicit grammar instruction and the other receiving brief, targeted explicit grammar instruction in addition to the implicit grammar instruction. Quantitative data was collected throughout a unit from four main teacher-created summative assessments centered around the four domains of language; baseline …

The Role Of Medical Language In Patient Care: Designing An Educational Session On The Use Of Non-Stigmatizing Language, Daniel Dooling

EMET Projects

No abstract provided.

From Reflection To Analysis: Languaging Lteracy Teaching And Learning, Lindsey Rowe, Jackie Ridley, Marie Borkowski, Michiko Hikida

Publications

While reflection is generally considered an important part of becoming a teacher, there is no consensus regarding how reflection assignments might be best incorporated into teacher education programs. In this multiple case study, we examine the writing of early-childhood (P-3) preservice teachers who were asked to write either reflections or analytic notes. Using a constant comparative analysis, we found that when asked to write analytic notes rather than reflections, preservice teachers tended to use more evidence to support their claims, but often used language that erased their interpersonal relationships with students. Implications for preservice teacher education programs are …

Effects Of Differentiated Literacy Instruction In A Kindergarten Classroom, Brenda Nagel

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research was to determine if using differentiating literacy in kindergarten led to more successful student achievement. This included implementing multi-sensory learning, learning styles, positive relationships, and relevant, specific data. The researcher is a kindergarten teacher in her 6th year of teaching, where her own students participated in the class-wide intervention. The timeline for conducting this action research was eight weeks. This included the quantitative phonics pre-assessment through FAST (Formative Assessment System for Teachers), implementation of differentiated literacy activities tailored to various learning styles, collection of purposeful and relevant quantitative data, and a post-assessment on literacy …

The Expanding Expression Tool's Impact On Expressive Language In Preschool, Jill Owens

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Action research for this project was selected to meet a need for more effective vocabulary instruction in the researcher's classroom and teaching site. Current literature supports the need for more effective vocabulary instruction in early childhood. The intervention used the Expanding Expression Tool (EET) as an instructional strategy to support expressive language development in the researcher's preschool classroom. Eighteen students in a four-year-old classroom participated in an intervention using explicit instruction during large group, small group, and sharing (show and tell). Standardized and researcher created measures were used to determine significance of the outcomes. Findings showed an increase in expressive …

Utilizing Technology To Increase Language Understanding For Ell Students, Kristina Signore

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was driven by the researcher’s interest in using technology to enhance ELL students’ language understanding. Specifically, the researcher was particularly interested in using a class-wide intervention called “Storyworld”. This intervention is technology-based and will be used to help increase English skills including all the language-learning domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The researcher is a third grade general-education teacher that has been teaching third grade students for three years. In particular, the population of students within the researcher’s third grade classroom are characterized as English language learners. The intervention, Storyworld, was implemented over a course of 4 …

Effects Of Using Hands-On Materials During Narrative Literacy Activities In The Preschool Classroom, Brittany White

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Hands-on learning has been long studied for its effectiveness in accelerating student outcomes and increasing student engagement. The present study focuses on the use of hands-on, interactive materials during narrative literacy activities for seventeen preschool students in an urban, Midwest city. Through implementation of an intervention involving students manipulating hands-on materials during a large group read aloud, findings indicate 94% of students made growth in the area of story comprehension between pre and post assessment and 64% of students reached proficiency after intervention. Overall, this study improves our awareness of the benefits of using hands-on, interactive activities with preschool students …

An Evaluation Of Educator Preparedness In Content Area And Disciplinary Literacies In The High School Classroom, Lauren E. Bernat

Dissertations

A secondary education debate that currently exists between the content area and disciplinary literacy is how content area and disciplinary literacy strategies and educator preparedness to teach those components to fit together to further student achievement. The purpose of my study was to evaluate if educators are prepared to teach content area and disciplinary literacy in high school content area classrooms. The context of this evaluation was to seek information from teachers and administrators about how literacy is integrated within high school classrooms in various communities across the United States. My study demonstrated both quantitative and qualitative data that reflect …

Effects Of Mixed Ability Guided Reading Groups In The Elementary Setting, Lauren Allison

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research was driven by the researcher's interest in mixed ability guided reading groups and the effect they can have on student fluency scores and reading assessments. The researcher utilized mixed ability guided reading groups for nine weeks, while monitoring progress using FastBridge CBMreading fluency passages weekly. The research was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of mixed ability grouping within guided reading groups. The researcher is a second grade teacher in her ninth year of teaching. The findings revealed a common trend of increased fluency and accuracy within words per minute, specifically for students who fell below benchmark when …

Impact Of Student-Tracked Reading Fluency, Hannah Scotton

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research project was driven by the researcher's interest on the impact that student-tracked reading fluency has on fluency growth. The researcher implemented a repeated reading fluency intervention with a group of eight first grade students from her classroom. Four of the eight students tracked their reading fluency scores on a graph while the other four students, in the control group, did not record their data. Throughout the study, the eight would individually work with the instructor during their repeated reading. The same repeated reading passage was used with all eight students. The findings from this action research project …

What Effect Does Phonemic Awareness Have On Young Readers?, Alexis Te Brink

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

A School Improvement Plan is an excellent roadmap that consecutively lays down particular interventions that a school will implement. The plan strengthens shared governance by offering an opportunity where the district collaboratively identifies interventions and plans to address priority areas that require improvements. Students who have difficulty learning are subjected to the reading and repetition hypothesis. However, certain approaches and techniques see learners devise ways of embedding context in their guessing worlds, skipping the words they are not familiar with and memorizing phrases and terms. Therefore, teaching phonemic awareness to young children in their early years dispels later challenges related …

The Use Of Short Videos To Promote L2 Interaction Among Young Efl Learners, Safa Alothali

Dissertations

Short videos are a tool for multimodal learning. Utilizing these videos in second language (L2) classrooms to facilitate interaction among learners can be an asset for language learning by providing varied pedagogical approaches. This convergent concurrent mixed-methods design study analyzed the efficacy of short videos to promote L2 interaction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study aimed to highlight if short videos facilitate classroom interaction among EFL learners and in what ways. It also indented to pinpoint young EFL learners’ perceptions and attitudes toward using short videos in promoting their interaction …

Fomentar La Equidad En El Aprendizaje De Verano Para Los Estudiantes De Un Distrito Escolar Rural De Título I: El Libre Acceso A Los Recursos Educativos, Kathrina M. O'Connell

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Esta investigación estudia la pérdida del aprendizaje de verano y el efecto de los recursos de verano en el desarrollo de la alfabetización de los estudiantes. El presente estudio explicativo secuencial de métodos mixtos fue diseñado utilizando la teoría del grifo para proporcionar recursos equitativos y apoyo educativo a los estudiantes de quinto al octavo grado en un distrito escolar rural, socioeconómicamente desfavorecido. En un esfuerzo por reducir la pérdida de aprendizaje durante las vacaciones de verano, se coordinaron el transporte, desayunos, almuerzos, libros y un programa de enriquecimiento enfocado en la alfabetización para todos los participantes. El enfoque pragmático …

Dismantling Structural Systems Of Oppression Through A Revolutionized Pedagogy, Ambar A. Quintanilla

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Can Close Reading Improve Skills And A Desire To Read? (Action Research Proposal), Whitney Moon

Graduate Research Showcase

“I have no idea what this paper is talking about, what does this word mean, do we have to read all of it?” I hear these phrases and questions repeatedly in my eighth-grade classroom from students that not only struggle reading but also to dig deeper and pull out the meaning of specific passages given to them. This school year I realized that students are being required to read less (for numerous reasons this action research will not cover) and when they are expected to complete a reading assignment; there is pushback, apathy and a lack of desire to …

Judicial Approaches In Plagiarism Litigation: Lessons For Universities In East Africa, Hamudi Ismail Majamba

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The escalation of plagiarism in universities and subsequent litigations by postgraduate students seeking to challenge universities’ decisions through courts of law worldwide are noticeably increasing. This article reviews trends in plagiarism-related litigations involving postgraduate students in universities in East Africa. The focus is on select universities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The objective is to determine the approaches that courts of law in the region, and those in other jurisdictions, have adopted in developing legal principles while determining plagiarism-related litigations. The recommendations advanced seek to assist courts in the region to determine cases in accordance with emerging and well-defined legal …

Call For Manuscripts

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

A Sequence Of Poems On Writing, Teaching, Words And Thought, Louis Gallo

Virginia English Journal

no abstract,it's poetry

Breaking Down Barriers: Practicing Silent Discussions In The Classroom, Kristina E. Bell

Virginia English Journal

While full-class oral discussions may be beneficial for some students, there may also be others in classrooms who may feel uncomfortable with participating in discussions such as these for a myriad of reasons. These reasons often extend beyond the negative assumption of students not caring about classroom content. In my own classroom, one discussion practice that I have had the opportunity to utilize with success is that of a “silent discussion,” a discussion that is both independent and silent, while allowing for written interaction amongst peers. Breaking down barriers for students and allowing for greater opportunities for active engagement through …

Eating The Earth: The Poetic ‘Coming Out’ Journey Of One Middle School Teacher, Clint D. Whitten

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

The Dissipating Energy: When Teaching Priorities Are Repositioned, Lauren May

Virginia English Journal

The issue of teacher attrition has strengthened over the course of the decade, especially with the influence of a global pandemic (Zamarro et al., 2021). Ingersoll et al. (2018) found that 44% of teachers leave the field of education within the first five years of their careers. More recently, Zamarro et al. (2021) described a 6% increase in teachers expressing the desire to leave their teaching careers within the next five years. A wide range of demands have contributed to teacher attrition across the years, and it can be problematic when teaching philosophies are pushed aside as teachers attempt to …

Review Of Teaching In Rural Places: Thriving In Rural Classrooms, Schools, And Communities, Rachelle Kuehl

Virginia English Journal

This is a book review of Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms, Schools, and Communities, a first-of-its-kind textbook geared for preservice teachers interested in teaching successfully in rural schools.

Who’S ‘Ere?: Identifying And Addressing Rural Erasure In Ela Classrooms, Chea L. Parton

Virginia English Journal

This article briefly discusses research on the role of rural out-migrant ELA teachers' place-connected identities on rural erasure through text selection and instructional practice. Based on the research findings, it provides resources such as an equity audit for course syllabi and classroom libraries as well as tools for finding and selecting rural young adult literature to combat rural erasure and support teachers' inclusion of critical rural perspectives in their teaching.

Editorial

Virginia English Journal

No abstract provided.

Is Your School An A.S.S.E.T.?: Focusing On School Mental Health And Equitable Instruction, Emily Meeks Focused Minds Education Group, Taneesha Thomas

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This workshop provides Educators classroom resources that can be used within existing curriculum frameworks to enhance the mental health literacy of both students and teachers.

The session suggests strategies to implement strategic, systemic and sustainable changes which promote academic growth, resiliency and wellness.

A Virtual Community Literacy Partnership Between Middle School Students And Future Educators, Anne Katz Ph.D., Gabrielle Brundidge

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

A place-based literacy project was implemented virtually on a weekly basis with Hubert Middle School literacy leaders. Middle school students completed a project alongside pre-service educators at Georgia Southern University. All students read short stories from “Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks” by Jason Reynolds, participated in virtual literature circle discussions, and wrote short stories inspired by the mentor text. Virtual writing conferences allowed students to share their stories and conference with each other.