In a large urban school system located in a metropolitan city in the southeastern United States, third- and fifth-grade minority students in Title I elementary schools are performing below proficiency in social studies on the statewide standardized assessments. The lack of exposure to the social studies curriculum continues to hinder minority students from successfully comprehending complex informational text, which is important to their success in the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the problem teachers faced with an insufficient amount of time for teaching social studies content and the recent requirement to increase student exposure to informational text. The research used Lev Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism to provide a framework for the methods used in this paper. To address these problems, this study explored two third-grade and two fifth-grade language arts teachers' perceptions of integrating social studies text during their reading-language arts block. Further, the study observed teachers as they integrated social studies text to teach reading. Data for this case study were compiled from interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. The data were reviewed and coded to identify major themes and were then analyzed to generalize data findings. Teachers reported integrating social studies text afforded them the opportunity to maximize instructional time, teach the CCSS, and expose students to more informational text. Implications for positive social change include enabling teachers to identify the benefits of integrating social studies text during reading-language arts instruction and enabling minority students to increase their scores on the statewide social studies assessment.

For several years specialists in reading have debated on how pupils should learn to read. The debate has focused on two methods of teaching reading, that is, the phonic method and the whole language method. Some researchers have identified five elements of reading instruction that are critical to achievement in reading, namely; that reading instruction should include phonics, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. These are the components that make up what is termed a balanced literacy approach. Although there is some debate on what constitutes the balanced literacy approach, this study adopted the understanding of the approach described above. The study investigated whether the use of the balanced literacy approach could improve standard four pupils’ achievement in reading and writing in English. The targeted population consisted of twelve schools located in Zomba rural district. Pupils were tested before and after the intervention. Teachers in the experimental group were trained twice on balanced literacy approaches, first before the intervention and midway of the intervention. Observational measures revealed that teachers generally implemented the treatment. The post intervention data indicated that pupils responded very well to the activities that were presented to them. The reading and writing achievement of pupils that were present for the post-test increased more than those of the control group. The results obtained suggest that the balanced literacy approach improved the reading and writing achievement of standard four pupils in the experimental group. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

For several years specialists in reading have debated on how pupils should learn to read. The debate has focused on two methods of teaching reading, that is, the phonic method and the whole language method. Some researchers have identified five elements of reading instruction that are critical to achievement in reading, namely; that reading instruction should include phonics, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. These are the components that make up what is termed a balanced literacy approach. Although there is some debate on what constitutes the balanced literacy approach, this study adopted the understanding of the approach described above. The study investigated whether the use of the balanced literacy approach could improve standard four pupils’ achievement in reading and writing in English. The targeted population consisted of twelve schools located in Zomba rural district. Pupils were tested before and after the intervention. Teachers in the experimental group were trained twice on balanced literacy approaches, first before the intervention and midway of the intervention. Observational measures revealed that teachers generally implemented the treatment. The post intervention data indicated that pupils responded very well to the activities that were presented to them. The reading and writing achievement of pupils that were present for the post-test increased more than those of the control group. The results obtained suggest that the balanced literacy approach improved the reading and writing achievement of standard four pupils in the experimental group. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)