<p> The purpose of this research project was to determine the effects of literature categories on student engagement. The participants of this research project were selected from a third grade elementary class. They were selected at random. The class was heterogeneous containing twenty-one students. The dependent variable in this project was the student engagement while the independent variable was the literature category. Data was collected for two weeks in each category on student engagement and observational notes were also recorded. This research project determined that the literature category of nonfiction produced a high student engagement when texts were selected based on student&rsquo;s interests. This study was and is important because educators can use this information to help with classroom lessons and to reach students through literature. </p>

<p> This mixed-methods study included an in-depth look at the perceptions of first-grade teachers in southwest Missouri to gain insight into the knowledge, understanding, and perceptions of teachers when considering reading achievement and how it relates to Reading Recovery, student engagement, professional development, and socioeconomic status. A second piece to the study included a quantitative examination of the correlation between reading achievement and attendance. Focus groups were formed and an 11-question interview was conducted to gather insight into the perceptions of first-grade teachers across five different counties. Additionally, reading data and attendance from 249 students in those schools were used to determine if a correlation exists between reading achievement and student attendance. After completion of all focus groups, it was evident many commonalities exist among first-grade teachers across multiple districts. Most teachers find value in Reading Recovery, understand the importance of student engagement, see the disadvantages of those students who arrive from lower socioeconomic status families, and value professional development. Reading and attendance data revealed students with attendance greater than 94% have improved reading achievement over those with attendance below 94%. The results of this study can provide insight for administrators and district leaders when considering appropriate professional development in the area of reading achievement.</p>

<p> Delays in the development of early literacy skills are associated with a wrath of negative educational outcomes and so addressing such delays is one of the most pressing challenges in education. This study examines the effectiveness of the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Method, a multisensory reading program where instruction utilizes two or more senses simultaneously. Originally developed in the 1930s as a program for dyslexic students, OG has seen continual use since its creation and is endorsed by the American Dyslexic Foundation and the International Dyslexic Foundation. Over the past two decades OG has increasingly been incorporated into general education settings in the primary grades as a reading intervention for struggling readers regardless of whether they have dyslexia. However, there is a dearth of research demonstrating its causal effect as a reading intervention for children with dyslexia or who are experiencing reading delays for other reasons. Two quasi-experimental methods, Regression Discontinuity Design and Nonequivalent Comparison Group Design with propensity scores, are used to test the efficacy of an OG-based, general education reading intervention on a sample of over 700 kindergarten and first grade students who are experiencing reading delays from a large district in California. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessments were used to assign students to the intervention and measure their end-of-year reading outcomes. The results of both analyses revealed no effect for students enrolled in the intervention in either kindergarten or first grade. Within the year that students received the intervention, a small but non-significant gain on end-of-year DIBELS composite scores was found. Long-term outcomes showed that over half of the students in the intervention were still not meeting reading targets by the end of second grade. Moreover, while the treatment effect was found to vary significantly across classrooms and across schools, no available measures classroom or school characteristics where associated with that variation. These findings suggest that certain applications of the OG methodologies may not be effective in general education settings.</p>

<p> This qualitative case study relates to the area of word study. The research examines how specific strategies support academic progress when students are stunted at one orthographic stage on the language continuum. Teachers and reading specialists who support language development for students in first through third grades were interviewed as sources of information for this study. The results of this study yielded nine key findings to guide teachers in their instruction of word study. The teachers observed utilized a student-centered hands-on approach for teaching spelling as opposed to a memorization-based traditional approach. They strengthened word knowledge through an approach that focuses on active engagement and small group instruction word study. In addition, these findings reinforce life skills in teachers and their students. Aligned with transformative learning theory, these results emphasize a focus on self-reflection and a transformation of ideas for teachers. These results also develop the mindset of students as active participants in the learning process. The findings of the research are significant because they are transferable to other content areas as well. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to delve into the literacy instructional strategies of selected high-performing K-2 teachers in a Clark County, Nevada school district. The study assessed the efficacy of teachers using five core literacy components: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension for student achievement. High performing teachers were defined as consistently demonstrating student performance gains of 25% in at least one of the five core literacy components over a 3-year period. The research question for this study was: What instructional strategies are used by selected high-performing K-2 teachers who work with diverse populations that have demonstrated a minimum gain of 25% in reading as measured by AIMSweb to develop (a) phonemic awareness, (b) phonics, (c) fluency, (d) vocabulary, and (e) comprehension? </p><p> The study used a qualitative method of data collection and analysis through in-depth teacher interviews, classroom observations, and district-wide data analysis. Interviews were open-ended and observations involved six teachers during their classroom literacy instructional time. Checklists were used to facilitate data collection during observations. Classroom pictures, teachers&rsquo; lesson plans, and AIMSweb data were used to support results. </p><p> The findings revealed that the most successful literacy strategies for teaching the five components of literacy were: phonemic awareness (word manipulation, word play, and word sort), phonics (word study, sound/spelling, and decoding/encoding), fluency (choral reading, repeated timed reading, partner/student-adult reading, and reading connected text with corrective feedback), vocabulary (explicit instruction on word meaning/independent word learning, direct instruction on new vocabulary, and context clues), and comprehension (predicting, inferring, making connections, using graphic organizers, and activating/building on prior knowledge). In addition, study conclusions revealed that the most successful strategies for teaching K-2 literacy included teacher collaboration and planning; strategic use of individual, small, and whole grouping; and integrating technology. </p><p> Several recommendations emerged from the study. Teachers need to be given ongoing professional development and resources for teaching the five component specific literacy strategies. Time needs to consistently be allotted for teachers to collaborate and plan for literacy instruction. Exploring diverse student populations, and their literacy acquisition needs, is vital to the education of youth. Placing emphasis on differentiated instruction, study replication, and analyzing literacy strategies and acquisition practices using varied methodologies will improve educational outcomes.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning of a class of second graders&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences. This study is unique four key reasons. First, it focuses on a group of students whose school has been lagging in state English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency tests; second, it provides perspectives on how fairy tales affect the reading and writing of this group of students; third, it contributes to educational theory in terms of how to understand literacy practices by utilizing sociocultural theories; fourth, it implies that when it comes to educational policy, policy makers and educators should call for attention and efforts to tackle the problem of low ELA proficiency instead of putting students on the front line of low ELA test results and having them suffer the consequences of the outcomes. The current study employs a qualitative case study methodology supported by class observation and its fieldnotes, interviews, and materials that document second-grade students&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences. Grounded theory was used as analytical tool. The study found that students&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences were social practices built up in the community of fairy tale practices learning and expanded the capacities of students&rsquo; reading and writing.</p><p>

<p> This quantitative causal-comparative <i>ex post facto</i> research study aimed to investigate if a particular literacy approach impacted third grade English Language Arts (ELA) Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores in Missouri school districts. Specifically, the approaches examined included: A balanced literacy instructional framework with teacher instructional decision-making based on student needs; a balanced literacy instructional framework with district prescribed or scripted curriculum; and/or a curriculum-centered instructional framework with use of a published text (e.g. basal reading program). Additionally, the study analyzed the impact of intervention approaches (such as Reading Recovery and expert tutoring) and embedded professional development (such as literacy coaching and Professional Learning Communities) on third grade ELA MAP scores. </p><p> Survey responses from 61 districts were analyzed using district 2016&ndash;2017 ELA MAP scores. The findings showed a significant difference between MAP scores of districts using some type of balanced literacy approach to teach literacy and those relying on a scripted (e.g. basal reading program) approach. Therefore, the data indicates that balanced literacy approaches may be more effective for achieving higher ELA MAP scores than the basal approach.</p><p>

<p> Noticeably absent from the critical literacy field are accounts of critical literacy written from the experience and perspective of school leaders. This qualitative practitioner study examined the enactment of critical literacy by four elementary teachers and an elementary school principal in a small rural school in south central Pennsylvania. A critical literacy practitioner inquiry community was an important feature of this study, an importance that cannot be overstated. The interdependence of critical literacy and the inquiry community enabled the participants to disrupt notions of learning, teaching, and leading and what it means to be a student, teacher, and leader. This practitioner action research study contributes to the field of critical literacy in important ways. The study took place in a small rural elementary school in south central Pennsylvania, and the participants/co-researchers were all White, female, Christian educators of predominantly White students. During the study, the participants transformed learning, teaching, and leading by developing stances of critical inquiry and spaces of mutuality. The transformation changed the roles of teachers, learners, and leaders. The participants also confronted the state&rsquo;s system of accountability and educator effectiveness, and through that confrontation re-imagined their own professional identities. I am the principal, co-researcher, and author of this work.</p>

<p> The ability to read is the foundational skill which is taught in elementary schools across the state of Indiana. It is a complex process which allows children to derive meaning from printed text. Reading is the basis for learning and growth to continue during a child&rsquo;s educational life (Opitz &amp; Rasinski, 1998). Over time throughout history, the ability to read is and has been the great equalizer for people (Ruddell, Ruddell, &amp; Singer, 1994). </p><p> Reading has been taught and evaluated in many different ways (Groves, 2009). The state of Indiana has developed a standardized assessment to measure a child&rsquo;s reading ability and comprehension skills at the end of third grade. This summative assessment is known as the Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination or IREAD-3 (IDOE IREAD-3, n.d.). The assessment is based on Indiana Academic Standards to measure the foundational reading skills a child has developed by the end of third grade. It is used to determine promotion to fourth grade or retention in third grade (Title 511 Indiana State Board of Education, 2011). </p><p> A mixed method study was conducted to determine if relationships existed between the predictor variables of vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and teacher pedagogy and the criterion variable of passing percentage rates on the IREAD-3 assessment. In the quantitative survey, two null hypotheses were tested. The first null determined if the composite scores for vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and classroom pedagogy of elementary primary literacy teachers predict a statistically significant proportion of the variance on the IREAD-3 pass rate among schools of affluence. The second null determined if the composite scores for vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and classroom pedagogy of elementary primary literacy teachers predict a statistically significant proportion of the variance on the IREAD-3 pass rate among schools of poverty. A multiple linear regression was utilized to examine both hypotheses. The results of the regression analysis found that a linear combination of predictor variables did not explain a statistically significant amount of variance with IREAD-3 passing rate percentages for schools of affluence or schools of poverty. Therefore, the null hypotheses were retained. </p><p> The second part of the mixed method study focused on qualitative case study interviews with three building level principals and one teacher. During the interviews, five themes developed after the field notes and interview transcripts were coded and analyzed. The common themes which emerged were: </p><p> 1. Teachers have time during the school day to meet together to collaborate, plan, and discuss literacy skill development of their children. 2. Schools promote and embrace parents and volunteers as essential components which are included in the learning process during the school day. 3. Teachers voluntarily spend time after school to tutor students on a school-wide basis. 4. Learning is intentionally broken down into small groups based on reading level or ability. 5. Schools have a support network in place and literacy professionals to assist classroom teachers in teaching children to learn to read based on the use of data. </p><p> Several implications for teachers, principals, and district administrators were discussed as a result of the findings and conclusions. Finally, recommendations for further research were proposed.</p>

<p> This was an evaluation of the pilot program Paws for Reading along with other children&rsquo;s programs ages 5&ndash;11 or Kindergarten through fifth grade, according to their mission in a Midwest public library setting. Public libraries were incorporating more programming into the schedules for the benefit of the patrons and growing communities. In this mixed- methods study, the researcher created instruments including a survey, questionnaire, and observation form to evaluate library programming. The library patrons, staff, and managers gave their opinions about the children&rsquo;s programs provided by the library and the Pilot Program Paws for Reading. Questions included preference in library schedule, program visitation, and if the programs were developed with the library&rsquo;s mission in mind. Growing concerns stemmed from understanding if the programs were following the Midwest public library&rsquo;s mission, and liked by both patrons and staff. Additional concerns were centered on finding best timing of presentations, whether that was time of year or day. Another concern was understanding how the patron received news and updates from the library. No distinct study has been done in regards to the evaluation of a pilot program and the evaluation of similar children&rsquo;s library programs. </p><p> To answer the researcher questions the investigator created evaluation tools for managers, staff, and patrons to respond to after attending the programs. A researcher created observation tool was used to examine the presentation, patrons, and staff during set up, program time, and clean up. The groups evaluated can help determine the usefulness, quality and longevity of the program presented. Multiple themes were represented during the evaluation and included the Midwest public library&rsquo;s mission for the community, convenience of the program, and if the respondents believed the program should continue or if there were changes needed. The program evaluation, according to the hypothesis, declared that participation rates for Paws for Reading was expected to significantly increase compared to the other programs implemented during the evaluation period. In addition, perceptions and perspectives of library programs from managers, staff, parents and caregivers were used to determine if the children&rsquo;s programs were successful and aligned with the library&rsquo;s mission. The results did not yield a significant increase in attendance, but positive and helpful reactions from patrons and staff resulted in an evaluation process that was beneficial for the library and community.</p><p>