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Reading comprehension is the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language (Snow, Science and Technology, and States, 2002). For many students, there is a decrease in reading achievement as early as fourth grade as a result of increased demands in complexity of intermediate text (Williams et al., 2005). Reading attitude is “a system of feelings related to reading which causes the learner to approach or avoid a reading situation” (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975, p. 1). McKenna, Kear, and Ellsworth (1995) found that attitude towards reading grew increasingly negative as students moved from first to sixth grade. In addition, the Common Core Standards requirement on students to read and write from informational text has made an even greater demand on teachers to improve reading comprehension. The study aimed to advance the research on the impact of reading strategy instruction towards reading comprehension and reading attitude. Reading strategies are deliberate attempts to modify the reader’s efforts to construct meaning of text. The current quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of the Reciprocal Mapping (Fine, 2004) approach on third-grade students’ reading comprehension achievement and reading attitude. Reciprocal Mapping (Fine, 2004) is an integrated reading/writing strategy, using visual representation to make concrete the process of examining the text structure of science informational text. The theoretical framework for the proposed study stems from a sociocultural perspective. This perspective incorporates readers’ backgrounds while developing their cognitive strategies and metacognitive skills for comprehending text. The investigator developed a pretest/posttest comparison group quasi-experimental design. The study’s independent variable was group membership, with the dependent variables being reading comprehension achievement and reading attitude. An ANCOVA indicated that there was a significant difference for overall reading comprehension between the two groups on the basis of the post reading test scores when controlling for the pre-test scores. However, when analyzing for reading attitude, there was not a significant difference for overall reading attitude. The findings suggest that standards-based instruction on science informational text with the Reciprocal Mapping (Fine, 2004) approach was an effective method for increasing third-grade students’ reading comprehension.

Children's literature is crucial in shaping the way young children see and think about themselves in the eyes of society. Although diversity is increasing, a need remains for books that feature Black children as well as accurate portrayals of their lifestyles. According to the Cooperation Children's Book Center (2020), only 400 books out of 3,299 are about Black Americans, while a little over half of that number are actually written by Black authors. Why should children of color have to suffice with reading books that have no connection to their real-world life? Black children should have access to and enjoy quality, award winning books that accurately represent their everyday lifestyles and not merely retell stories from the past. To address these concerns, this thesis examined 16 of the Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award and Honor picturebooks, awarded in 2013-2020, to explore the contents in terms of themes to support young Black American children on their journey of finding meaning and joy in reading. Within the analysis, a total of 16 picturebooks showed that 8 featured Black Americans in struggling contexts highlighting historical events, while 8 focused on the everyday lives and culture of Black Americans. Delving deeper, two trends, artistic expression and self-confidence, were identified. Within the eight books Within the books focusing on everyday Black culture, four themes were agreed upon: 1) Navigating real societal problems within the Black community, 2) Realizing empowerment within ourselves, 3) Valuing relationships with others, and 4) Finding value in everyday activities.

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Every serious student of English, no matter how many years separate him from the M.A. or Ph. D. degrees, must develop to a high degree the essential quality of independence which allows him to pursue investigation in his subject more or less on his own. He cannot continue to bother librarians for every specific source of information which he way need in pursuit of his assigned or self-imposed tasks either in class or out. He should know his way around the area of bibliography--the earlier in his academic career, the better. Surely his first ventures in this direction should not await his entrance into graduate school, although the fact is that few colleges or universities furnish him with more than nodding acquaintance with the more truly helpful reference sources before he achieves his A. 8. In recognition of this situation, the first section of this handbook has been written.

Learning a language can be hard. Learning a language that contains tones to convey meaning is even harder. This dissertation presents a novel methodology for creating a language practice using augmented reality that has never been used before. The design of a new app in AR and non-AR versions can evaluate the same practice methodology. This methodology was applied to new software and was examined in regard to the importance of this software. Although the study results are inconclusive, progress has been made in answering research questions on the effectiveness of AR versus non-AR and the reliability of peer assessment. This study is essential for developing future language applications using design and methodologies in AR and peer evaluation.