"Reading may contribute to personal and social development and may greatly enrich personality. It may also produce undesirable results. For this reason, a well-conceived and intelligently directed reading program should aim to reduce undesirable responses to a minimum. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to help the writer think through and plan a reading program which will aid the child in developing personally and socially. The paper is intended to apply primarily to a fifth grade level, but may also be used for any upper elementary level"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "May, 1956." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Marian W. Black, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-51).

Accountability pressures have impacted pedagogy in many K-12 schools in the United States. Low achievement on standardized assessments may be attributed to many factors, including instructional strategies. Differentiated instruction has been identified as an instructional method that meets the diverse needs, interests, and strengths. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study analyzes the effectiveness of arts integration on reading achievement of fourth and fifth grade students who participate in an arts integration program in a Title I school as compared to fourth and fifth grade students attending a Title I school without an arts integration program. A framework of constructivism guided the study. The study was designed to answer the research question of "To what extent, if any, does arts integration in a Title 1 school improve students reading achievement?" Using student and school level data from the 2013 – 2014 academic year, this study used regression analyses to estimate the difference in reading achievement between the two schools, controlling for a number of factors that include school, student, and teacher characteristics. This study indicated some effect on reading achievement of fourth and fifth grade students in two elementary schools, more studies need to be conducted to add to the field of arts integration. Further research is needed to explore and confirm the impact of arts integration as an instructional strategy in other schools. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 4, 2016. / Art integration, Reading Achievement / Includes bibliographical references. / Patrice Iatarola, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth Jakubowski, University Representative; Carolyn Herrington, Committee Member; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member.

Teachers' interactions with children represent an important source of influence in children's learning and development. Classroom organization, or the way the teacher manages the physical and behavioral aspects of the classroom environment, is one way that teachers can provide needed support to students who might otherwise struggle to be successful in the classroom environment. It is hypothesized to facilitate more time spent working productively on academic tasks which, in turn, is associated with higher academic achievement. In this study, teachers' classroom organization was observed and rated in the first, second, and third grades, and students' word reading, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension were measured each year. Cross-sectional analyses of the second and third grade data were conducted in order to replicate the findings of a previous study using the first grade data from the same data set (Pilcher & Kim, 2015). The relations of ratings of classroom organization and the interactions of classroom organization with children's prior performance (measured in the fall of first grade) in each year were also examined longitudinally. The sample included 264 students and 29 teachers in year one, 36 teachers in year two, and 35 teachers in year three. In the second and third grade cross-sectional analyses, classroom organization was not associated with student outcomes, and no significant interactions of classroom organization with prior achievement were detected. No significant longitudinal relations of classroom organization with student achievement were detected, but there were two significant interaction effects. Second grade teachers' classroom organization interacted with prior performance to predict students' third grade word reading and reading comprehension such that students whose scores were below the mean in the fall of the first grade had third grade scores that were very similar or only slightly higher when their second grade teachers provided higher levels of classroom organization. Students who began first grade with word reading and/or reading comprehension scores that were above the mean had third grade scores that were much higher when their teachers provided high levels of classroom organization in the second grade. The most likely explanation for these findings seems to be that children who leave first grade without the prerequisite skills for engaging in meaning-based instruction in second grade are unable to benefit from having a second grade teacher who provides a high level of classroom organization. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / March 25, 2016. / Classroom Organization, Reading, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Quality / Includes bibliographical references. / Young-Suk Grace Kim, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carla Wood, University Representative; Barbara Foorman, Committee Member; Alysia Roehrig, Committee Member.

A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D. Litt. In Communication Science University of Zululand, 2006. / In this dissertation the researcher examines the primary and contributing fac¬tors which can be identified that affect the reading capabilities of learners in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12. This research focuses on an investigation to determine whether the inter¬related factors co-determine problems that South African learners are experiencing with spelling and the reading of written texts of non-technical to technical levels of complexity. The researcher reviews academic literature that identifies a theoretical framework that serves as a backdrop to the interpretation of the empirical results, by providing insight into the conceptual, cognitive and neurophysiological basis that make the process of reading possible in humans, by examining the phonological perspective of reading and, by investigating the common reading problems. An em¬pirical survey examining the learners reading habits in correlation with factors from the home and school environment that influence the reading skills of the learners is presented. To this effect the factors affecting the reading skills of learners in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 are correlated with factors such as the existence of a reacting culture in homes, and the learners' entertainment and extracurricular activities. The researcher reports, analyzes, and interprets the results of the data mat were obtained via the questionnaires and that were captured using the statistical computer program SPSS 11.5. The empirical results and the analysis of the fieldwork reveal that the learners' entertainment and extracurricular activities ate affecting their reading skills, and that the role of their parents and the school involvement in promoting the culture of read¬ing has contributed to the poor reading results in our learners.

A Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / The purpose of the present study was to understand the efficacy of the reading campaign in improving learners’ competences in reading. The study was conducted in the northern KwaZulu-Natal province, and the researcher chose Uthungulu district as the field of study. The study was conducted in senior phase schools under Mthunzini circuit in Uthungulu district with a sample size of sixty educators. Educators answered a questionnaire with closed and open- ended questions. A questionnaire was administered to educators to solicit (a) their views on the implementation of the ELITS’ reading campaign, (b) their awareness of the campaign and (c) the availability and accessibility of the quality reading collections supplied by ELITS to schools. The findings revealed that majority of the educators are not aware of the ELITS reading campaign, their knowledge of the campaign is limited and they are not even aware of the objectives and time frame of the project. The implementation of the ELITS campaign was not monitored as a result some schools do not engage leaners in reading activities and they do not regard it as a skill that must be taught. The distribution of relevant reading material is not made readily available to the majority of schools, the majority of schools do not have libraries and library personnel; as a result it is hard for learners to access reading materials; thereby impacting negatively on learners’ competences in reading. Based on the findings the researcher realised that the objectives of the ELITS reading campaign were not achieved due to poor planning for the campaign, lack of training for the educators, lack of monitoring and evaluation of the project and time frame for the project was not clearly stated. The study recommends that reading campaigns be planned properly, all stakeholders must know and understand objectives of the campaign, time frame must be clearly stated to all stakeholders and monitoring and evaluation must be taken into consideration.

The purpose of this study was to secure evidence of factors involved in learning to read. The factors considered for purposes of this study included (1) physical and mental growth and development; (2) peer-peer and socialization processes and factors; (3) emotional maturity.

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In order to prepare students to read for academic success and informed civic participation, teachers must give students practice in reading for argument in both born digital, printed texts, often digitized to be accessed on digital devices. However, instruction in school remains focused on texts that are not born digital, not least as academic assessments privilege reading for, and writing, argument in conventional, linear forms that do not involve born digital features. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an intervention designed to improve the reading and writing of argument of high school seniors at a neighborhood urban public school through focused attention to born digital texts. Through analysis of student performance in formal assessments, and open coding of class activities and stimulated recall interviews, the following research questions were explored: 1. To what extent does a curriculum focused on the writing of academic arguments supplemented by a focus on born digital texts affect students’ writing performance on a college placement test? 2 To what extent does a curriculum focused on the writing of academic arguments supplemented by a focus on born digital texts affect students’ performance on the reading and writing activities in which they engaged as part of that curriculum? Pre and post testing of writing indicated that teaching reading for argument in born digital texts benefitted students in a limited fashion. Analysis of classwork and stimulated recall interviews using an analytic tool that centers on students' construction of readers, texts, contexts, and authors, as well as their deployment of rules of notice offers a more nuanced picture of student reading practices and highlights increasingly sophisticated critical readings in the classroom exposed to born digital texts. / Literacy & Learners

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