The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the use of a supplementary reader series oriented to the experience of children from homes in lower socioeconomic circumstances. The areas investigated in this study include reading achievement, attitude toward reading and the child's perception of his environment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the preferences of two racial and two socio-economic groups for selected aspects of class-oriented reading materials. This was accomplished by checking each subject's visual perception of pictorial representations typical of both the lower-class and the middle-class, and by checking his preferences of story themes typical of both the middle and lower-classes.

The value of proper concepts and an adjustable or adaptable personality are teaching factors to be considered in present-day education. The education for richer living must be through the main institutions of learning, the schools.

In response to the many demands and pressures faced by both students and teachers in public schools, the art teacher in this action research study searched for ways to change her teaching practices to facilitate active inquiry. She utilized Thinking Maps®, a specialized form of graphic organizers, and Inspiration®, a hypertext linking program to promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The goals of the study were to increase student engagement, improve learning, and promote higher order thinking in elementary school art classes. The target group was comprised of the third grade students at Saunders Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Each third grade students researched the natural world through the lens of a chosen creature. The students then created personalized Inspiration® documents that described their creatures. Faced with limited time and a wide range of student abilities, the teacher used an interactive approach during the following class sessions to facilitate continued inquiry. As a result of this transition, the teaching methodology described underwent a transition from teacher-as-disseminator to teacher-as facilitator. The resulting classroom atmosphere became a student-centered community of learning. The students and the teacher collaborated to ask questions, find answers to those questions, and create relevant links within Inspiration® documents (webs). The teacher found that she could not control the design of the connections within the documents to the degree that she had previously hoped, but new revelations regarding hypertext design were assimilated. The documents produced during this study were forms of authentic assessment that held the potential for use in future teaching.

Handwriting is an integral part of our culture and civilization. It is an important and indispensable skill that makes us a full-fledged member of society. When acquiring this skill particular problems can develop which need to be captured as soon as possible in order to ensure the fastest and most effective remedy. The presented work deals with a profound description of written expression in the third grade of primary school. It is based on the revised rating scale which was derived from the original scale created by A. Kucharská, and J. Veverková in 2011. Using this revised scale the degree of attachment and coping skills in writing for third grade students was captured and described. It was also investigated the area of reflection of the errors and the ways students dealt with them. Finally, based on last scale area the rate of fixing grammar and typing skills was observed. The analysis scrutinized dictations of 90 students from Prague, central and east region who was taught by the genetics and analyst-synthetic metod. In order to process the data the quantiative methods and multidimensional methods were used. The qualitative analysis was used as well with the purpose of supporting the particular issues. The data allowed us to determine the extent of the handwriting fixation, provided us with...

This mixed-method study explored and examined the reading attitudes of thirdgrade struggling readers (n=91) following six weeks of summer school using a scripted literacy program (Voyager Passport). During the quantitative portion of the study students (n=91) from five different summer school sites were given the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990). The survey, which was administered by the classroom teacher the first day of summer school and the last week of summer school, provided scores for academic, recreational and total reading attitude. Following data collection the results of the ERAS surveys were analyzed using a dependent measures t-test as well as descriptive statistics. Results revealed no significant differences in recreational or total reading attitude following summer school using a scripted literacy program. Gender and school site were both examined using a multivariate analysis. Results indicated no statistically significant differences based on gender. However, when academic attitude was examined the results for school site were found to be significant F (4, 90) = 2.87, p = .03. A follow-up Tukey test revealed that although there was a difference in academic attitudes between the school sites, the variation could not be pinpointed to particular sites. The qualitative portion of the study relied on both field notes gathered through classroom observations (n=113) and focus groups. One focus group was held at each of the five summer school sites. During focus groups a group moderator asked the students a series of six questions. Results were analyzed using semantic content analysis (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990) to identify themes related to students' attitudes about reading. After a cross case analysis of the targeted classrooms was conducted, triangulation was used to compare the findings from the ERAS survey, classroom observations, and focus groups. The qualitative findings revealed that following summer school students liked to read, felt they were better readers, and felt prepared to take the standardized test. However, only 29% of the students passed the alternative assessment. The results also revealed questions regarding the fidelity of the implementation and concerns with the lack of norming data on the fidelity measure.

This dissertation investigates the quality teaching practices of three third grade teachers within the context of high-stakes testing. Chapter 1 introduces my research question and important terms, such as quality teaching, standardized testing and success. Chapter 2 synthesizes relevant literature in the area of quality teaching and standards based accountability. The literature review seeks to highlight the significant attention paid to outcomes based education and, the lack of emphasis given to quality teaching in such contexts. Chapter 3 forwards the specific conceptual framework for this study while detailing the methodology that guided this investigation including data gathering and analysis. Chapters 4 and 5 present the findings from this research. Chapter 4 examines the quality teaching practices demonstrated by these teachers and found in the literature and chapter 5 presents notions of success and the unique ways that each teacher enacted quality teaching practices in his/her classroom. I highlight the specific way each teacher facilitated students' success and discuss the various ways that each teacher conceived of success, both within and outside the context of standardized testing. Chapter 6 draws comparison between the three teachers involved in the study highlighting overarching themes present in the ways they defined and created successful learning environments for students. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of implication for teachers, teacher educators and other stakeholders and, suggestions for future research. / text

A recent trend shows that activity levels in children are declining while obesity levels are increasing. To address this problem, after school programs are being introduced to increase activity levels in preadolescents and promote healthy lifestyles. Existing studies have suggested that a better understanding of the psychosocial influences on physical activity (PA) during preadolescence could assist efforts in school settings to promote lifelong PA. This study used a sample of third grade students to investigate the relationships between the psychosocial correlates of PA, Gender, Extracurricular PA Participation, Intention to Be Physically Active, and BMI among third grade children. Results indicated that Gender, Beliefs (about the consequences of being active), and Self-Efficacy were associated with Extra Curricular PA Participation while Beliefs and Self-Efficacy were related to Intention to Be Physically Active. This suggests that third grade children’s Extra Curricular PA Participation and Intentions to Be Physically Active can be improved by enhancing children’s Self-Efficacy and Beliefs about the consequences of being active. / Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology

The focus of this study was to assess the ability to predict performance on the Indiana Statewide Test for Educational Progress (ISTEP) from oral reading fluency scores on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency Test (ORF). The scores of both assessments from 306 Indiana students from four different elementary schools were examined. Results of these students’ end of year (EOY) ORF scores were compared to their ISTEP scores in third grade in 2008-2009. During that school year ISTEP was administered twice, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. Results from both tests were analyzed using linear, multiple, and logistic regression models. The results showed r values between the ORF scores and the English/Language Arts portion of ISTEP to be .76 (Fall) and .72 (Spring). The correlations between ORF and ISTEP Math were .54 (Fall) and .61 (Spring). Regression coefficients ranged from 1.30 – 1.13 indicating a positive linear relationship between the results of the two assessments. The scores from demographic subgroups were also examined and some differences in the strength of the relationships were found among the groups. The oral reading fluency test was a better predictor for students generally considered at-risk (non-white, disabled, and non-English speaking). Logistic regression results showed a moderate to strong ability to predict whether or not students would pass ISTEP based on DIBELS scores. After using Beta values to calculate probabilities, it was found a DIBELS ORF score of 100 would provide a strong probability a student would pass ISTEP, both in English/Language Arts and Math. The results imply the need to monitor students’ oral reading and provide timely interventions when they struggle, and to focus more on helping children learn to read and less on preparing for ISTEP. / Department of Educational Leadership

This multiple case study explores the ways in which Latina/a immigrant children make sense of immigration by reading critical multicultural texts and blogging. As U.S. immigration policy shifts have created more punitive policies for immigrant adults, these changes place both documented and undocumented children in difficult situations. With many children born in the U.S. as citizens, these families are identified as "mixed-status" families because of the rights and privileges that immigrant children and parents are afforded or denied (Capps & Fortuny, 2006). What appears to be missing from the research around immigration status and children of immigrants is how literacy, in particular digital literacy or blogging can play a role in the understanding of immigration. Studies have illustrated that critical literacy discussions often help facilitate Latina/a immigrant youth's understandings of the multiple communities and larger social spaces and their identities. Moreover, blogging also gives students an opportunity to express themselves in a way which will make them feel comfortable, which is not always possible in a classroom setting (Bloch, 2011, p. 159). The questions guiding this study are: How does reading critical multicultural texts around immigration issues and discussions in computer-mediated discourse communities help children make meaning of a larger social issue like immigration? and (2) How do children use computer mediated discussions to deepen their understandings of literature? Three lines of inquiry guided the research: social constructivist learning theories (Gee, 2004; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Vygotsky, 1978), critical literacy theory (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002: Luke, 2012; Luke & Freebody, 2012), and transactional theory (Rosenblatt, 1978, 2005; Smagorinsky, 2001). Participants in the study were third grade Latina/a students. Data sources included students' blog posts, audio recordings of classroom discussions, student writing samples, field notes, and interviews. Constant comparative approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1965) was used to analyze the data. Findings demonstrate that discussions and blogging afforded students a space to deconstruct the complexities surrounding immigration and immigration policies. Students' gained a greater sense of agency when disrupting the status quo and taking action on such issues. The broader implications from this study highlight the need to use varied modalities and formats when working with culturally diverse students and critical multicultural texts.