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A text set is a set of books with a common theme. The books that the classroom teacher chooses for a specific text set should range in difficulty level from approximately two years below the designated grade level [...]

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' use of whole language practices in language arts classrooms to determine if teachers' attitudes and philosophies about whole language influence their teaching. Previous research studies in the area of whole language practices indicate that teachers' preexisting philosophical outlooks concerning language influence the effectiveness of their whole language practices. The research questions dealt with teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of a whole language instructional approach. The study also focused on factors that influenced teachers to utilize whole language practices. Four self-professed whole language teachers participated in this qualitative research study. Data were from classroom observations, interviews with the teachers, teachers' lesson plans, examinations of student's work, and review of curriculum guides. Data collected revealed that teachers' perceptions and philosophical views are reflected in teachers' instructional practices. The interpretation of data led to the conclusion that whole language practices are influenced by teachers' attitudes and philosophies about whole language. Recommendations are that teachers be allowed to practice the whole language instructional approach and that training and staff development be provided for teachers desirous of utilizing this practice. It is also recommended that school administrators provide support services and periodic inservice training for teachers desirous of continuous implementation of whole language practices.

<p> The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to discover the effectiveness of then-current teaching practices in fifth grade classrooms and to determine whether any of the strategies or practices observed yielded higher student achievement results than others. The researcher observed and recorded evidence of the use of the most effective practices, as identified by the Writing and Reading Observation Tool (WROT). Teachers&rsquo; scores obtained on the WROT were compared to the percentage of students reading at a proficient level, as measured by the Scholastic Reading Assessment. If high scores on the WROT indicated the use of effective teaching practices, then the level of reading should be proficient, as measured by the SRI. </p><p> A second measure to provide evidence to support the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the beliefs and practices of teachers pertaining to reading instruction, as measured by the National Exemplary Literacy Teacher Assessment, the NELTA. The total score on the NELTA was a measure of the degree of grade level literacy expertise a teacher mastered and included sub-scores related to exemplary teacher practices. The researcher compared results to determine if there was a relationship between teacher scores on the WROT and the NELTA and student growth in reading, using a Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) analysis. </p><p> While the data showed no statistically significant differences in academic achievement in the area of literacy regardless of scores on either tool used in the study, observations and qualitative data provided important information for future studies and professional development planning. Administrators and teachers can study, apply, and observe the strategies relevant to the reading achievement of fifth grade students in order to strengthen the teachers&rsquo; instructional practices.</p>

<p>The study presented in this dissertation emerged from a theoretical connection noted in the literature between the potential of postmodern picturebooks to affect change, the ways in which boys are socialized into literacy practices, and the problem of male disengagement from literacy. As such, this study adds a new voice to the extant literature on postmodern picturebooks and that of gender and literacy. This study is an initial exploration at the intersection between these two areas of inquiry focused on the experiences of one boy who self-identifies as disinclined toward reading, a boy whose history of reading difficulties throughout elementary school contributed to compelling insights. </p><p> A phenomenological approach was designed for this initial exploration to ensure a rich and comprehensive description of this boy&rsquo;s experiences to share in order to open and expand our understanding of the reading experience of individual boys and the role postmodern picturebooks might be able to play in disrupting the problem of male disengagement. This phenomenological exploration focused on three focal phenomena&mdash;the boy&rsquo;s experience of reading, his experience of reading traditional picture books, and his experience of reading postmodern picturebooks. Through examination of data collected during a book sort, think-aloud readings, and interviews with the participant and members of his family, along with historical data from school records and tutoring records, descriptive interpretations of each of the three focal phenomena were constructed then discussed in relation to each other and to theoretical connections noted above. </p><p> The experience of reading of the focal participant in this study is illuminating, pointing to not only gender influences but also pervasive influences from a concerted focus on learning to read proficiently. Differences between the experience of reading traditional picture books and the experience of reading postmodern picturebooks are evident for this boy. Subtle shifts in reading behavior were noted by the end of data collection suggesting that experiencing postmodern picturebooks with a focus on think-aloud commentary may have provoked a shift in his perspective about what it means to read. </p>

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Accurate and rapid word recognition requires highly-specified phonological, orthographic, and semantic word-specific representations. It has been established that children acquire these representations through phonological decoding in a process known as orthographic learning. Studies examining orthographic learning and its predictors have thus far focused on monosyllabic words. It is unclear whether the findings of these studies—especially, those related to the role phonological decoding, orthographic knowledge, and contextual semantic information play in orthographic learning—can be generalized to polysyllabic words. A large number of the polysyllabic words children encounter in content-area texts is morphologically complex. Yet, examining the role of morphology in the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words is still in its infancy. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of morphology and context (two sources of semantic information) in the acquisition of whole-word representations of polysyllabic words in children with and without reading difficulty. A total of 73 fourth and fifth grade children participated in this study. The children read 12 disyllabic pseudowords presented in isolation or in context. An orthographic choice task and a spelling task measured children’s orthographic learning three days later. A battery of standardized and researcher designed tests measured children’s phonological decoding skill, orthographic knowledge, and morphological knowledge. Data were analyzed using mixed-design analysis of variance and multiple linear regression. The results of this study showed that morphology facilitated the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words in the spelling task but not in the orthographic choice task. The results also showed that context interfered with the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words, irrespective of their morphological structure. Context interference appeared to vary by children’s reading skill—that is, context appeared to interfere with the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words in struggling readers and children with reading difficulty but not in typically achieving children. The results also showed that, controlling for phonological decoding and orthographic knowledge, morphological knowledge contributed to the orthographic learning of polysyllabic words, irrespective of children’s reading skill. Implications for polysyllabic word reading instruction are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the amount of verbal interaction between a student and a teacher and that student's achievement in the class taught by that teacher at the secondary school level. The student was used as the unit of study.;The sample was selected from a secondary school (9-12) in southeast Virginia with an enrollment of approximately 1800 students. One hundred and twenty-eight students from three intact Algebra II classes and three intact English 11 classes were included in the study.;All data were collected by three trained observers who coded the frequency of student-initiated and teacher-initiated interactions. Only instructional interactions between the teacher and the student were coded.;It was hypothesized that a positive correlation existed between the amount of teacher-student interactions and student achievement. It was assumed that a positive correlation between ability and achievement existed.;It was concluded that a positive correlation did exist between the amount of teacher-student interaction and student achievement in the English classes but not in the mathematics classes. The correlation between ability and achievement was not significant.;It was also discovered that a few students in each classroom were involved in the majority of the teacher-student interactions while the rest of the class sat quietly.;Further study is needed to determine the effect of balancing the amount of teacher-student interaction on achievement in classes where there is an obvious disparity in the involvement of the students. In addition, the relationship between the quality of interaction and achievement should be studied in classrooms where the quantity of interactions has been balanced. and lastly, the relationship between ability and achievement should be examined in secondary classrooms.

Secondary schools are continually faced with the task of preparing students for a world that is more connected, advanced, and globalized than ever before. In order to adequately prepare students for their future, educators must provide them with strong reading and writing skills, as well as the ability to understand scientific concepts. The Handbook of Research on Science Literacy Integration in Classroom Environments is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the importance of cross-curriculum/discipline connections in improving student understanding and education. While highlighting topics such as curriculum integration, online learning, and instructional coaching, this publication explores practices in teaching students how to analyze and interpret data, as well as reading, writing, and speaking. This book is ideally designed for teachers, graduate-level students, academicians, instructional designers, administrators, and education researchers seeking current research on science literacy adoption in contemporary classrooms. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1192/thumbnail.jpg

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