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The effects of interactive read-alouds on emergent reader’s narrative comprehension
Get PDFThis action research was conducted with a small group of senior kindergarten students in a public school in the Midwest during the 2015-2016 school year. Throughout the six-week intervention, the researcher investigated the effects of interactive read-alouds on students’ narrative comprehension. The researcher, a Reading Specialist, utilized the Common Core State Standards, Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study, and on-going collaboration with classroom teachers to determine appropriate expectations. With an exclusive focus on narrative comprehension, the researcher selected four narrative story grammar elements including characters, setting, problem/solution, and beginning, middle, and end. One week of the intervention was devoted to an overview of the elements. In the four sequential weeks the researcher instructed students on one specific element through the lens of interactive read-alouds, complete with explicit teaching points, researcher modeling, and opportunities for student discussion. The concluding week of the intervention provided a review of the four story grammar elements. The researcher conducted three pre and post assessments to determine student growth. The assessments utilized were the Qualitative Reading Inventory 5, the listening comprehension subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-III, and a narrative retelling rubric from ReadWriteThink. The data collected led the researcher to conclude that explicit teaching of narrative story grammar elements through interactive read-alouds improved students’ retell of narrative story grammar elements as well as their listening comprehension
The Effects of Phonological Awareness Intervention on a First Grade Student’s Writing Skills
Get PDFThis thesis is a case study of a first grade student in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who struggled with his writing skills. The researcher developed and carried out an intervention for the student, with a foundation of literature from expert researchers. This researcher met with the student three times per week over the course of eight weeks, for between fifteen and thirty minutes per session when the researcher employed the use of strategic phonological awareness teaching methods with the student. In each intervention session, the researcher employed an array of specific phonological teaching methods and asked the student to create a writing piece either prompted or of the writer’s choice. The student used the phonological teaching strategies taught during the intervention to complete his writing. At the conclusion of the study, the first grade student’s phonological strategies showed improvement, thereby, impacting his writing skills based on the phonological awareness ELA Literacy Mastery Test, and his writing rubric results
The effects of reading app usage on reading comprehension
Get PDFThis research study was carried out to explore the relationship between reading app use and the reading comprehension of kindergarteners. There were three participants in this study who were all kindergarteners in my classroom. Their ages ranged from five to six years old and all were high-level learners. Compared to the other students in the classroom, these three students were among the most advanced readers. A five-week long reading enrichment plan using a reading app for the iPad was conducted to examine how it would affect the three students’ reading comprehension. The reading app, called Booksy, was used in addition to the core literacy instruction provided in my classroom. While the results from this study do not support the importance of using a reading app for improving kindergarten reading comprehension, it does not discount the usefulness of reading apps completely
Improving Student Decoding through Code-Based Interventions
Get PDFThis project was designed to evaluate and improve the decoding and sight word recognition of a first grade student through the use of code-based interventions. The student who participated in this project was a first grade student in a Charter School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following a pre-project assessment, the researcher engaged in multi-week interactive sessions with the student using a variety of research-based intervention strategies. The student was assessed after each session and at the conclusion of the project. With specifically tailored reading interventions, the student’s decoding ability improved. While the negative Matthew Effect was not reversed, it was diminished, and moved the student closer to grade level
Does family therapy help reduce relapse rates in people with opate addiction?
Get PDFThis study explored the relationship between relapse rates in opiate users and the involvement of family therapy. The researcher studied twenty-seven adults involved in outpatient substance abuse treatment for opioid use disorder at Ozaukee County Counseling Center. All participants completed an initial questionnaire and two follow up questionnaires over a two month period. All participants also completed the AWARE questionnaire three times. The AWARE questionnaire measures potential relapse rates. Participants were divided into two groups. Family programming was offered to one group but not the other. The researcher hypothesized that participants who had family involvement had lower relapse rates. The researcher found there was a significant difference between the two groups; however it was significant before the family programming was implemented. The reason was likely to be due to the groups not being randomly assigned. They were arbitrarily assigned. Other reasons could be due to blinding and demand characteristics. In this study, family therapy did not affect relapse rates
Enhancing Comprehension through Close Reading and Text Based Discussions
Get PDFThis study explored the rate of change in student literary growth, through comparing their comprehension skills when close reading (CR) strategies were taught in isolation, compared to when these strategies were embedded within a text-based discussion (TBD). Research studies supporting TBDs as a way of supporting and strengthening comprehension are included. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are referenced since students are required to utilize texts as a resource within the CCSS. CR strategies embedded within a TBD are listed as one method designed to strengthen student comprehension skills (CCSS, 2014). Student progress was assessed in several ways to determine the effectiveness of TBDs. Data sources included STAR Reading assessment scores, graphic organizers, and weekly reading tests. Students participated in TBDs only during weeks five through eight. Their rate of growth from weeks five through eight were compared to their growth during weeks one through four. The results from my action research display that students became more careful and independent readers after I implemented the TBDS. Most students from the focus group were regularly observed referencing the text for support with their written and verbal responses. This positively transferred to their performance on assessments as well
The effects of explicit morphology instruction on vocabulary skills in four struggling middle school readers
Get PDFThe intervention program created for this case study was centered on teaching four middle school students, from an urban, public school in the Midwest. Three of the participating students were identified as students with specific learning disabilities. One student was identified as having a health impairment. The Upper Level Spelling Inventory assessment from the Words Their Way program (Flanigan, Hayes, Templeton, Bear, Invernizzi & Johnston, 2011) and a teacher created spelling test was used as a pretest and posttest. The intervention group met over the course of six weeks, for thirty minutes, twice a week. The students who participated in this study demonstrated a moderate increase in spelling common words with prefixes and suffixes
Examination of Protective Factors that Promote Resilience in Adult Children of Alcoholics Impacted by Negative Life Experiences
No full textThe negative impact of parental alcohol abuse on children has been well documented in previous literature. Therefore, research over the past decade has been focused on determining protective factors associated with being raised by a parent who abuses alcohol. This research was initiated due to the wide variety of outcomes reported by children who grew up in homes marked by parental alcohol abuse. Expanding upon this research, the present study aimed to examine whether certain familial factors (i.e., family composition, family structure, family environment and interaction between parent & child gender) are protective for adult children who were raised in a home with a parent(s) who abused alcohol. Participants were recruited from a college campus and screened using the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST). All participants also completed measures related to family satisfaction, family cohesion and attachment. The total sample of participants included 223 college students. It was hypothesized that those children who were raised by two parents who abused alcohol would be more likely to experience a greater number of negative experiences. Results showed support for this hypothesis, specifically in regards to the child\u27s attachment to their father. Additionally, it was hypothesized that familial support would be correlated with familial factors. Results revealed that family satisfaction and attachment were positively correlated. Though not all hypotheses were supported, results have important clinical applications. However, it is clear that further research in this area is needed
Vocabulary instruction through read-alouds in kindergarten
No full textVocabulary knowledge plays a critical role in essential literacy skills including comprehension as well as long-term academic success, however students begin school with a range of oral language abilities and current practices do not adequately address vocabulary instruction. Five English Language Learners (ELLs) attending kindergarten in an urban elementary school participated in a study of vocabulary instruction through read-alouds. The study focused on teaching “Tier 2” target words through read-alouds as well as supplemental instruction. During the first three weeks of the study, students heard new vocabulary through read-alouds but without additional explicit instruction. Then for the final weeks of the study, in addition to read-alouds, instruction included defining terms, using terms in new contexts, illustrating meanings, acting out examples and reviewing words. Data collection included both a general vocabulary test as well as a researcher created assessment to gauge student knowledge of target words. After the study, the results showed students demonstrated greater knowledge on words explicitly taught than those only introduced through read-alouds. Also, some students showed gains in general vocabulary knowledge and students exhibited high levels of engagement in the instructional activities
Decoding strategies for emerging readers
Get PDFThe effects of using explicit decoding and phonological awareness instruction for struggling readers were studied. Four kindergarten students who were showing no academic gains in reading took part in an intervention program over seven weeks, while a comparison group of four students at a similar reading level continued their business as usual reading program. The students were tested using sections from the Woodcock Reading Mastery and Fountas and Pinnel Reading Level test before and after the study. The results showed support for the hypotheses that an explicit decoding and phonological awareness intervention would improve student reading level