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Reinvigorating Student Interests in Social Studies
Get PDFThe increase of legislation and state mandated tests has led to a decrease of instructional time for social studies. We wanted to see if active engagement could have positive impact on students’ attitude toward Social Studies. We also wanted to examine how teachers can create active engagement activities in their classroom environments that promote the learning of social studies. In this paper, we would like to share how we created a pilot History camp to see if we could answer these two specific, but related questions. Four types of data tools were used in this pilot study including pre and post student-interest surveys, exit-tickets, and end of the day student reflections. The findings indicated that the implementation of active engagement activities can have a positive impact on students’ attitudes toward social studies. We also learned how to create active learning activities that can be incorporated in the classroom and the versatility it provides to transfer to the content areas
Peer-tutoring Interactions in a Book Club Program for Female Campers
Get PDFThis qualitative study examined how campers interact over text when paired up for a book club program. Participants for this study were all girls, all between the ages of seven and 14 and all came from backgrounds of poverty. Audio transcripts, observations, and interviews were used to explore interactions of campers as they read together and discussed the books, which promoted high self-esteem for girls. Emergent trends noted in qualitative data showed an increase in behaviors for big sisters indicating improved engagement and leadership, specifically in big sisters giving praise to little sisters, pushing little sisters for more complete answers to discussion questions and contributing to creating a discussion around the questions, rather than simply moving on immediately after a quick response by the little sister
Flashcard Interventions to Teach Sight Words and Math Facts
Get PDFMany elementary students struggle with the acquisition of sight words which can hinder development of complex reading skills. Additionally, students who lack fluency with computation of basic math facts may struggle with higher-order math concepts. In this study, we compared the efficacy of two flashcard interventions for teaching sight words and math facts to 4 elementary students. The results showed that Strategic Incremental Rehearsal (SIR) was generally superior to Incremental Rehearsal (IR) in that more targets were mastered. We assessed student preference for the flashcard interventions and found that 2 students showed preference for each of the flashcard interventions. In addition, we evaluated social validity of the flashcard procedures with 6 teachers from the students’ school, and all rated both interventions favorabl
Diversity in Literature: Preparing Literacy Teachers for a Multicultural World
Get PDFThe U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2023, 50 percent of the student population will be children with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Iwai, 2015). Furthermore, 10 percent of the school population in the U.S. is currently identified as having a disability that affects their ability to perform in the classroom (O’Leary, 2011). The reality is that teachers and literacy teachers in particular are faced with the difficult task of teaching a more diverse student population than ever before. The literature review analyzed and discussed in the present article examines studies that support the systematic use of multicultural literature in the classroom. Also, the author suggests strategies to create a curriculum that fosters awareness of diversity and multiculturalism through literature as a way to enrich literacy instruction in the classroom
The Importance of Teaching Vocabulary: The Whys and How Hows
Get PDFThis article focuses on providing teachers with the whys and hows to implement tier-two vocabulary instruction in PK-12 grade classrooms. The article examines what is meant by tier-two vocabulary words and the need for increased vocabulary instruction to gain word knowledge. It also offers teachers applicable texts and activities to be used when they become teachers and ways to incorporate a school-to-home connection in support of students’ learning of new vocabulary words. The texts and activities are divided into three grade levels: K-2, 3-5, and 6-12. In addition, the article is divided into two sections, which outlines the whys and hows for increasing students’ vocabulary knowledge
Children in fear: Working with undocumented families
Get PDFImmigration is a contentious issue in the US today. Phrases, like build a wall or send them back, are commonplace. Images of children being separated from their parents at the border pepper news reports. Temporary protected status, which was given to immigrants from war-torn countries, like El Salvador and those affected by catastrophic environmental disasters, like Haiti, is under siege. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are commonplace. Multiple factors are important to keep in mind when working with immigrant children. This column provides an overview of critical information that public school teachers and administrators need to know regarding this population
Teachin g, affirming, and recognizing tran* and gender creative youth: A queer literacy framework
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Professional Development in Reading Instruction for Secondary Teachers in Cameroon
Get PDFThis study was a pretest-posttest design that examined secondary teachers’ perceptions of reading and growth about their knowledge of reading instruction and assessment over a seven-month period. One researcher facilitated a one day professional development workshop to secondary teachers’ (N=24) that focused on effective reading instruction components, reading assessment, and how to use the data in their classrooms, specifically for struggling readers. The survey results indicated there was a significant difference on multiple items about reading assessment, but no significant difference in teachers’ attitudes and perceptions about reading following the training. Implications for future research are addressed