DOCSLIB.ORG

An Ethnographic Study of Kindergarten Children's Literacy Skills and Stress-Related Behaviors Before and After Teacher Demonstration

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Ethnographic Study of Kindergarten Children's Literacy Skills and Stress-Related Behaviors Before and After Teacher Demonstration Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1991 An Ethnographic Study of Kindergarten Children's Literacy Skills and Stress-Related Behaviors Before and After Teacher Demonstration. Nancy Crossland Weems Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Weems, Nancy Crossland, "An Ethnographic Study of Kindergarten Children's Literacy Skills and Stress-Related Behaviors Before and After Teacher Demonstration." (1991). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5155. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5155 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9200098 An ethnographic study of kindergarten children’s literacy skills and stress-related behaviors before and after teacher demonstration Weems, Nancy Crossland, Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1991 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN'S LITERACY SKILLS AND STRESS RELATED BEHAVIORS BEFORE AND AFTER TEACHER DEMONSTRATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Curriculum and Instruction by Nancy Crossland Weems B.S., Louisiana State University, 1967 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1986 May, 1991 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation was made possible by the active participation of many groups of people both in and outside the University. My sincere appreciation is extended to Dr. Rosalind Charlesworth, chairman of my doctoral committee, for her leadership, professional advice, expertise, and most of all, her patient understanding in directing me along the path. I also would like to thank Dr. Miles Richardson for his time and expertise and for bringing a unique perspective to this ethnographic dissertation. He combined his field's strengths with those of the faculty in the College of Education. I especially would like to thank Dr. Tom Hosie for his insight and assistance with the writing of this dissertation. My further appreciation is offered to the other members of the committee: Dr. Diane Burts for her expertise in the area of preschool education and stress and for her technical assistance with the dissertation; Dr. Donna Mealey, professor of developmental reading, who helped with the writing of the dissertation; Dr. Earl Cheek who provided guidance in how to implement reading strategies; and Dr. Patricia Edwards for her experience in establishing a bookreading project at a South Louisiana elementary school. I am also grateful to the teachers and administrators at Carver Elementary School, particularly the principal who graciously granted access to her school. The principal, teachers, and students cannot be mentioned by name, but they will recognize their contributions to this study. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs. Kathryn Guillory who contributed her valuable time and expertise in the computer work to make this dissertation possible. My deepest appreciation is extended to Lloyd Moon Jr. for his comfort, support, and shared insights into this ethnography. I am grateful to my mother, Darline and to my children, Conway and Stovall. Without their encouragement and understanding this study would not have been accomplished. Finally, this dissertation is dedicated to my father, Conway Crossland, who encouraged me to explore the possibility of obtaining a doctoral degree in reading and who was my first model of literacy. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................ ii LIST OF FIGURES ................................ vii ABSTRACT. ................................ viii CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW............................ 1 Purpose of Research........................ 1 Ethnography and its Implications ......... 2 Rationale and Contribution ............... 5 The Sunshine Project................... 9 Conceptual Framework ..................... 11 Contributions of Heath's Research......... 18 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE. 21 Storybook Reading.......................... 22 Stress in Early Childhood................. 30 Teacher Demonstrations ................... 41 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...................... 50 Research Design............................ 50 Gaining Access to the Setting............. 61 Participant Observation................... 73 Descriptive Observations............... 75 Focused Observations................... 78 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Phases of Observation...................... 81 Initial and Follow-up ................. 81 Teacher Demonstration ................. 85 Features of the Social Situation ......... 91 Space— Physical ........................ 91 Social Environment...................... 95 Activities and Behaviors............... 101 Procedure................................... 105 Organization of Field Notes............. 105 Interviews.............................. Ill Researcher-designed Instruments .... 123 Analysis................................. 130 Coding Categories ...................... 133 Validity and Reliability of Study . 135 Limitations of Study.................... 137 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS .......................... 140 Presentation of D a t a ...................... 141 Summary of Findings........................ 202 v TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH . Summary..................................... 207 D i s c u s s i o n................................. 211 Conclusions................................. 220 Implications of the Research ............. 222 Suggestions for Future Research ......... 223 E p i l o g u e ................................... 226 REFERENCES....................................... 227 APPENDICES....................................... 242 APPENDIX A: Classroom Child Stress Behavior Instrument ......... 242 APPENDIX B: Teacher Demonstrations. 248 APPENDIX C: Coding Categories .......... 266 APPENDIX D: Participant-Construct Instrument.................... 270 CURRICULUM VITAE................................. 279 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Floor plan of classroom ............. 98 Figure 2. Biffie's drawing..................... 125 Figure 3. Stovall's drawing ................... 126 Figure 4. Leo's drawing ....................... 127 Figure 5. Jesse's drawing ..................... 128 vii Abstract The purpose of this ethnographic research was to study kindergarten students' literacy skills and stress-related behaviors and a teacher's instructional behavior before and after teacher demonstrations in appropriate bookreading strategies. A lower socio­ economic setting, which previously had been identified by Burts, Hart, Charlesworth, and Kirk (1990a) as a developmentally inappropriate instructional environment, was selected for observation as one which might be amenable to change. The teacher demonstrations included bookreading strategies and adult-child interactions around print that the kindergarten teacher could implement to promote the acquisition of literacy in ways that do not contribute to a stressful environment. Ethnographic data collection consisted of three months of participant observation in one kindergarten classroom.. The observation was conducted before, during, and after teacher demonstrations in appropriate bookreading strategies. These strategies included interacting with children about the meaning of print as viii opposed to drilling on isolated skills that results in rote memorization. The foundation of this ethnography was the richly
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Downloadable and Ready Crucial to Our Understanding of What It Is to Be Physiology and Biophysics, and Director of the for Re-Use in Ways the Original Human
    www.EDUCATIONUPDATE.com AwardAward Volume IX, No. 12 • New York City • AUGUST 2004 Winner FOR PARENTS, EDUCATORS & STUDENTS White House photo by Joyce Naltchayan First Lady Laura Bush U.S. POSTAGE PAID U.S. POSTAGE VOORHEES, NJ Permit No.500 PRSRT STD. PRSRT LITERACY ADVOCATE 2 SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ AUGUST 2004 Corporate Contributions to Education - Part I This Is The First In A Series On Corporate Contributions To Education, Interviewing Leaders Who Have Changed The Face Of Education In Our Nation DANIEL ROSE, CEO, ROSE ASSOCIATES FOCUSES ON HARLEM EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FUND By JOAN BAUM, Ph.D. living in tough neighborhoods and wound up concentrating on “being effective at So what does a super-dynamic, impassioned, finding themselves in overcrowded the margin.” First HEAF took under its wing articulate humanitarian from a well known phil- classrooms. Of course, Rose is a real- the lowest-ranking public school in the city and anthropic family do when he becomes Chairman ist: He knows that the areas HEAF five years later moved it from having only 9 Emeritus, after having founded and funded a serves—Central Harlem, Washington percent of its students at grade level to 2/3rds. significant venture for educational reform? If Heights, the South Bronx—are rife Then HEAF turned its attention to a minority he’s Daniel Rose, of Rose Associates, Inc., he’s with conditions that all too easily school with 100 percent at or above grade level “bursting with pride” at having a distinguished breed negative peer pressure, poor but whose students were not successful in getting new team to whom he has passed the torch— self-esteem, and low aspirations and into the city’s premier public high schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Spelling Instruction; *Teaching Methods
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 284 264 CS 210 709 AUTHOR Mazzio, Frank TITLE Spelling. English Language Arts Concept Paper Number 3. INSTITUTION Oregon State Dept. of Education, Salem. PUB DATE May 87 NOTE 9p. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052) -- Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cognitive Processes; Educational Research; Elementary Secondary Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Language Acquisition; Learning Strategies; *Skill Development; *Spelling Instruction; *Teaching Methods; *Theory Practice Relationship IDENTIFIERS Invented Spelling ABSTRACT Noting research suggesting that somethingmore than rote memorization is involved in the process of spelling, thispaper describes effective instructional strategies to help students improve their spelling abilities. Following an introductionon the memorization/cognition camps in spelling research, thepaper discusses current, but less effective, classroom practices, suchas studying lists of "demon" words, writing words several times, using inappropriate word lists, studying homonyms, and sentence dictation. The paper then examines research based practices, including invented spelling, and discusses four goals that focus on thepurposes of learning strategies to improve spelling. Next, thepaper presents eight effective instructional strategies: (1) using self-corrected tests and a study strategy, (2) using word lists, (3) relating spelling instruction to writing activities, (4) keeping formal spelling lessons to optimum length, (5) using typewriters and the "Imagetics" machine, (6) using games for spelling instruction, (7) using computers for spelling improvement, and (8) using standardized test formats. The paper concludes by noting that effective strategies for elementary schools students also work at the secondary level and provides a summary of major implications of spelling research.An annotated bibliography of works on the study and teaching of spelling is included.
    [Show full text]
  • Parental Attitudes Toward Using Inventive Spelling with Kindergarten Age Children
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects Honors Program 5-1992 Parental Attitudes Toward Using Inventive Spelling with Kindergarten Age Children Sue Dearden Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors Part of the Elementary Education Commons Recommended Citation Dearden, Sue, "Parental Attitudes Toward Using Inventive Spelling with Kindergarten Age Children" (1992). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 401. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/401 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors Program at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Parental Attitudes Toward Using Inventive Spelling with Kindergarten Age Children Sue Dearden Senior Honor Thesis Department of Elementary Education Utah State University 1 Introduction Across the United States millions of children are reciting spelling lists, participating in Spelling Bee s, and taking spelling tests. In fact, a significant portion of an elementary child's school day is devoted to learning to spell words traditionally or correctly. With such an emphasis being placed on spelling, it is logical to assume spelling traditionally is valued in our society. However, a different philosophy, Whole Language, takes an opposite approach on how writing and spelling should be incorporated in the classroom. Whole Language focuses on children learning to write and read at the same time. The focus is not on the child using correct spelling , but simply letting the child express himself/herself in writing using the best spelling he/she can .
    [Show full text]
  • The Development of Young Children's Spelling Ability Dr
    The Development of Young Children's Spelling Ability Dr. Ann C. Sharp Educational Literacy Researcher and Consultant Studying Spelling Patterns Orthography Orthography is the study of a writing system’s spelling patterns The English writing system is alphabetic Chinese writing system is logographic Japanese writing system is syllabic. Historical Overview Why Study Spelling? I mean really, why? In the 1960s researchers thought spelling was not very challenging (Jensen, 1962) Educators saw spelling as a mere convention (Thompkins, 2003). Common public attitude: “BORING!” Historical Overview Despite Misconceptions Durkin (1966) discovered that children who learned how to spell before they learned how to read, their writing lead to their ability to read. Researchers and educators alike became curious! Historical Overview The Development of Early Writing Behaviors (C. Chomsky,1971) Children use their knowledge of letter names and sounds to write words. Children’s spellings were attempts to use the phonemic (sound) structure of our English language. Not a mere memorization task! Historical Overview Inventive Spelling is Born Read was a student of C. Chomsky’s. In the 1980’s he observed preschoolers’ writings who had not yet learned to read. Children’s attempts demonstrated an understanding that letters symbolized sounds. These attempts were nicknamed inventive spelling. Historical Overview Characteristics of Invented Misspellings Spell words using letter names (EGL for eagle) Omit preconsonantal nasals (BUPY for bumpy). Preconsonantal
    [Show full text]
  • Pathways to Literacy: a Study of Invented Spelling and Its Role in Learning to Read
    Running Head: Pathways to Literacy Pathways to Literacy: A Study of Invented Spelling and Its Role in Learning to Read Gene P. Ouellette Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology August 2006 © Gene Ouellette 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-18229-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-18229-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Phonics, Whole Language, and Spelling Before
    A comparison of three approaches to literacy acquisition : traditional phonics, whole language, and spelling before reading by Roxanne L Sporleder A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Montana State University © Copyright by Roxanne L Sporleder (1998) Abstract: A quasi-experimental research design was used to compare three approaches to literacy acquisition in nine first-grade classrooms to determine if there was a significant difference in achievement in phoneme segmentation, reading, and spelling development at the end of twenty-one weeks of instruction. All nine classrooms within one school district with a total of 151 first-grade students received instruction in reading following the district curriculum guidelines and using a newly adopted literature-based reading series. The basal provided a wide variety of opportunities to read, write, and talk about meaning. In addition to the basic reading program, students in the nine classrooms received differentiating instruction. Three classrooms were introduced to phonics within the context of literature and learned spelling using word families. Three classrooms received direct instruction in phonics using a traditional approach to learning letter sounds, blending words, and reading short controlled texts. These also learned spelling using word families. Another three classrooms received instruction in the letter representations of phonemes with an emphasis on metacognition and spelling words before ever reading them. At the beginning of the school year, students were given baseline tests to identify phoneme segmentation skills, letter knowledge, spelling development and reading ability. At the end of twenty-one weeks, these same tests as well as the WRMT-R were administered.
    [Show full text]
  • Foundational Skills Guidance Documents: Grades K-2
    Foundational Skills Guidance Documents: Grades K-2 Table of Contents Overview ........................................................................................ 2 Content: The Components of Foundational Skills ............................ 5 Instructional Moves: The “How” of Foundational Skills ................... 13 Grade-Level-Specific Guidance for Kindergarten ............................ 19 Grade-Level-Specific Guidance for First Grade ............................... 24 Grade-Level-Specific Guidance for Second Grade ........................... 28 Appendices ................................................................................... 32 1 Overview Purpose By the end of third grade, far too many of our students are not proficient readers. This guide is designed to tackle these national reading deficits by outlining essential instructional components to teach early reading skills. This document is intended to provide teachers of kindergarten (K), first, and second grades with best practices to support the explicit teaching of foundational skills: Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition, and Fluency. This document should be used along with instructional materials that provide explicit and systematic instruction and practice. Rationale Explicit instruction of foundational skills is critical in early elementary school. Numerous studies point to the benefits of a structured program for reading success. For the purposes of this document, this means a program that begins with phonological awareness, follows a clear sequence of phonics patterns, provides direct instruction with adequate student practice, and makes use of weekly assessment and targeted supports. Despite the abundance of evidence showing the time and ingredients required for most students to learn to read successfully, teachers following a basal and/or a balanced literacy approach report they often spend a limited amount of time on teaching foundational skills (often fifteen to twenty minutes daily), and do not use a systematic approach.
    [Show full text]
  • A Missing Piece to Literacy Richards Learning Systems and National
    Mystery Solved … a Missing Piece to Literacy Richards Learning Systems and National Systematic Phonics Research OVERVIEW -- THE TEACHING OF READING IN THE U.S. Many Americans can’t read. And many teachers lack the instructional background and tools to teach reading according to the recent guidelines established by the National Reading Panel (NRP). An affordable, easy-to-administer reading program has important implications for our nation’s economic future. While technology brings our citizens seemingly limitless opportunities, at the same time illiteracy and poverty rates are escalating rapidly. The Ohio Literacy Resource Center estimates that 90 million, or nearly half of all American adults, have limited literacy skills. Recently, a prominent lawyer confided to us that many law firms are sending their new lawyers back to school to learn to write. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tested 140,000 children in grades 4, 8 and 12 in public and private schools in thirty-nine states. Less than one-third of the children were proficient in reading, and very few (3%) were reading at advanced levels. Sadly, according to NAEP results, over the last eight years the low-performing fourth graders continue to show test score decreases. Only high performing students show increases. Similarly, North Coast Education Services has tested more than 700 Cleveland City School children in grades K through 6 over a three-year period. We found 75% of the children read below grade level and many did not read at all. Suburban results weren’t much better. We tested 300 children in a Cleveland suburb and found 53% read below grade level.
    [Show full text]
  • Scaffolds and Spelling in Preschool: Using a Movable Alphabet to Measure Early Literacy
    Scaffolds and Spelling in Preschool: Using a Movable Alphabet to Measure Early Literacy The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:37736756 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA @7&44($30!&+3!@I/$$%+8!%+!59/07.(($J!C0%+8!&!;(B&=$/!,$I.&=/1!1(!;/&0#9/!>&9$6! <%1/9&76! ! "#$%&!'($)*&+! ,!-./0%0!%+!1./!2%/$3!(4!5067.($(86! 4(9!1./!:/89//!(4!;&01/9!(4!<%=/9&$!,910!%+!>?1/+0%(+!@1#3%/0! A&9B&93!C+%B/90%16! D(B/*=/9!EFGH ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! K(I69%8.1!EFGH!"#$%&!'($)*&+! ! ,=019&71! ! C+3/901&+3%+8!6(#+8!7.%$39/+L0!0I/$$%+8!&=%$%1%/0!*&6!I9(B%3/!#+%M#/!%+0%8.1!%+1(! 1./%9!(B/9&$$!$%+8#%01%7!3/B/$(I*/+1!&0!N/$$!&0!&00%01!%+!%3/+1%46%+8!7.%$39/+!&1!9%0)!4(9! 9/&3%+8!3%44%7#$1%/0!%+!N&60!1.&1!16I%7&$!9/&3%+8!&00/00*/+10!7&++(1!OK.#&P!Q%7)&93!<%(NP! R!S/(+8P!EFGTU!K$/*/+0P!V0$#+3P!@%**(+0P!R!@%**(+0P!EFGWU!A(40$#+30/+8/+P! A&81B/1P!R!X#01&400(+P!EFGTU!;7Y9%3/ZK.&+8P!G[[\U!V#/$$/11/!R!@]+]7.&$P!EFGH^_!S/1P! 0I/$$%+8!&00/00*/+10!&9/!+(1!7(**(+$6!7(+3#71/3!=/4(9/!`%+3/98&91/+!O&8/!a^!&+3!+(! +(9*/3!%+019#*/+1!/?%010!4(9!bZ!1(!WZ6/&9Z($30_!! c./+!0I/$$%+8!&00/00*/+10!3/0%8+/3!4(9!aZ6/&9Z($30!&9/!&3*%+%01/9/3!1(!6(#+8/9! 7.%$39/+P!6(#+8!7.%$39/+!8/1!$(N/9!07(9/0!OK$/*/+0!/1!&$_P!EFGWU!5#9&+%)!R!,I/$P!EFGF^_!
    [Show full text]
  • Using Evidence-Based Spelling Instruction to Support Elementary Students: a Self-Study Brigid Ayn Berger Hamline University, [email protected]
    Hamline University DigitalCommons@Hamline School of Education Student Capstone Theses and School of Education Dissertations Summer 8-10-2016 Using Evidence-based Spelling instruction to Support Elementary Students: A Self-Study Brigid Ayn Berger Hamline University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Berger, Brigid Ayn, "Using Evidence-based Spelling instruction to Support Elementary Students: A Self-Study" (2016). School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 4186. https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/4186 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at DigitalCommons@Hamline. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Hamline. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. USING EVIDENCE-BASED SPELLING INSTRUCTION TO SUPPORT ELEMENTRARY STUDENTS: A SELF-STUDY by Brigid Berger A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Literacy Education Hamline University Saint Paul, Minnesota August 2016 Primary Advisor: Marcia Rockwood Secondary Advisor: Laura Eiden Peer Reviewer: Annaka Larson ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Countless thanks to my husband, Aaron, for all his support, encouragement, and patience and my amazing team who helped me through the process of writing the longest paper of my life. 'Cord' is different from 'word'; c - o - w is 'cow' but l - o - w is 'low'; 'Shoe' is never rhymed with 'foe'. Think of 'hose' and 'whose' and 'lose', And think of 'goose' and yet of 'loose', Think of 'comb' and 'tomb' and 'bomb'; 'Doll' and 'roll' and 'home' and 'some'; And since 'pay' is rhymed with 'say', Why not 'paid' with 'said', I pray ? We have 'blood' and 'food' and 'good', Wherefore 'done' and 'gone' and 'lone' ? Is there any reason known? And, in short, it seems to me, Sounds and letters disagree.
    [Show full text]
  • Family Guides
    Family Guides: Supporting Learning in the 2020-21 School Year ABOUT THIS GUIDE GRADE Parents and caregivers have always wanted to know more about what their child is learning in school. After all, families are their child’s first – and most important – teacher. These days, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, children are often learning at home. It’s a challenge for all of us. Parents, family members, grandparents, and other caregivers are all pitching in to help children learn. So we include all these K people when we talk about how families can support kids. This guide is meant to support families and students academically in literacy and math. Of course, students will be learning other subjects too, but literacy and math are the building blocks for everything else. THIS GUIDE INCLUDES • What Your Child Should Know & Be Able to Do – What experts say is the most important content (knowledge and skills) for students to learn by the end of kindergarten. • Everyday Activities to Support Learning – We’ve included some ways you can support your child in learning important content and skills in literacy and math. • Education Words – Sometimes, you’ll hear educators use a word that has a specific meaning in schools. Those words are bolded. Understanding those terms will help you speak the same language. • Tips for Talking with Teachers – How you and your child’s teacher can work together to help your child grow. • Tools and Resources to Help – We’ve chosen a few internet resources that best match each grade’s content. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
    [Show full text]
  • How Is EBLI Different? Student Instruction, Student Gains, Teacher Training, Cost
    How is EBLI Different? Student Instruction, Student Gains, Teacher Training, Cost Student Instruction Traditional Instruction EBLI GENERAL Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction PHONICS WHOLE LANGUAGE/ 3 CUEING SYSTEM GENERAL EBLI Focus is on letter names. Focus is on sounds. Sight words are taught by whole word Sight words, and all words, are taught by memorization on flash cards. sound. Reading and spelling are taught separately. Reading and spelling are taught simultaneously. Instruction is mostly visual. Multi-sensory instruction with an emphasis on auditory first, then visual. Teaches one or a few of the components of Comprehensive instruction in and application literacy. of phonemic awareness, phonics (without rules or drill), vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, handwriting, spelling, and writing. PHONICS EBLI Letter names and/or sounds are taught in isolation. Sounds are taught in the context of words, including beginning reading instruction. Blends and word families taught and memorized Sounds are taught to the smallest unit for /bl/ /ack/ or /c/ /at/, /b/ /at/. improved reading and spelling /b/ /l/ /a/ /ck/ Songs / ‘noise’ are taught to try to explain the Instruction is streamlined, explicit, and concise inconsistencies in the English code. without extra information. Sound to symbol (phonics) and syllable rules and Tendencies and patterns are explicitly taught exception to rules are taught to try to explain and applied, avoiding the need for rules that inconsistencies in the English code. are inconsistent and difficulty to apply. Drill of rules Hands on, multi-sensory instruction where students are simultaneously seeing, saying, hearing, touching as they are learning Instruction utilizes extensive worksheets and Instruction utilizes whiteboards, markers, and materials.
    [Show full text]