Browsing by Subject "Reading (Kindergarten) -- Research"
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Item Effective Methods of Instruction to Increase Phonics Achievement of Kindergartners(2014-05) Driscoll, Brittany; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if the method of instruction has an effect on the phonics achievement of kindergarten students. Group one (2012–2013) received instruction which focused on learning letter names only followed by letter sounds at a later time in the school year. Group two (2013–2014) received instruction which taught letter names and letter sounds simultaneously throughout the duration of the study, approximately four to five months. The measurement tool, DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy), tested Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF). The hypothesis was partially supported as there was no significant difference between groups in the skill of LNF; however, there was a significant difference in the skill of letter-sound associations (NWF). Group two achieved a significantly higher score than group one in NWF. Further research is necessary regarding the most effective methods of instruction for phonics achievement in kindergarten.Item The Effectiveness of a Short-Term Implementation of ERI in Improving Phonics Skills in Kindergartners(2013-07) Peters, Katherine; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a supplemental phonics curriculum (Early Reading Intervention, ERI) on reading scores of a small group of kindergarten students. Participants were selected from two different kindergarten classrooms based on their similar DIBELS Next pre-assessment scores. All students received phonics instruction from the Treasures reading program. However, students in the researcher’s classroom were assigned to the treatment group and also received instruction using the ERI curriculum. The treatment group participated in a total of twelve thirty-minute ERI sessions. These took place three times per week, for a total of four weeks. Results indicated that the ERI group improved on all five DIBELS Next subtests, but the control group actually decreased on three. Five of ten null hypotheses which posited that the ERI and control groups would not make significant gains were rejected as the mean gain scores were significantly larger than zero on the LNF, PSF, FSF, and CLS subtests for the ERI group and on the FSF subtest for the control group. When gain scores were compared across treatment and control groups, results of T-tests for independent samples indicated that the ERI group made significantly larger gains on the LNF and PSF subtests than the control group, so the hypotheses that the two groups’ gains would be equivalent gains on those tests were also rejected. Participants’ responses to brief survey questions about the ERI intervention suggested they found the ERI activities fairly easy, enjoyable and useful in helping them become better readers. Overall, the results of this study suggested supplementing the Treasures program with ERI yielded gains in phonics skills and was well received by students.Item The Effects of Small Group Phonics Intervention on Low Achieving Kindergarten Students(2014-07) Dobry, Katherine; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine whether daily small group intervention in the area of phonics would positively impact achievement of selected Kindergarten students enrolled in the class. The measurement tool used was the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) benchmark assessment. This study involved the use of a pre-test/post-test design to compare data from January 2013 (before the intervention was administered) to May 2014 (after the intervention was completed). Achievement gains were significant, though results could be attributable to a number of intervening factors. Research in the area of small group instruction should continue given the connection between early phonics intervention and future reading achievement.Item Thinking Maps and Poetry Instruction and Their Impact on Sight Word Acquisition of Kindergarten Students(2011-07) Georgopalis, Melanie; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine if the use of Thinking Maps or poetry instruction would have an impact on a young child's sight word acquisition. Both the experimental group and the control group were kindergarten students receiving the same curriculum instruction, with the exception of the experimental group receiving sight word instruction using Thinking Maps during small group instruction, while the comparison group received only poetry and hands-on activities for sight word instruction. The study was conducted over a four-week period and occurred in a co-taught, open space classroom. The results of this study show that there is no significant difference in a child's sight word acquisition based upon the two types of instruction. Students did achieve slightly higher on a posttest, the Dolch Word List, when using poetry and hands-on materials. The results of this study also showed improvement with the experimental group indicating the positive effect of Thinking Maps when segmenting nonsense words, however not when identifying sight words. Further research could be conducted to determine the effects of Thinking Maps and poetry on the fluency rates of primary students.