Bonnie Randa

1

• Bonnie Randa
• branda_at_holyfamily.edu
• http//branda14.angelfire.com
• K-2 Reading Development and Instruction
• Date Prepared July 19, 2007

2
Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Summary Findings
• Detailed Findings
• Conclusions
• Appendix

3
Introduction

• Currently attending Holy Family in order to earn
  my masters degree and a certification as a
  Reading Specialist.
• I chose to do my research report on reading
  development and instruction in the primary
  grades.
• Reading is the basis for all other subjects.
  Students must learn to read in order to succeed.
• I was anxious to search the Internet to see what
  tools and information that I would be able to
  find for beginning readers.
• My main objective for choosing reading as my
  topic for this report was to be able to discover
  new sites that would be engaging for my students,
  the parents of my students, and for me.
• Today, technology is beginning to play such a
  significant role in education and it is
  important for educators to make use of all of the
  great tools and resources that are out there.
• For students who may not be motivated to learn to
  read, there are so many resources, games, and fun
  activities offered for free on the Internet that
  will aid children in the reading process.

4
Summary Findings -Research Method

• The first step was choosing a topic, and learning
  how to properly research this topic on the
  Internet. A few of the search engines that I used
  throughout my research were www.google.com
• www.yahoo.com and www.mamma.com
• Created an Internet Address Book, or IAB. The IAB
  consisted of twenty different sites which I found
  that pertained to my research topic, K-2 Reading
  Development and Instruction.
• Created a Research Excerpt File to store all of
  my information, as an alternative to printing out
  all of the materials that I had found.
• I based my criteria for which sites to choose on
  the following items
• Content material
• Ease of use
• Materials offered
• Links to other resources
• Audience site was geared toward

5
Summary Findings Continued

• I chose websites of varying qualities. Some
  catered to educators and professionals, while
  others were more geared toward children and
  parents.
• The site that best met the needs of teachers was,
  www.readwritethink.org
• The site that I found to be the most
  user-friendly and kid-friendly was
  www.starfall.com
• The site that I thought would be the most helpful
  for parents was www.rif.org
• Reading Rockets, www.readingrockets.org, and Get
  Ready to Read, www.getreadytoread.org, were also
  excellent resources for reading materials and
  information.

6
Reading is Fun!
7
Detailed Findings

• Get Ready to Read, www.getreadytoread.org is a
  national initiative to build the early literacy
  skills of preschool-age children.
• The initiative provides an easy-to-administer,
  research-based screening tool to early childhood
  educators, child care providers, and parents in
  order to help them prepare all children to learn
  to read and write.
• Aims to integrate emergent literacy screening and
  learning activities into routine early childhood
  education, child-care and parenting practices.
• GRTR!'s program vision is that all preschool
  children will have the skills they need to learn
  to read when they enter school.
• The site discusses the importance of exposing
  children to words, books, and literature at a
  young age.

8
Facts about Reading

• Reading failure in the United States has reached
  epidemic proportions
• More than 40 percent of fourth grade students
  performed below basic levels on the National
  Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in both
  1994 and 1998. More than 10 percent of fourth
  grade children could not even participate in the
  NAEP due to severe reading difficulties.
• Children who do not learn to read constitute
  approximately 17 percent of the population and
  comprise more than 50 percent of the special
  education population.
• BUT.
• Early identification and intervention can reduce
  the need for costly services
• If identified early and given research-based
  intervention, 90 to 95 percent of children "at
  risk" for reading failure will become fluent
  readers.
• Prevention of reading failure can reduce the need
  for special education services later in a
  student's educational life. Special education
  costs are, on average, double those of general
  education.

9
READING ROCKETS

• Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project
  offering information and resources on how young
  kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how
  caring adults can help.
• Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading
  strategies, lessons, and activities designed to
  help young children learn how to read.
• Reading Rockets aims to inform and inspire
  parents, teachers, childcare providers,
  administrators, and others who touch the life of
  a child by providing accurate, accessible
  information about reading strategies.
• Reading Rockets creates and shares information
  about reading through its major projects, which
  include PBS television programs, online services,
  and professional development opportunities.
• Below is a link to one of the sites where you can
  find a video clip about a program which is
  available through PBS. http//www.readingrockets.o
  rg/shows/launching

10
READING ROCKETS

• Reading 101 What you should know about was very
  useful. It provided information on specific
  teaching strategies, and also different variables
  within a classroom that teachers need to be aware
  about.
• Below I have provided hyperlinks to the top three
  articles that I felt were the most helpful and
  pertinent to teaching reading to struggling, or
  emerging readers.
• http//www.readingrockets.org/article/82
• http//www.readingrockets.org/article/392
• http//www.readingrockets.org/article/205
• Overall, I found this website to be an excellent
  resource for teachers, parents, and children.
• There was a wide-range of various materials and
  information that I found to be extremely helpful
  for many different types of people. I would
  definitely recommend this site to anyone.

11

• ReadWriteThink, is a partnership between the
  International Reading Association (IRA), the
  National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE),
  and the Verizon Foundation.
• NCTE and IRA are working together to provide
  educators and students with access to the highest
  quality practices and resources in reading and
  language arts instruction through free,
  Internet-based content.
• One of the tools that I found very helpful while
  researching on this site was the ability for me
  to search for a lesson based upon targeting
  specific language functions in the classroom.
• Lessons on ReadWriteThink can be sorted by
  literacy engagements so that teachers can
  highlight specific language functions in the
  classroom.

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• Learning Language
• Using language and other sign systems as ways of
  making meaning
• read aloud
• partner reading with big books
• independent reading
• journal writing
• Learning About Language
• Understanding how language works, including word
  play, the teaching of letter-sound relationships
  and spelling or grammar
• word study
• comprehension strategies
• mini-lessons
• word walls

13

• Learning Through Language
• Using reading and writing as a tool for
  exploration or for purposes of learning about or
  critiquing our world
• literature study
• inquiry
• reflective journals
• process drama

14

• Founded in 1966, RIF is the oldest and largest
  children's and family nonprofit literacy
  organization in the United States. 
• Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. prepares and
  motivates children to read by delivering free
  books and literacy resources to those children
  and families who need them most.
• All RIF programs combine three essential elements
  to foster children's literacy
• Reading motivation,
• Family and community involvement
• The excitement of choosing free books to keep

15

• One link on the site that I found to be
  particularly useful was the Creating a
  Literacy-Rich Classroom checklist.
• Creating a Literacy-Rich Classroom
  
• Book Area/Writing Area
• The book area is in a well-lighted spot near the
  writing area.
• At least four children can fit in the area at one
  time.
• There are a child-sized table and chairs, comfy
  places to sit, and a rug or carpet.
• Throughout the Classroom
• There are reading and writing materials in all
  indoor and outdoor areas (e.g., the block area
  has books on buildings and paper and pencils to
  make signs).
• Print tells what things are or where they belong
  (e.g., cubbies have names and symbols, shelves
  and containers have word and picture labels).

16

• The Starfall website is a site that is described
  as an actual methodology of both teaching and
  learning how to read.
• The Starfall Method of reading instruction was
  developed for the emergent reader.
• The site lists the following topics as the most
  important aspects of teaching reading to
  struggling readers
• teach phonemic awareness
• teach the common sound-spelling relationships in
  words
• use text that is composed of words that use
  sound-spelling correspondences
• use interesting stories to develop vocabulary and
  language comprehension
• the most effective classroom method for early
  reading instruction involves a combination of
  explicit instruction in word recognition skills
  and reading comprehension strategies with
  opportunities to apply and practice these skills
  in literature

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• I utilized this site a few years ago with my K-2
  special education students.
• My students were more motivated and excited about
  learning, because they were actually
  understanding what they were reading.
• Motivation is one of the most important factors
  of reading that this website stresses. Their
  mission is to instill confidence and pride in
  children learning to read.
• 
  
  
• This is an excellent site for educators because
  the site provides many different materials, and
  they are FREE! There are also more materials that
  are available to purchase.
• The site is also great for children because it is
  interactive, and provides students with the
  opportunity to learn, play, and have fun all at
  the same time.

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Conclusions

• I found this entire research report process to be
  an excellent learning tool for me as an educator.
  
• The IAB and research excerpt file were great
  tools to use to help me to consolidate all of the
  information that I was finding. They helped me to
  be more organized, which then made it easier for
  me to create my final product.
• I was not only able to broaden my senses of
  researching topics on the Internet, but in this
  process, I was able to acquire new resources,
  materials, ideas, and information on K-2 Reading
  Development and Instruction.
• All of the sites that used for this research
  report were excellent sites. I will keep these
  resources with me, and utilize them, as I
  continue my future as an educator.

19
Reading Quotes

• If you can read this, thank a teacher.
  Anonymous
• The more you read, the more things you will
  know. The more you learn, the more places youll
  go. Dr.Suess
• Reading aloud with children is known to be the
  single most important activity for building the
  knowledge and skills they will eventually require
  for learning to read.
• Marilyn Jager Adams

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Appendix

• Research Excerpt File
• Internet Address Book
• Research Report
• Sample Scan
• Image
• Audio File
• Video