Reading Improvement Through Homework Help

1. Reading Improvement Through Homework Help Fatimah Washington Ed 702.22 Spring 2010

2. Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of Related Literature Statement of the Hypothesis Method Participants& Instruments Experiential Design Procedure Results Discussion Implications References Appendices

3. Statement of the Problem Lack of both parental involvement and resources negatively affect the reading scores of students with low S.E.S.

4. Contemporary Practices • Family literacy as a third space between home and school (Pahl & Kelly, 2005). • Interactive homework assignments (Bailey, 2006) • Reading First: A component of the No Child Left Behind Act (Whitfield, 2005) • School support strategies (Sen. et al.,2009) • Explicit Phonemic Awareness and Decoding Skills Instruction (Ryder,2007)

5. Review of Related Literature

6. Theorists • Jerome Bruner= learners construct new ideas based upon their current/past knowledge or “Schema.” http://tip.psycology.org/bruner.html • Jean Piaget= zones of proximal development. We learn as we meet challenges by assimilating and accommodating. http://tip.psycology.org/piaget.html • Lev Vygotsky= With support from another experienced person the learner is able to do more than he could on his own. The social nature of learning. http://tip.psycology.org/vygotsky.html

7. Statement of Hypothesis HR1: Implementing reading instruction for 15 minutes five days a week over an eight week period will improve the literacy scores of 5 at-risk first-grade students of school x.

8. Sources Bailey, L. (October 2006). Interactive Homework: A Tool for Fostering Parent-Child Interactions and Improving Learning Outcomes for At-Risk Young Children. Early Childhood Education Journal.105(1) 155-167 http://tip.psycology.org/bruner.html Cook, M.(July 2005). ‘A Place of Their Own’: creating a classroom ‘third space’ to support a continuum of text construction between home and school. Literacy. 39 85-90 Croninger, R. G.; Valli,L. (2009). “Where is the Action?” Challenges to Studying the Teaching of Reading in Elementary Classrooms. Educational Researcher. 38 (2) 100-108 Domina, T. (July 2005). Leveling the Home Advantage: Assessing the effectiveness of Parental Involvement in Elementary School. Sociology of Education. 78 233-249 Gill, B.P.; Schlossman,S. (Jan 2003). A Nation At Rest: The American Way of Homework. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 25 319-337 Ghazarian, S.;Buehler,C. (Jan 2010). “Inter-parental Conflict and Academic Achievement: An Examination of Mediating an Moderating Factors. Journal of Youth An Adolescence. 39(1 )23-35 Goddard, R.; Moran-Tschannen, M.; Hoy,W. (2001). A Multilevel Examination of the Distribution and Effects of Teacher Trust in Students an Parents in Urban Elementary Schools. The Elementary School Journal 102 (1) 3-15

9. Heymann, S. J.; Earle, A. (Winter 2008). Low Income Parents: How do Working Conditions Affect Their Opportunity To Help School-Age Children At Risk. American Educational Research Journal. 37 (4) 33-848 Horvat, E.; Weininger, E.B.; Lareau, A. (Summer 2003). From Social Ties To Social Capital: Class differences in the Relations Between Schools and Parent Networks. American Educational Research Journal. 40 (2) 319-351 Horvat-McNamara,E.; Weininger, E.; Lareau, A. (Summer 2003). “From Social Ties to Social Capital: Class Differences in the Relations Between School and Parent Networks.” American Educational Research Journal 40 (2) 319-351 Ma, X. ( Oct 2000). Health Outcomes of Elementary School Students in New Brunswick: The Education Perspective. Evaluation Review. 24(5) 435-456 Mandara, J.; Varner, F.; Greene, N. (Nov 2009). “Intergenerational Family Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap.” Journal of Educational Psychology. 101(4) 867-878 Margolis, H. (October 2004). Resolving Struggling Learners’ Homework Difficulties: Working With Elementary School Learners and Parents. Reading Psychology An International Quarterly . 25(4) 225-260 Myberg, E.; Rosen, M. (Dec 2008). A Path Model with Mediating Factors of Parents’ Education on Students’ Reading Achievement in Seven Countries. Educational Research and Evaluation 14(6) 507-520 Pahl, K. ; Kelly, S. (July 2005). Family Literacy As A Third Space Between Home and School: Some Case Studies of Practice. Literacy. 91-97 Patall, E.; Cooper, H.; Robinson, J.C. (2008). Parent Involvement in Homework a Research Synthesis. Review of Educational Research 78 (4) 1039-1101 http://tip.psycology.org/Piaget.html Prins, E.; Wilson, B.T. (September 2008). Defining and Measuring Parenting for Educational Success: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Parent Education Profile. American Educational Research Journal 4(5)555-596

10. Sources Ryder, J.; Tummer, W.; Greaney, K. (Explicit Instruction in Phonemic Awareness and Phonemically Based Decoding Skills as an Intervention Strategy for Struggling Readers in Whole Language Classrooms. Reading And Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 21(4) 349-369 Sen., A.; Burns, S.; Miller, D. (September 2009). Teacher Strategies To Help Fourth-Graders Having Difficulty in Reading: An International Perspective. National Center For Education Statistics. 1-16 Senechal, M; Young L. (September 2008). The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions On Children's’ Acquisition Of Reading From Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta Analytic Review. 880-907 Skinner, D.;(Winter 2004). The Homework Wars. Journal Public Interest. 49-60 Tam, V. C.; Chan, Raymond. (2008). Parent Involvement In Primary Children’s Home Work In Hong Kong. School Community Journal.19( 2) 81-100 http://tip.psycology.org/vygotsky.html Walberg, H.J. (1976). Psychology of Learning Environments: Behavioral Structural or Perceptual. Review of Research Education 4(142) 1-38 Walberg, H.J.; et.al.(1981). Childhood Traits and Environmental Conditions of Highly Eminent Adults. Gifted Child Quarterly. 25 (103) 1-6 Watkins, T. (September-October 1997). Teacher Communication, Child Achievement And Parent Traits in Parent Involvement Models. Journal of Education Research 91(1) 81-100 Whitfield, P.; (2005). No Child Left Behind : Leaving The Arts Behind In Developing Young Children’s Literacy. 11(2) 43-54

11. Methods • Participants 10 first-Grade struggling readers with low S.E.S. 5 readers will receive homework help with reading. 5 readers will not receive help • Instruments Parent Surveys, Children Surveys, Reading tests, Running Records.

12. Consent Form Dear Principal, I Am a graduate student in the Childhood Education Department at Brooklyn College. I am conducting an action research project that will attempt to improve the reading scores of five struggling readers with low S.E.S. The research will require surveys of parents and their children, as well as the administration of pre and post reading tests and by taking running records. Please be advised all results will be anonymously reported as a group study. Furthermore, this research will assist me in my endeavor to improve the reading skills of children who are at risk for failure. I am asking for your consent to carry out this project during the months of September to October. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support. Sincerely, Fatimah Washington

13. Child Survey-1st Grade 1)I like to read. Yes no sometimes 2) I like homework Yes no sometimes 3)Mom helps me do homework. Yes no sometimes 4)Dad helps me do homework. Yes no sometimes 5)Homework is too hard. Yes no sometimes

14. Parent Survey • I read with my child. • I help my child with homework. • I attend parent conferences. • I volunteer in my child’s school. • I am comfortable taking the day off from work,