Bonnie Randa branda@holyfamily branda14.angelfire

1. Bonnie Randa branda@holyfamily.edu http://branda14.angelfire.com K-2 Reading Development and Instruction Date Prepared: July 19, 2007

2. Table ofContents • 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.org/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.

12. 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

17. 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.

18. 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 you’ll 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

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