Reading comprehension and mathematical concept acquisition through the use of math stories with bilingual children

Math storybooks are picture books in which the understanding of mathematical concepts is central to the comprehension of the story. Math stories have provided useful opportunities for children to expand their skills in the language arts area and to talk about mathematical factors that are related to their real lives. The purpose of this study was to examine bilingual children's reading and math comprehension of the math storybooks. ^ The participants were randomly selected from two Korean schools and two public elementary schools in Miami, Florida. The sample consisted of 63 Hispanic American and 43 Korean American children from ages five to seven. A 2 x 3 x (2) mixed-model design with two between- and one within-subjects variable was used to conduct this study. The two between-subjects variables were ethnicity and age, and the within-subjects variable was the subject area of comprehension. Subjects were read the three math stories individually, and then they were asked questions related to reading and math comprehension. ^ The overall ANOVA using multivariate tests was conducted to evaluate the factor of subject area for age and ethnicity. As follow-up tests for a significant main effect and a significant interaction effect, pairwise comparisons and simple main effect tests were conducted, respectively. ^ The results showed that there were significant ethnicity and age differences in total comprehension scores. There were also age differences in reading and math comprehension, but no significant differences were found in reading and math by ethnicity. Korean American children had higher scores in total comprehension than those of Hispanic American children, and they showed greater changes in their comprehension skills at the younger ages, from five to six, whereas Hispanic American children showed greater changes at the older ages, from six to seven. Children at ages five and six showed higher scores in reading than in math, but no significant differences between math and reading comprehension scores were found at age seven. ^ Through schooling with integrated instruction, young bilingual children can move into higher levels of abstraction and concepts. This study highlighted bilingual children's general nature of thinking and showed how they developed reading and mathematics comprehension in an integrated process. ^

Effect of the Florida A+ Plan on curriculum and instruction in Title I public elementary schools

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the Florida A+ Plan accountability program on curriculum and instruction in four Title I public elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. It focused on the experiences of the school principals and the classroom teachers of the four schools as they related to curriculum and instruction. The study included an analysis of the school improvement plans in curriculum and instruction for each school during the school years 1998-2004. ^ The study was conducted in the format of interviews with the school principals and principal selected classroom teachers who taught third, fourth, or fifth grade during the first six years of the Florida A+ Plan. The analysis of the school improvement plans focused on the implementation of curriculum and instruction for each of the four schools. It focused on the goals and measurable objectives selected by each school to improve its instructional program in the academic subjects of reading, mathematics, writing, and science. ^ The findings indicated that under the pressure to improve their school grade on the Florida A+ Plan, each of the target schools, based on individual needs assessments, and restructured their instructional program each school year as documented in their school improvement plans. They altered their programs by analyzing student performance data to realign curriculum and instruction. The analysis of the interviews with the principals and the teachers showed that each school year they restructured their program to align it with the FCAT content. This realigning was a collaborative effort on the part of the administration and the instructional staff. ^

An examination of the effects of a summer book-reading program on the language and early literacy outcomes of toddlers from high risk environments

The current study examined the impact of an early summer literacy program and the mediating effects of the home literacy environment on the language and literacy outcomes of a group of children at-risk for long-term developmental and academic delays. Participating children (n=54) were exposed to an intensive book-reading intervention each summer (June through mid August) over a 3-year period. The current study implemented an ex post facto, quasi-experimental design. This nonequivalent group design involved a pretest and posttest over three time points for a non-randomized treatment group and a matched non-treatment comparison group. Results indicated that literacy scores did improve for the children over the 3-year period; however, language scores did not experience the same rate of change over time. Receptive language was significantly impacted by attendance, and race/ethnicity. Expressive language was impacted significantly by gestational age and attendance. Results also indicated that language outcomes for young children who are exposed to a literacy program were higher than those who did not participate; however, only receptive language yielded significance at the p<.05 level. These study results also found that activities in the home that support literacy and learning do indeed impact language and literacy outcomes for these children, specifically, the age at which a child is read to, the number of books in the home, a child’s enjoyment of reading, and whether a child looks at books on his or her own impact language scores. This study concluded that at-risk young children do benefit from center-based literacy intervention. This literacy experience, however, is also driven by the children's home environment, their attendance to the program, whether they were premature or not and the type of caregiver.

Factors affecting the alignment of *grades and reading scores for third-grade students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test

The purpose of this study was to aid in understanding the relationship between current Reading report card grading practices and standards-based state standardized testing results in Reading and factors associated with the alignment of this relationship. Report card and Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FLAT) data for 2004 were collected for 1064 third grade students in nine schools of one feeder pattern in Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools. A Third Grade Teacher Questionnaire was administered to 48 Reading teachers. The questionnaire contained items relating to teachers' education, teaching experience, grading practices, and beliefs about the FCAT, instructional Reading activities, methods, and materials. ^ Findings of this study support a strong relationship between report card grades and FCAT Reading achievement levels. However, individual school correlational analysis showed significant differences among schools' alignment measures. Higher teacher alignment between grades and FCAT levels was associated with teachers spending more time on individualized methods of Reading instruction and to teachers feeling there was not enough time to teach and help individual students. Lower teacher alignment of grades and achievement levels was associated with teachers taking homework into account in the final Reading grade. Teacher alignment of grades and achievement levels was not associated with teacher beliefs concerning the FCAT, instructional activities in Reading and Language Arts, the Reading program used, the model of delivery of the Reading program, instruction or type of instructional planning done by the teachers. ^ This study highlights the need for further investigations related to determining additional teacher factors that may affect the alignment relationship between report card grades and standards-based state standardized testing results. ^

A Naturalistic Assessment of the Organization of Children’s Memories Predicts Cognitive Functioning and Reading Ability

To explore the relationship between memory and early school performance, we used graph theory to investigate memory reports from 76 children aged 6–8 years. The reports comprised autobiographical memories of events days to years past, and memories of novel images reported immediately after encoding. We also measured intelligence quotient (IQ) and theory of mind (ToM). Reading and Mathematics were assessed before classes began (December 2013), around the time of report collection (June 2014), and at the end of the academic year (December 2014). IQ and ToM correlated positively with word diversity and word-to-word connectivity, and negatively with word recurrence. Connectivity correlated positively with Reading in June 2014 as well as December 2014, even after adjusting for IQ and ToM. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a link between the structure of children’s memories and their cognitive or academic performance.

A Naturalistic Assessment of the Organization of Children’s Memories Predicts Cognitive Functioning and Reading Ability

To explore the relationship between memory and early school performance, we used graph theory to investigate memory reports from 76 children aged 6–8 years. The reports comprised autobiographical memories of events days to years past, and memories of novel images reported immediately after encoding. We also measured intelligence quotient (IQ) and theory of mind (ToM). Reading and Mathematics were assessed before classes began (December 2013), around the time of report collection (June 2014), and at the end of the academic year (December 2014). IQ and ToM correlated positively with word diversity and word-to-word connectivity, and negatively with word recurrence. Connectivity correlated positively with Reading in June 2014 as well as December 2014, even after adjusting for IQ and ToM. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating a link between the structure of children’s memories and their cognitive or academic performance.

Empathetic Practice: Reflective Reading Journals in the CEGEP Classroom

Abstract: In order to observe whether or not students appreciate the opportunity to learn affectively, this research was designed as an exploratory project aimed at identifying the ways in which reflective reading journals enabled students to respond empathetically to works of literary fiction. To understand the relationship between the act of reading and the experience of empathy, several questions were asked. The main question was: In what ways do reflective reading journals encourage students to read and understand works of fiction empathetically? Related concerns were taken into consideration: How do students describe their experience of empathy in response to the literary techniques such as plot and characterization? Students were also expected to consider the ways in which their thoughts on writing reflective reading journals underscored the need to forge empathetic awareness of the variety of opinions, experiences, and perspectives expressed in the works of fiction.||Résumé: Dans le but d'observer si les étudiants apprécient ou non la possibilité d'apprendre affectivement, cette recherche a été conçue comme un projet exploratoire visant à identifier les moyens que les journaux de lecture de réflexion ont permis aux étudiants de répondre avec empathie aux oeuvres de fiction littéraire. Pour comprendre la relation entre l'acte de lecture et l'expérience de l'empathie, plusieurs questions ont été posées. La question principale était la suivante: de quelles façons les journaux de lecture de réflexion encouragent les étudiants à lire et comprendre des oeuvres de fiction avec empathie? Des préoccupations du même ordre ont été prises en considération: Comment les étudiants décrivent-ils leur expérience de l'empathie en réponse aux techniques littéraires telles que l'intrigue et la caractérisation? Les étudiants doivent aussi examiner les façons dont leurs idées sur la rédaction de journaux de lecture de réflexion ont mis en évidence la nécessité de forger la prise de conscience empathique de la diversité d'opinions, d'expériences et de perspectives exprimée dans les oeuvres de fiction.

Running on Rooftops: a novel and critical reflection on writing from an identity of expatriation with an examination of West-meets-East encounters and attitudes depicted in literature

This thesis is in two parts: a creative work of fiction and a critical reflection on writing from an identity of expatriation. The creative work, a novel entitled Running on Rooftops, revolves around a fictitious community of expatriates living and working in China. As a new college graduate, Anne Henry, the novel’s protagonist and narrator, decides to spend a year teaching English in China. Twelve years later, though still unsure of how to make sense of the chain of events and encounters that left her with an X-shaped scar on her knee, she nevertheless tells the story, revealing how “just a year” can be anything but. The critical reflection, entitled Writing on Rooftops, explores the nature of expatriation as it relates to identity and writing, specifically in how West-meets-East encounters and attitudes are depicted in literature. In it, I examine the challenges and benefits of writing from an identity and mindset of expatriation as illustrated in the works of Western writers who themselves experienced and wrote from viewpoints of expatriation, particularly those Western writers who wrote of expatriation in China and Southeast Asia. The primary question addressed is how expatriation influences perception and how those perceptions among Western foreigners in China and Southeast Asia have been and can be reflected in literature. In the end, I argue that expatriation can be a valuable viewpoint to write from, offering new ways of seeing and describing our world, ourselves and the connections between the two.

Developing reading sub-skills: 15 Lesson Plans Adapted from "The Canterbury Tales”for teenagers

Este trabajo enfatiza el uso de la literatura en Clases EFL. La literatura es usada como una técnica para enseñar las cuatro destrezas básicas: lectura, habilidad de escuchar, escritura y la producción oral. Provee herramientas para mejorar vocabulario, pronunciación y estructuras gramaticales. El leer literatura provee beneficios enlistados en este documento. Además, algunas desventajas también son presentadas. La falta de: capacitación de profesores, interés por parte de los estudiantes y material propio de lectura, hacen de la literatura una tarea difícil de completar. Seleccionar el material correcto para una Clase EFL es el aspecto más importante para generar el interés por la lectura en los estudiantes. En este caso los adolescentes son el objetivo de este estudio. “The Canterbury Tales” por Geoffrey Chaucer, es la obra en la cual este proyecto está basado. La obra literaria de Geoffrey Chaucer “The Canterbury Tales” le da al lector la oportunidad de imaginar una cultura diferente, el comportamiento de las personas, sentimientos, diversión y moralejas con las que las personas se identifican. Quince planificaciones de clase adaptadas de “The Canterbury Tales” es la mejor herramienta para cultivar el interés por la lectura. Las más importantes sub-destrezas son mostradas en estas planificaciones. Cada una de estas sub-destrezas demuestra actividades sugeridas que pueden ser practicadas dentro del aula. La incorporación de la lectura en una Clase EFL facilita el trabajo del profesor con estudiantes quienes encontraran en la lectura facilidad y diversión.

Health-related And Socio-demographic Factors Associated With Frailty In The Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review.

Frailty is a syndrome that leads to practical harm in the lives of elders, since it is related to increased risk of dependency, falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, and death. The objective of this systematic review was to identify the socio-demographic, psycho-behavioral, health-related, nutritional, and lifestyle factors associated with frailty in the elderly. A total of 4,183 studies published from 2001 to 2013 were detected in the databases, and 182 complete articles were selected. After a comprehensive reading and application of selection criteria, 35 eligible articles remained for analysis. The main factors associated with frailty were: age, female gender, black race/color, schooling, income, cardiovascular diseases, number of comorbidities/diseases, functional incapacity, poor self-rated health, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, body mass index, smoking, and alcohol use. Knowledge of the complexity of determinants of frailty can assist the formulation of measures for prevention and early intervention, thereby contributing to better quality of life for the elderly.

A utilização de apoio bibliografico como recurso metodologico para o ensino da Educação Fisica nos niveis fundamental e medio de escolarização na cidade de Catalão-GO

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Flaubert e o crepúsculo do sujeito: uma análise do conto "Um coração simples"

A literatura francesa e mundial passaram por uma enorme transformação ao longo do século XIX. A primorosa escrita de Flaubert é, para além de sua importância estética, reveladora de um novo modo de se escrever, ler e representar o homem no mundo moderno. O cuidado na construção do texto, a utilização de imagens plásticas e figuras de linguagem, ao mesmo tempo em que o narrador torna-se invisível no emprego do discurso indireto livre são característicos da escrita flaubertiana. O autor apresenta-nos em "Um coração simples" um "retrato" de Félicité, mulher pobre do interior da França, modelo virtuoso de uma ética evanescente. Ao acompanhar, por meio do conto, os passos e desventuras de Felicité, sob as lentes deste novo narrador, buscamos evidenciar as condições que circundam o aparecimento de um olhar científico-objetivo para a subjetividade humana, logo transformada em objeto de uma nascente Psicologia.

Behavior and interactions of children in cooperative groups in lower and middle elementary grades

The study investigated the behaviors and interactions of children in structured and unstructured groups as they worked together on a 6-week social studies activity each term for 3 school terms. Two hundred and twelve children in Grade 1 and 184 children in Grade 3 participated in the study. Stratified random assignment occurred so that each gender-balanced group consisted of 1 high-, 2 medium-, and 1 low-ability student. The results show that the children in the structured groups were consistently more cooperative and they provided more elaborated and nonelaborated help than did their peers in the unstructured groups. The children in the structured groups in Grade 3 obtained higher reading and learning outcome scores than their peers in the unstructured groups.