In this qualitative case study, we provide a series of vignettes illustrating a Grade 1 teacher's experiences integrating iPad technology into her instruction over a school year. We use the digital didactic model to deconstruct these vignettes and draw upon the teacher's reflections to gain further insights about her instructional experiences…

This article reports an action-research project aimed at designing, applying, and assessing a didactic sequence for teaching English as a foreign language in the first grade of a public school in Cali. The article comprises the context, reasons that justified the research, theoretical support, methodology, and results, analyzed through descriptive…

This study examines the ways in which two teachers who have previously taken a multicultural education course put into practice multicultural teaching in a first grade afterschool program. Banks' five dimensions of multicultural education are used as the theoretical framework for analyzing past research on multicultural education courses and for…

There is a great deal of enthusiasm for the use of games in formal educational contexts; however, there is a notable and problematic lack of studies that make use of replicable study designs to empirically link games to learning (Young, et al., 2012). This paper documents the iterative design and development of an educationally focused game,…

Action research has been recognized as a useful professional development tool for teaching, but for inservice teachers, conducting action research can be challenging. Their learning about action research can be influenced by social situations--whether in an MA (Master of Arts) program or other professional development. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to examine young children's definitions of what it means to be a "good musician" and perceptions of themselves as good musicians. The researcher conducted interviews with 347 students in grades 1 through 4 in one US school district, coded the transcripts for salient characteristics and calculated frequencies…

This qualitative study explored reasons K-6 teachers did or did not engage students regularly in writing. Interviews with 14 teachers, classified as high, transitional, and low implementers of writing instruction, revealed three themes: hindrances and helps, beliefs concerning practice, and preparation and professional development. Both high and…

For the 2013 study, "Evaluation of the i3 Scale-up of Reading Recovery Year One Report, 2011-12," researchers examined the Year 1 impacts of the Investing in Innovation (i3) scale-up of "Reading Recovery"®, a short-term intervention for struggling readers, on the reading achievement of first-grade students. The analytic sample…

Australian youth (5-17) are exhibiting the most alarming statistics surrounding poor physical activity (PA) levels and increasing correlating chronic disease trends (i.e. obesity). With schools well positioned to address such concerns, this study aimed to determine the type, frequency and intensity levels of PA being undertaken by children during…

This article provides findings about how the construction of literacy practices mediated the positive identity development of first-grade bilinguals in an inquiry-based setting over an academic year. Utilizing a sociocultural approach and a Positive Discourse Analysis lens, the researcher reports findings from an exemplary primary classroom that…

The ratings and rationales primary-age urban learners gave culturally relevant reading passages was the focus of this descriptive study. First- and second-grade students each read 30 researcher-developed passages reflecting the students' immediate and historical backgrounds. The students rated the passages and gave a reason for their ratings. A…

This article explores the interactional co-construction of identities among two first-grade students learning Spanish as a third language in a Spanish-English dual language classroom. Drawing on ethnographic and interactional data, the article focuses on a single interaction between these two "Spanish learners" and two of their…

Students' perceptions about "what good readers do" are representative of their definition of reading and what they believe they should be striving toward as a reader. These beliefs about reading influence their motivation and ways they engage with texts. In this study, interviews were conducted with students in three first-grade…

This research critically investigated the implementation in Turkey of starting elementary-school first grade at age 5 (60 months) according to teacher feedback. While the study is designed as qualitative, a kind of single case study approach is used with a group of 50 volunteer first-grade teachers serving in 15 elementary schools in the Eskisehir…

Public schools stress the need for students to become informed and engaged citizens, however social studies instruction is becoming marginalized in many elementary schools today, the very area where they learn citizenship and about the world around them. This study seeks to: understand the reason for the loss of instructional time for social…