The classroom environment is an important aspect of classroom management that concerns many teachers. Properly engaging students in the classroom can foster a positive environment. This study examines social and emotional needs of students and its implications in developing a positive classroom. How can meeting social and emotional needs of…

The purpose of this action research project report was to increase reading fluency for 38 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students. The teacher researches collected data from a Parent Survey (n=26), Student Survey (n=38), Teacher Survey (n=12), and Teacher Interviews (n=4) for a total of 80 participants. Data was collected from September 8, 2011…

This report describes a program for improving students' oral and written communication in mathematics. The target population consisted of third and fourth grade classes in a suburban, middle class community located in a large Midwestern state. The current lack of communication was demonstrated by the results of class surveys, student interviews,…

This study describes a program designed to increase student academic performance through the use of reading strategies. The targeted population consists of third and fourth grade students in three separate communities located in northern Illinois. All three communities are part of one major metropolitan area, and the status of family income ranges…

An action research project developed a program for increasing student engagement in social studies. The targeted population consisted of fourth-grade students in a Midwestern suburban community. The problem of limited engagement was documented by interviews with third and fourth grade teachers, entries in the teacher's journal, and a series of…

This report describes a program designed to develop positive attitudes toward reading and to improve achievement in third and fourth grade students in two Midwestern communities. Teachers' observations and conversations with parents and students indicated students did not receive essential reading practice time to improve skills. Analysis of…

Forty-five third-grade and fourth-grade boys identified by their schools as being both normal in intelligence and severely disabled in reading were given a battery of tests of language, visual perception, silent reading comprehension, and finger agnosia. Three consistent groups of subjects emerged from cluster analyses of the results. One group…

The purposes of this study were to investigate the status of nonfiction in the reading interests of second, third, and fourth graders and to determine the effectiveness of a personal reading record as a measure of reading interests. All students in the second, third, and fourth grades of a middle-class rural area in central New Jersey served as…

A program was developed for improving listening skills so as not to interfere with the cognitive processing of directions. The targeted population consisted of third, fourth, fifth, and eighth grade students in a growing middle class community located in the Midwest United States. Problems of decreased listening ability were documented through…

The students targeted were third and fourth grade students with learning-disabilities and seventh-eighth grade science students who exhibited poor test scores, motivation, and behaviors that negatively impacted their learning. The objective of this study was to change the level of student engagement in order to increase their academic achievement…

This report describes a program designed to improve students' expressive writing in a midwestern elementary school classroom. The targeted third and fourth grade students demonstrated inconsistencies in the quality of their writing which interfered with their success in the classroom. Evidence for the existence of the problem included district…

This is an abstract for an action research project report on improving student motivation. Students struggle with motivation to perform well in school. This study was designed to increase student motivation in the classroom setting. The targeted population consisted of one third grade classroom, one fourth grade classroom, and three periods of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of behavior modification on enhancing the self-esteem of low-income Black and Puerto Rican elementary school children. Social reinforcement in the form of teacher praise was given to students who made any legitimate positive statements about themselves. The reinforcement was designed to…

The racial attitudes of 83 children who live in a community which is approximately half black and half white are examined in this study. Income and education are similar for both races. The purpose of the study is twofold: to test a hypothesis about the effect of equal status interracial contact and to investigate parents' perception of their…