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…

The purpose of this action research project report was to increase engagement during independent reading for 32 fourth-grade students and 26 seventh-grade science students. At Site A, data was collected from August 27, 2012 through December 14, 2012. At Site B, data was collected from September 24, 2012 through December 14, 2012. Students'…

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of a companion text on the comprehension, vocabulary acquisition and fluency of students during teacher read alouds. Data were collected over a period of six days in an upper-middle class suburban school district in northern New Jersey. The students involved in the study consisted of eighteen…

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative effectiveness of verbal teaching methods as compared to a nonverbal approach which permitted no oral communication. Four fourth-grade classes consisting of a total of 88 students in one school were randomly assigned to treatment groups so that two were taught nonverbally and two were taught by…

A study investigated the reading interests of fourth and sixth grade students of above-average reading achievement. Subjects, 44 fourth graders and 39 sixth graders in an urban environment, responded to a reading interest inventory containing 25 categories. The sample was separated into two groups, an experimental group which attained 60 or higher…

A study compared the effects of words in isolation (WI) and words in context (WC) instruction on the word learning and retention of word meanings of 11 average readers from a multi-age classroom (grades 4 and 5). To investigate whether WC instruction improved a child's ability to use context cues to determine the meaning of an unknown word…

A study determined which approach for vocabulary development, context or definition, would yield the best results on a teacher-made content area vocabulary test. Two random samples (for a total of 45 students) of fourth graders from a central New Jersey elementary school were formed. One sample was taught 50 social studies vocabulary words using…

A study examined the effect of computer-assested instruction on fourth graders' writing skills. Two fourth grade classes from one elementary school in New Jersey participated in the study. One class (the experimental sample) was taught to use the computer as a writing tool, while the other class (the control sample) used only pencil and paper.…

This study investigated parents' perceptions of their child's reading abilities. Parents of 92 fourth grade students completed questionnaires to measure the perception parents held of their child's reading ability in relation to the ability of their child based on standardized test scores. Correlations between the Terra Nova Standardized Test and…

Prior research on problem solving is discussed, followed by a review of research on mental processes, intellectual development, information processing, mental images, and conceptual imagery. Then four intact fourth grade classes of 23 pupils each were assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial design. One factor was the type of instruction (Method A and Method…

The following Action Research Project Report is to improve the oral reading fluency of the 4th and 5th grade students with learning disabilities. The targeted population participating in this study consisted of a total of ten participants of which five were 4th grade students and five were 5th grade students located in a middle class community…

A study was conducted to determine the effect of a program of listening skills on the reading comprehension of fourth grade students. After a pretest, an experimental group of 12 boys and 12 girls was selected randomly from four classrooms and a control group was selected with matched pretest scores. The experimental group was taught using…

This action research report describes a program to improve and enhance students' social skills in and out of the classroom. The targeted population consisted of two fourth grade classrooms at two different suburban sites. The need to address this issue seems to have grown due to an increase in school violence and the decline of the traditional…

A study examined whether a correlation exists between the number of years of experience and professional development that a teacher has and the gain in the classroom's average of total reading scores. Teachers participating in the study were the instructors of the three fourth-grade units of a lower-to-middle class socioeconomic elementary school…