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 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…

This report describes a program to improve the attitudes of fourth-grade students toward social studies. Surveys of fourth-graders, their parents, teachers, and community members were conducted to find out their attitudes toward social studies. Students and parents reported a lack of interest in social studies. Faculty reported they were…

The hypothesis of this study was that the use of the public library has a positive effect on students' reading achievement. Thirty-three fourth grade students in the below and above average reading classes and their parents were asked several questions about their public library use. The participants were asked about how frequently they went to…

This report describes the development and implementation of an intervention for improving students' interest and academic achievement in social studies. The targeted population consisted of first and fourth grade students of different socioeconomic levels in northwestern Illinois. Problems were documented in student surveys, teacher observations,…

Four intact classrooms containing 68 grade four students were involved in a three-month study of the effects of varied amounts and frequency of exposure to oral reading of children's literature on reading and listening comprehension. Pretest and posttest scores from the Durrell Listening-Reading Series were obtained from all students; attitudes…

This paper describes a program to increase motivation and interest in social studies among fourth-grade students in a growing middle class community in central Illinois. The lack of motivation and disinterest in social studies is evidenced by student attitude surveys, teacher surveys, teacher observations of student time on task, and student…

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 study examined gender differences in reading attitudes among second and fourth grade students, their parents, and teachers. The hypothesis was that reading is viewed as a predominantly female activity by students. The subjects were 34 second grade boys, 23 second grade girls, 28 fourth grade boys and 30 fourth grade girls from a middle…

Forty fourth-grade students participated in a study of the effects of intact-group versus small-group discussion on type and level of verbalization and on reading attitudes. The experimental group, divided in subgroups of five pupils each, discussed seven stories; the control group discussed the same stories as an intact class with teacher…

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on their motivation and desire to read independently. Subjects, 100 fourth and fifth grade students in Wayne, New Jersey, participated in the study. One fourth and one fifth grade class were read to on a daily basis for 30 minutes. The second…

This thesis project describes an experiment with elementary students to see if cultural education changes students' attitudes about the culture studied. Two classes of fourth grade students were selected from a city and a county school in the central Virginia area. One class from the city school system was fairly homogeneous with 15 of the 18…

A program was designed and implemented to improve vocabulary knowledge and attitudes toward reading by focusing on direct vocabulary instruction. The targeted population consisted of 23 fourth grade students in a middle-class suburb north of Chicago. The community is very multicultural, so many of the students speak English as a second language.…

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…

This action research project sought to increase motivation in second- and fourth-grade students in an urban Midwestern school. Achievement and skill measures as well as observations indicated a lack of student participation and interest. Three areas of intervention were implemented: cross-curricular activities to heighten student interest,…