1. Reading Improvement Through Homework Help Fatimah Washington Ed 702.22 Spring 2010

2. Table of Contents • Statement of the Problem • Review of related literature • Statement of Hypothesis • Method • Research Design • Threats to Validity • Procedure • Results • Discussion • Implications

3. Statement of the Problem Lack of both parental involvement and resources negatively affect the reading scores of students with low S.E.S.

4. Review of Related Literature

5. Statement of Hypothesis HR1: Implementing reading instruction for 15 minutes five days a week over a four week period will improve the literacy scores of 5at-risk second grade students of school x.

6. Method • Participants • Ten second grade students and the parents from school x were given surveys to determine attitudes about reading and homework, reading habits, parent involvement and demographic information. Ten Students were given a pre-reading evaluation to determine their independent reading level . Five students received treatment. After four weeks all ten students were tested for improvement. • Instruments • Child Survey, Parent Survey, Pre reading evaluation and Post Reading Evaluation.

7. Research Design Quasi-Experimental Non-equivalent control group design Symbolic Design O X1 O O X2 O

8. Internal And External Threats Internal Threats • Mortality Valid • Differential Selection of Subjects Valid • Selection-Maturation Interaction Valid • History Valid External Threats • Multiple- X interference Valid • Experimenter Effects Valid Other • Compensatory Rivalry • The Hawthorne Effect

9. Procedure • Child Survey November 1-5,2010 • Pre Test November 8-12, 2010 • Parent Survey November 15-19, 2010 • Treatment Nov. 8- Dec. 6, 2010 • Post Test December 6, 2010

10. Child Survey Results

11. Parent Survey Results

12. Pre and Post Evaluation Results Compared to the Standard

13. Correlation

14. Discussion The reading levels of 5 struggling readers improved by one reading level as a result of the treatment.

15. Implications • Low SES struggling readers can overcome academic obstacles with just fifteen minutes of homework instruction from the right individual.

16. Sources Bailey, L. (October 2006). Interactive Homework: A Tool for Fostering Parent-Child Interactions and Improving Learning Outcomes for At-Risk Young Children. Early Childhood Education Journal.105 1 155-167 Cook, M.(July 2005). ‘A Place of Their Own’: creating a classroom ‘third space’ to support a continuum of text construction between home and school. Literacy. 39 85-90 Domina, T. (July 2005). Leveling the Home Advantage: Assessing the effectiveness of Parental Involvement in Elelmentary School. Sociology of Education. 78 233-249 Heymann, S. J.; Earle, A. (Winter 2008). Low Income Parents: How do Working Conditions Affect Their Opportunity To Help School-Age Children At Risk. American Educational Research Journal. 37 4 33-848 Horvat, E.; Weininger, E.B.; Lareau, A. (Summer 2003). From Social Ties To Social Capital: Class differences in the Relations Between Schools and Parent Networks. American Eucational Research Journal. 40 2 319-351 Margolis, H. (October 2004). Resolving Struggling Learners’ Homework Difficulties: Working With Elementary School Learners and Parents. Reading Psychology An International Quarterly . 25 4 225-260 Pahl, K. ; Kelly, S. (July 2005). Family Literacy As A Third Space Between Home and School: Some Case Studies of Practice. Literacy. 91-97 Reed, W. A. (2009). The Bridge is Built: The Role of Local Teachers in an Urban Elementary School. The School Community Journal 19 1 59-75

17. Ryder, J.; Tummer, W.; Greaney, K. (Explicit Instruction in Phonemic Awareness and Phonemically Based Decoding Skills as an Intervention Strategy for Struggling Readers in Whole Language Classrooms. Reading And Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 21 4 349-369 Sen., A.; Burns, S.; Miller, D. (September 2009). Teacher Strategies To Help Fourth-Graders Having Difficulty in Reading: An International Perspective. National Center For Education Statistics. 1-16 Senechal, M; Young L. (September 2008). The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions On Children's’ Acquisition Of Reading From Kindergarten to Grade 3: A Meta Analytic Review. 880-907 Tam, V. C.; Chan, Raymond. (2008) Parent Involvement In Primary Children’s Home Work In Hong Kong. School Community Journal.19 2 81-100 Watkins, T. (September-October 1997). Teacher Communication, Child Achievement And Parent Traits in Parent Involvement Models. Journal of Education Research 91 1 81-100 Whitfield, P.; (2005). No Child Left Behind : Leaving The Arts Behind In Developing Young Children’s Literacy. 11 2 43-54

18. Contemporary Practices • Family literacy as a third space between home and school (Pahl & Kelly, 2005). • Interactive homework assignments (Bailey, 2006) • Reading First: A component of the No Child Left Behind Act (Whitfield, 2005) • School support strategies (Sen. et al.,2009) • Explicit Phonemic Awareness and Decoding Skills Instruction (Ryder,2007)