Browsing by Subject "Curriculum and Instruction"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A Historical View of the Magnolia Independent School District, Magnolia, Texas, 1900-2009(2010-10-12) Clark, Robert M.For individuals and organizations, the events of the past shape and affect the decisions made in the present, to the benefit or detriment of the person or group. Historical research can make available information about the past that aids understanding of the future. This qualitative explanatory historical study of the schools of Magnolia, Texas creates a record of the Magnolia Independent School District by focusing on the political climate, growth patterns, and ethnic influences from 1900 to 2009. The methods of data collection consist of personal interviews, oral histories, school district documents, school board minutes, and newspaper articles. The research questions that guide the study are: (1) What is the history of Magnolia Public Schools and what influential people and events have shaped the district? (2) What were the causes of growth periods in the Magnolia Independent School District, and what were the effects of such growth? and, (3) How did the district?s ethnic and socioeconomic groups affect its growth and instruction? This explanatory historical study identifies the connection between the development of the schools in Magnolia, Texas and the surrounding community that has grown due to urban expansion. By recording the perceptions of the key people who have witnessed the district?s history, noting the influential events that have occurred, and documenting the district?s periods of growth, this study will help preserve the history of the schools in Magnolia for current and future leaders and researchers. By assisting with an understanding of the causes of decisions and actions taken in the past, this study has the potential to become an important resource for school administration and staff, community members, and other stakeholders as they seek to positively impact the present and the future.Item Structured story reading and retell related to listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition among English language learners(Texas A&M University, 2008-10-10) Cruz de Quiros, Ana MigdaliaThis study compared the oral language development, vocabulary, and comprehension of English language learners (ELLs) in second grade who were participating in a five-year longitudinal study, Project English Language and Literacy Acquisition (Project ELLA) (Lara-Alecio, Irby, & Mathes, 2003), after two years implementation. For this comparison study, 72 students were randomly selected from students participating in an enhanced and a typical transitional bilingual education program. The students in the enhanced transitional bilingual classroom received structured story reading, and practiced retelling and story grammar for two consecutive years. Conversely, comparison group of students continued with a typical instructional program. Retell and comprehension question measurements from two stories were obtained from both groups, and in both English and Spanish. The first and second research questions focused on oral language development in both English and Spanish. Findings were measured by the length of the retell. The first question demonstrated statistically significant results in all measurements: number of Tunits, number of words, and number of sentences in English. Statistically significant results were also found in number of words in Spanish for the second question. However, the number of T-units and the number of sentences in Spanish for the second question demonstrated non-significant results. The third research question focused on the vocabulary growth of the student after he or she was exposed to explicit and direct vocabulary instruction. The treatment group statistically outperformed the control in this respect. The fourth and fifth questions addressed comprehension as measured by story grammar in English and Spanish and leveled questions addressed at the end of the first and last story. Students participating in the treatment group demonstrated greater comprehension of the story. The students participating in the treatment group after having participated in such a program for two years also demonstrated how structured story reading strongly benefits oral language growth, greater vocabulary knowledge and higher comprehension in English literacy acquisition without forcing students to lose their first language.