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

2. Table of Contents
Abstract Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of Related Literature Statement of the Hypothesis Method Participants & Instruments Experiential Design Procedure Results Discussion Implications References Appendices

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. 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)

5. Review of Related Literature
Pro
Con
Parent involvement can positively affects academic achievement and help to solve some behavioral problems. (Domina,2005 & Patall et.al 2008 & Senechal; Young 2008)
Parent educational level, social status as well as the student’s environment can affect students negatively. (Tam 2009 & Walberg, 1976& 1981 & Eccleston et.al, 2010 & Horvat-McNamara et.al, 2003 & Myberg, 2008)
There is a push to “build a bridge” between schools and parents. (Reed,2009 &Bailey, 2006 & Watkins, 1997 & Cook, 2005 & Goddard et.al ,2001)
Low Income working parents face unique barriers that hinder parental involvement.
(Heymann ;Earle 2000)
There are school based strategies that are in place to help children to succeed in homework. (Margolis, 2004 & Ryder, 2007 & Sen et. al & Whitfield, 2005)
Educators are failing in their efforts to communicate with parents and assign homework. (Margolis, 2004 & Skinner 2004 & Gill, 2003)
Tutoring centers such as Sylvan learning center, Kumon and Huntington learning centers are available.
Outside tutoring can be costly.
Parents of low SES have limited resources. (Horvat et.al, 2003)

6. Theorists
Jerome Bruner= learners construct new ideas based upon their current/past knowledge or “Schema.”
Jean Piaget= zones of proximal development. We learn as we meet challenges by assimilating and accommodating.
Lev Vygotsky= With support from another experienced person the learner is able to do more than he could on his own. The social nature of learning.

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

8. 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) 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 Croninger, R. G.; Valli,L. (2009). “Where is the Action?” Challenges to Studying the Teaching of Reading in Elementary Classrooms. Educational Researcher. 38 (2) Domina, T. (July 2005). Leveling the Home Advantage: Assessing the effectiveness of Parental Involvement in Elementary School. Sociology of Education Gill, B.P.; Schlossman,S. (Jan 2003). A Nation At Rest: The American Way of Homework. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Ghazarian, S.;Buehler,C. (Jan 2010). “Inter-parental Conflict and Academic Achievement: An Examination of Mediating an Moderating Factors. Journal of Youth An Adolescence. 39 (1 )23-35 Goddard, R.; Moran-Tschannen, M.; Hoy,W. (2001). A Multilevel Examination of the Distribution and Effects of Teacher Trust in Students an Parents in Urban Elementary Schools. The Elementary School Journal 102 (1) 3-15

9. Heymann, S. J. ; Earle, A. (Winter 2008)
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) 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 Educational Research Journal. 40 (2) Horvat-McNamara,E.; Weininger, E.; Lareau, A. (Summer 2003). “From Social Ties to Social Capital: Class Differences in the Relations Between School and Parent Networks.” American Educational Research Journal 40 (2) Ma, X. ( Oct 2000). Health Outcomes of Elementary School Students in New Brunswick: The Education Perspective. Evaluation Review. 24 (5) Mandara, J.; Varner, F.; Greene, N. (Nov 2009). “Intergenerational Family Predictors of the Black-White Achievement Gap.” Journal of Educational Psychology. 101 (4) Margolis, H. (October 2004). Resolving Struggling Learners’ Homework Difficulties: Working With Elementary School Learners and Parents. Reading Psychology An International Quarterly . 25 (4) Myberg, E.; Rosen, M. (Dec 2008). A Path Model with Mediating Factors of Parents’ Education on Students’ Reading Achievement in Seven Countries. Educational Research and Evaluation 14 (6) Pahl, K. ; Kelly, S. (July 2005). Family Literacy As A Third Space Between Home and School: Some Case Studies of Practice. Literacy Patall, E.; Cooper, H.; Robinson, J.C. (2008). Parent Involvement in Homework a Research Synthesis. Review of Educational Research 78 (4) Prins, E.; Wilson, B.T. (September 2008). Defining and Measuring Parenting for Educational Success: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Parent Education Profile. American Educational Research Journal 4(5)

10. Sources
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)
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
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
Skinner, D.;(Winter 2004). The Homework Wars. Journal Public Interest
Tam, V. C.; Chan, Raymond. (2008). Parent Involvement In Primary Children’s Home Work In Hong Kong. School Community Journal. 19( 2)
Walberg, H.J. (1976). Psychology of Learning Environments: Behavioral Structural or Perceptual. Review of Research Education 4 (142) 1-38
Walberg, H.J.; et.al.(1981). Childhood Traits and Environmental Conditions of Highly Eminent Adults. Gifted Child Quarterly. 25 (103) 1-6
Watkins, T. (September-October 1997). Teacher Communication, Child Achievement And Parent Traits in Parent Involvement Models. Journal of Education Research 91 (1)
Whitfield, P.; (2005). No Child Left Behind : Leaving The Arts Behind In Developing Young Children’s Literacy. 11 (2) 43-54

11. Methods Participants 10 first-Grade struggling readers with low S.E.S.
5 readers will receive homework help with reading.
5 readers will not receive help
Instruments
Parent Surveys, Children Surveys, Reading tests, Running Records.

12. Consent Form
Dear Principal, I Am a graduate student in the Childhood Education Department at Brooklyn College. I am conducting an action research project that will attempt to improve the reading scores of five struggling readers with low S.E.S. The research will require surveys of parents and their children, as well as the administration of pre and post reading tests and by taking running records. Please be advised all results will be anonymously reported as a group study. Furthermore, this research will assist me in my endeavor to improve the reading skills of children who are at risk for failure. I am asking for your consent to carry out this project during the months of September to October. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support. Sincerely, Fatimah Washington

13. Child Survey-1st Grade
1)I like to read. Yes no sometimes 2) I like homework 3)Mom helps me do homework. Yes no sometimes 4)Dad helps me do homework. 5)Homework is too hard.

14. Parent Survey I read with my child. I help my child with homework.
I attend parent conferences.
I volunteer in my child’s school.
I am comfortable taking the day off from work,