Taking Middle School Kids Back to the Adventurous World of Literature Essay Example for Free

Taking Middle School Kids Back to the Adventurous World of Literature Essay The problem is that middle school students in Texas do not practice leisure reading creating a deficit in their reading skills as measured by the National Center for Education Statistics. Texas students showed an upsetting lack of improvement in reading on the Nation’s Report Card. In 2011, the average score of eighth-grade students in Texas was 261. This was lower than the average score of 264 for public school students in the nation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The purpose of this review of literature was to examine reading interventions to promote positive attitudes towards leisure reading. The need is to improve reading skills as reflected reading scores on the Nation’s Report Card. Students who do not take time to read tend to have poor reading skills and sadly many students in middle school choose not to read. The transition from elementary to middle school makes an impact to the student’s interests and pastimes. Middle school students read less due to time spent with peers, participation in sports activities and other after-school activities, and to a growing lack of interest in textual materials (Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Once the students stop practicing leisure reading, they start struggling with reading. Studies confirm a decline in reading scores on standardized tests, a decline in attitudes towards reading and a growing number of students who have good reading abilities, but choose not to read (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). When students stop practicing leisure reading they stop exercising their vocabulary affecting their reading comprehension. â€Å"The goal of comprehending text is not easily attainable for many adolescents, who demonstrate consistent and persistent difficulties with reading for understanding. † (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed, Stillman Spisak, 2011). According to rate and accuracy scores, middle school students have shown a tendency in declining grades. One of the reasons might be because decoding to reading comprehension drops in adolescence and older students have more highly developed strategies that reduce their confidence on word identification skills (Reed, 2010). Middle school students in Texas struggle with their reading skills because most of them do not practice leisure reading. Both qualitative and quantitative studies demonstrate a connection between success in school and the amount of leisure reading students do (Allington McGill-Franzen, 2003; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes- TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 2 Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). The purpose of this literature review is to recognize the problem of students who choose not to read and find a possible solution to motivate them in devoting leisure reading time. There are a numerous of experimental, quantitative, qualitative, descriptive, correlational, and causal-comparative research studies done in the State of Texas and outside of Texas that have identified this problem and gathered data, important information, and suggested interventions to create possible solutions. According to Knulst Kraaykamp (1998), leisure reading is the reading students choose to do for pleasure; is the reading done for a hubby or fun, it is a non-school recreational activity. Students in elementary schools do practice leisure reading, but once students get to middle school this practice declines. For some reason many students who are good readers simply choose not to read (Beers, 1998). Students Do Not Comprehend What They Read One of the reasons students choose not to read it is due to the lack of reading comprehension making them lose interest in literature. In the article â€Å"Understanding the Cause of Intermediate and Middle School Comprehension Problems†, the authors were able to conduct a qualitative study by conducting a causal-comparative research. They determined the reasons of middle school students who struggle with reading is due to the lack of comprehension in specific vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, or an understanding of subjects’ metaphors. They stressed students do not necessarily understand the meaning of words they are able to pronounce (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). After analyzing their findings they describe data where it shows students in kinder garden were more exposed to narrative reading than to comprehension skills. They indicate that once the students get to middle school, it is now the teacher’s task to teach reading skills, comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and the multifaceted problems of subject matter text by using a variety of activities, supports, and scaffolds (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). As a possible solution, they suggest using a strategy that has being used in the past since 1980 called Instructional Cloze (a story summary where every fifth word is deleted to be filled in the blank so students can be engaged in subject matter knowledge) to improve subject matter comprehension (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 3 Many students don’t understand what they read, but comprehension is not the only reason they choose not to read for pleasure. Skills Alone Do Not Produce Readers On the other hand, Beers, the author of the article â€Å"Choosing Not to Read: Understanding Why Some Middle Schoolers Just Say No†, conducted a qualitative research and found out that skills alone do not produce readers. Reading experts recognize that some students leave school with the ability to read, but without the desire (Beers, 1998). Competency tests force many teachers to think they should focus more on reading skills than on reading pleasure (Maracek ,1978, as cited in Beers, 1998). According to Beers, reading can become a desired activity or an undesirable one. One of the great disasters of present-day education is not so much that many students leave school unable to read and to write, but that others graduate disliking reading even with the abilities they might have. Some of the reasons that indicates as to why students dislike reading is too much television, too little parental modeling, and too much emphasis on a skills approach to reading (Beers, 1998). In order to identify the different kind of readers in middle school, Beers gathered data by conducting interviews to reluctant reading students with openended questions on attitudes towards reading. After this, she provided descriptive data that displays characteristics of uncommitted, unmotivated and unskilled readers. With this data, she was able to see patterns of responses and understood students choose not to read for great number of reasons. Those patterns helped her to categorize types of aliteracy (Beers, 1998). In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, aliteracy is stated as the quality or state of being able to read but uninterested in doing so (hacker, 2012). Beers was able to observed devoted and inactive readers want to choose their own books, have teachers read aloud a few pages, meet the author, buy books at a book fair, keep a reading journal, go to the library, participate in panel debates, small group discussions or share books with friends. While uncommitted and unmotivated readers do want to choose their own books from a narrowed choice, have teacher read aloud entire book, compare movie to book, read illustrated books, do art activities based on books, read nonfiction material such as comic, sports, drawing, cars, fashion, make-up magazines (Beers, 1998). Beers TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 4 did not give treatments to students in order to determine which reasons causes the distaste in reading, instead she conducted a survey to students about their feelings towards reading to gather qualitative data. Parents Modeling Leisure Reading According to the survey Beers conducted, parental modeling takes a big role in encouraging adolescents to literature practice. Devoted and inactive readers talked about their childhood where they remember seeing their parents reading to them at all times of the days and also remember their parents reading books in front of them, everywhere they were. On the other hand, many of the unmotivated students said their parents don’t read and they explain their parents used to read to them when they were kids but only before going to bed, it was an activity meant to keep them quiet and make them go to sleep. So they would see reading as a boring activity (Beers, 1998). This statement was also observed by researchers Hamston and Love, who conducted a quantitative and qualitative study at a private school. Their article is titled: â€Å"Voicing Resistance: Adolescent Boys and the Cultural Practice of Leisure Reading†. In this research the authors decided to focus on boys, leisure reading, and family reading dispositions due to the concerns raised in the literature regarding boys and literacy (Hamston Love, 2005). The study was conducted in a three year period at a private boy’s school. There were two stages in this research. In the first stage, Hamston and Love focused on 91 boys identified as good and committed leisure time readers. In the second stage, the researchers focused on 75 boys identified as mostly able readers who choose not to read. In both stages of the research, quantitative and qualitative data was gathered from each student through questionnaires about their reading practices, their parents, and the ways their parents share reading with their sons (Hamston Love, 2005). After observing and analyzing the questionnaires, researchers gathered quantitative and qualitative data where they were able to identify a similar culture for committed readers in the study; their parents guided them and facilitated them with leisure time reading. While reluctant readers show several acts of resistance and they lack enthusiasm to engage in the reading practices due to communication and relationships between these boys and their parents (Hamston Love, 2005). The TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 5  research shows reluctant readers resist to reading novels since they are not highly motivated, they consider these privileged text. However, they are engaging in reading and interacting with multi-media, electronic and complex visual texts that relate to their lives as adolescents, but they still lack the passion in engagement to textual practice. (Hamston Love, 2005). The Leisure Reading Habits In a quantitative and descriptive research done at an urban middle school, Hughes-Hassell and Rodge (2007) found an interesting fact about the leisure reading habits. In this particular school, a study was conducted to collect data by administering a 5-page, 20-item questionnaire. It was focused on factors related to reading by choice. For example, whether or not adolescents read in their leisure time; if so, what, when and why do they read? The questionnaire contained multiple-choice and open-ended questions (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). Seventy-two percent of the students indicated that they engaged in reading as a leisure activity, a finding that is consistent with other studies of adolescent reading. Twenty-two percent said they read â€Å"constantly†, and 50% indicated they â€Å"read when they get a chance. † Six percent of the adolescents indicated that they do not read; the other 22% said they read only for school (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007, p. 23-24). These descriptive data exposes good percentage of students who are engaged in leisure reading. However it also raises a question: Why do these adolescents’ reading scores at this particular school remain low when they reported that they engage in leisure reading? (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). It has been proven that â€Å"students who read in their spare time become better readers, score higher on achievement tests in all subject areas, and have more content knowledge that those who do not† (Cunningham Stanovich, 1991; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). But why is the survey showing otherwise? Hughes-Hassell and Rodge suggest a possible explanation that it involves the type of reading they are doing. In their survey it displays that â€Å"books† are not the preferred leisure reading material for both male and female students. In the data gathered it shows 72% read magazines about sports, video games, and music. Forty four TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 6 percent of the students liked reading comic books, 37% choose internet reading material and only 30% of the students read books for pleasure (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). Reading magazines, comic books and internet material is considered light reading and according to Hafner, Palmer and Tullos (1986), light reading does not automatically result in an ability to read advanced material, it only provides motivation for more reading (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). After the research was conducted and observations were made, the authors provided these are following suggestions for teachers and librarians. 1. Teachers and librarian should provide the types of materials students prefer, including magazines, comic books, and the Internet. 2. Students’ culture and heritage need to be respected by providing multicultural resources that are relevant to students’ lives, as well as resources in their first language. 3. It is important to talk to students to find out what they are passionate about. of them don’t have time to read after school. 5. Adequate fund must be provided for school and classroom libraries in low-income urban communities. 6. Summer reading must be encouraged because it is critical to summer learning. for â€Å"parents play a significant role in developing and sustaining the leisure reading habits of children and adolescents† (Kim, 2004; Strommen Mates, 2004, as cited in Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). 8. Teachers and librarians have to be passionate about the love of reading and display the books currently reading by the teacher or librarian. (Hughes-Hassell, Rodge, 2007). 4. Students must be provided with time during the school day to read, because some 7. It is imperative to partner with parents to promote and encourage leisure reading Struggling Readers and Silent Reading In the experimental research: â€Å"Silent Reading Manifestations of Adolescent Struggling Readers† conducted by the researchers Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla, and Wright, vital facts were found about the importance of adolescents practicing silent reading. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 7. Many struggling adolescents’ readers have not fully developed the skill to read silently, discouraging them from finding a passion for reading (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). According to Miller (1972), efficient silent reading implies a strong correlation between a rapid reading rate and a high level of comprehension (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). Reading silently is developmental; students start first grade by reading out loud, but at the end of the school year 50% of these students read silently with correct understanding. Students who could not read silently either vocalized or moved their lips as they read to themselves, slowing down their reading rate (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). The purpose of this case study was to discover the connection between speech and reading to oneself among struggling readers in secondary schools. Ninety-five struggling readers in the middle and high school students were chosen as the target population in which they received a treatment for an individual administration of a norm-referenced measure of reading along with direct observations (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). During the test administrations, examiners observed the students in order to determine whether they read silently or whether they moved their lips, mumbled, or whispered as they read, or whether they read aloud. The exam had reading comprehension passages to observe the recorded student’s reading comprehension (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). After making observations, the researchers found that less than half of the secondary struggling readers read silently when reading to themselves. In other words, the majority of struggling readers do not practice silent reading which is a fundamental aspect of comprehension and rate of comprehension. The authors propose silent reading to be taught to struggling readers, the study demonstrated that it will improve their reading rate and comprehension; this might also encourage them to practice leisure reading. (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). Reading Interventions in the Middle Grades In the qualitative article titled: â€Å"Reading Intervention in the Middle Grades†, Allington offers five principles to help middle school struggling readers to succeed. After comparing and contrasting different interventions used in the past without success, TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 8 his first principle suggests all students need high-quality instruction all day long. He proposes teachers to find appropriate lesson materials, because students need books they can actually read (Allington, 2011). It has been confirmed students cannot learn much from books they cannot read accurately, fluently, and with understanding (Allington, 2007). The second principle is to expand the volume of reading that struggling readers do every day, but do it with a book that they can both read and enjoy. With reading practice matters, struggling readers need to dramatically expand their reading activity (Allington, 2011). It may take years of remediation in which the struggling reader will get better than the achieving peers (Torgeson, 2005). If expanding reading activity among struggling readers is the goal, then the third principle is to provide students with books they can read and books they are interested in reading (Allington, 2011). In the fourth principle, Allington advices not to use decoding instruction for middle school struggling readers because this instruction is rarely useful for older struggling readers. Even when decoding lessons bring struggling older readers’ word recognition up to grade level, there is usually no improvement in their reading comprehension (Torgeson Hudson, 2006). In the fifth and last principle, Allington points out that it is teachers who present the problem that needs to be solved, more than the students do. In other words, it becomes clearer that many of the struggling readers’ problems are caused by teachers, especially when they don’t take action in providing appropriate instruction. In order to help struggling readers, teacher must provide reading material that is to the student’s interest, books they can read and understand to expand their reading time along with reading comprehension (Allington, 2011). Substantial supportive facts with Allington’s fourth principle are found in the article, â€Å"Efficacy of a Reading Intervention for Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities†. Wanzek, Vaughn, Roberts and Fletcher (2011) conducted a one year experimental study which included sixth to eighth grade students with learning disabilities from seven middle schools. In this study, researchers conducted a reading intervention by providing 50 minutes of phonemic decoding instruction to middle school students compared with similar students who did not receive the intervention. No significant differences were found for phonemic decoding fluency and passage comprehension (Wanzek, Vaughn, Roberts, Fletcher, 2011). Since no major effect TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE. 9 was encountered in this experimental study, Allington’s suggestion is correct, teachers should focus more on training struggling readers with reading comprehension by providing time and students’ centered interest reading materials which at the same time it promotes leisure reading (Allington, 2011). Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading Collaborative strategic reading (CSR) is one of the effective solutions found in reading comprehension for struggling readers. Collaborative strategic reading is defined as follows: Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) is a set of four strategies. CSR integrates word identification, reciprocal reading, and cooperative learning. CSR teaches students how to monitor their comprehension and also how to use procedures for clarifying understanding when difficulties arise. Students also learn main idea and questioning practices that assist them on text while reading and guiding group responses to text after reading (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011, p. 940). The authors Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA (2010) conducted experimental studies to test the CSR effectiveness for struggling readers. In their article, â€Å"The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1†, they explained the experimental study conducted to diverse students who were identified as struggling readers. After their study analysis and the positive impact made on the intervened students, they concluded CSR is an effective practice that should be used as a reading intervention (Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA, 2010). A year later, another experimental study was conducted by the authors: Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed and Stillman-Spisak (2011), to examine the effects of collaborative strategic reading and metacognitive strategic learning on the reading comprehension of students. The title of the article is â€Å"Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading with Middle School Students†. In this study, students were selected from three school districts from seventh and eighth grade. After they were TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 10 randomly assigned to class, there were 27 comparison classes and 34 treatment classes. Students in the treatment classes received the intervention and students in the comparison classes received typical instruction (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Students in the treatment classes outperformed students in the comparison classes on a standardized reading comprehension exam. After the study findings, authors reassure CSR is an achievable and effective practice that can be integrated into reading and language arts instruction to make a positive impact (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Even though these two experimental studies about CSR effectiveness were completed in the same states, Texas and Colorado, the researchers had different designs and questions with diversity students. In the first study: â€Å"The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1†, the authors targeted identified struggling students and used CSR as a reading intervention to experiment reading comprehension (Mohammed, Swanson, Roberts, Vaughn, Klingner, Boardman, SREEA, 2010). In the second study: â€Å"Efficacy of Collaborative Strategic Reading With Middle School Students†, the researchers focused on the effectiveness of CSR with adolescent readers when applied by well trained and supported CSR teachers (Vaughn, Klingner, Swanson, Boardman, Roberts, Mohammed Stillman-Spisak, 2011). Reading Time Provided for self-selected books In order to promote leisure reading, one of the many suggestions made by researchers is to provide reading material that will target the adolescents’ interest and give them time during school to read. To test these recommendations and see students’ attitudes towards reading, Rodriguez and Lira (1998) conducted an experimental study at a middle school in South Texas. The study consisted of providing 30-minute periods five times a week for eight months to 41 eighth grade students. The students’ assignment was to read from self-selected books (books which did not have more than five unknown words on any given page), keep a reading log, take home their books and participate in the reading club (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). This experimental design was combined with TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 11 a descriptive and a group pretest-posttest to determine if there was a significant difference with students’ scores before and after the experiment. Rodriguez and Lira (1998) also made observations on students who participated in this study observing for positive attitudes towards reading. The results point out that most of the students enjoyed the required reading and felt they had improved with their reading skills, specifically their vocabulary and fluency. Even though the study did not reveal significant improvements in reading achievement for the 41 students, however, the study showed greater gains in reading achievement for students with low to average reading abilities than it did with students with better reading abilities (Rodriguez Lira, 1998). In other words, struggling readers improved their reading abilities, and this fact proves a statement mentioned earlier; it may take years of remediation in which the struggling reader will get better than the achieving peers (Torgeson, 2005). Successful Engagement with Text Using the E-reader Making technology part of a motivational reading tool can encourage reluctant students to engage in literature. Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi (2011) conducted an experimental study in a middle school where 199 students were given 1525 minutes to read high interest chapter books and stories on the Amazon Kindle ® reader. This was done to study the attitudes and response to reading using e-books by reluctant students. After making qualitative observations, the authors found reluctant readers demonstrated motivation in reading, engagement and expressed high levels of satisfaction with the e-readers. Researchers were very satisfied with the reluctant attitudes towards reading after this study, that they recommend e-readers to be used in reading improvement classes as another choice for reading material (Johnson, Mckenzie, Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Conclusion The problem is that middle school students in Texas do not practice leisure reading creating a deficit in their reading skills as measured by the National Center for TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 12 Education Statistics. Texas students showed an upsetting lack of improvement in reading on the Nation’s Report Card. In 2011, the average score of eighth-grade students in Texas was 261. This was lower than the average score of 264 for public school students in the nation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The purpose of this review of literature was to examine reading interventions to promote positive attitudes towards leisure reading. The need is to improve reading skills as reflected reading scores on the Nation’s Report Card. It has been demonstrated that students who practice leisure reading perform better in many subject areas (Hughes-Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). Leisure reading is the key to help students improve the standardized test scores. After examining experimental and nonexperimental studies conducted in and out of the state of Texas, it is alarming to know students in the middle schools choose not to read for numerous reasons. In schools, students are not being motivated to read for pleasure, instead teachers focus more on reading skills to pass standardized tests so teenagers are being forced to read lacking the passion to literature (Beers, 1998). Many reading materials offered to students are out of their interest and most of the time these books are filled with unknown vocabulary words causing the student to struggle by not comprehending the reading (Palumbo Loiacono, 2009). There have been several reading interventions done to help students with vocabulary decoding and reading skills, but researches show the most important of all is reading comprehension; and this can only be obtained when teenagers self-select the reading material (Rodriguez and Lira, 1998). Researches show silent reading is a great way for students to better comprehend text and it helps read at a faster rate, but most of them have not developed this skill (Gilliam, Dykis, Gerla Wright, 2011). When students enter middle school, their reading habits start declining because they start getting involved in after school activities or just hang out with friends. Time must be provided during school hours for them to dedicate leisure time (Allington, 2011). Parents take a big role in influencing their kids in leisure reading by practicing reading themselves and motivating their kids to practice reading at home (Hamston Love, 2005). A research study shows teenagers are fascinated with technology and using electronic devices such as e-readers has made a positive impact on reluctant readers with their attitudes towards reading (Miranda Williams-Rossi, 2011). Both qualitative and TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 13 quantitative studies demonstrate a connection between success in school and the amount of leisure reading students do (Allington McGill-Franzen, 2003; Krashen, 1993, as cited in Hughes-Hassell Pradnya Rodge, 2007). TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 14 References Cited Allington, R. L. (2007). Effective teachers, effective instruction. In K. Beers, R, E. Probst, Reif (Eds. ), Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice (pp. 273288). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Allington, R. L. (2011). Reading intervention in the middle grades. Voices From The Middle, 19(2), 10-16. Beers, K. (1998) Choosing not to read: Understanding why some middle schoolers just say no. Into Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers, 1-27. Gilliam, B. K. , Dykes, F. , Gerla, J. K. , Wright, G. L. (2011). Silent reading manifestations of adolescent struggling Readers. Reading Improvement, 48(3), 118-127. Hacker. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. com. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/hacker Hafner, L. , Palmer, B. , Tullos, S. (1986). The differential reading interests of good and poor readers in the ninth grade. Reading Improvement, 23, 39-42. Hughes-Hassell, S. Rodge, P. (2007). The leisure reading habits of urban adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy, 51(1), 22-33. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 15 Hamston, J. Love, K. (2005). Voicing resistance: Adolescent boys and the cultural practice of leisure reading. Discourses: studies in the cultural politics of education, 26(2), 183-202. Johnson, K. A., Mckenzie, N. , Miranda, T. , Williams-Rossi, D. (2011). Reluctant readers in middle school: successful engagement with text using the e-reader. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 1(6), 81-91. Knulst, W. Kraaykamp, G. (1998) â€Å"Trends in leisure reading: forty years of research on reading in the Netherlands. † Poetics, 26:1 (September), 21-41. Mohammed, S. S. , Swanson, E. , Roberts, G. , Vaughn, S. , Klingner, J. K. , Boardman, A. , Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. (2010). The effects of collaborative strategic reading instruction on the reading comprehension of middle school students: Year 1. Society For Research On Educational Effectiveness. National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The nations report card reading 2011 state snapshot report. Texas. Grade 8, Public Schools. National Center For Education Statistics, ERIC. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. TAKING KIDS BACK TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE 16 Palumbo, A. Loiacono, V. (2009). Understanding the causes of intermediate and middle school comprehension problems. International Journal of Special Education, 24(1), 75-81. Reed, D. (2010). The contribution of retell to the identification of struggling adolescent readers. Request LLC, 1-226. Rodriguez, C., Lira, J. R. (1998). A study of eighth grade students from a south Texas middle school who participated in 30-minute required reading periods of selfselected books. Torgeson, J. K. , Hudson, R. F (2006). Reading fluency: Critical issues for struggling readers. In S. J. Samuels A. E. Farstrup (Eds. ), What research has to say about fluency instruction (pp. 130-158). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Torgeson, J. K. (2005). Recent discoveries on remedial interventions for children with dyslexia. In M. Snowling C. Hulme (Eds. ), The Science of reading: A handbook (pp. 521-537). Malden, MA: Blackwe

Much Ado About Nothing - Benedick Analysis Essay Example for Free

Much Ado About Nothing Benedick Analysis Essay Benedick is almost a match for Beatrice as a memorable Shakespearean character. His apparent misogyny and unwillingness to make a commitment to a woman are almost stereotypes early in the play. His use of language, especially in his merry war with Beatrice, prevents him from being the clichà ©d male who refuses to commit to a relationship. Benedick has probably had a lot of experience with women, only one of whom was Beatrice. He vehemently declares his intent to remain a bachelor and disparages Claudio for wanting to marry Hero, Leonatos short daughter. He restates his disdain of love and marriage in a monologue alone on stage — even more likely to express his true feelings than his teasing comments to a companion he will lose through marriage. Throughout the early scenes, his exchanges with Beatrice create a feeling that he doth protest too much — that is, he really harbors at least affection for Beatrice. It takes the noting scene near the arbor, arranged by Don Pedro, for Benedick to admit he may indeed be able to love Beatrice since she loves him so much. His subsequent meetings with Beatrice and with his friends show a marked change in his attitudes and demeanor from the early scenes. He recognizes that he may be opening himself up for ridicule at his reversal of his well-known attitudes, but he sees his opening up as a part of maturing. His support for Beatrice after the denunciation, including his confrontation with Claudio, demonstrates not only his commitment to Beatrice, but also the value he places on justice even at the risk of loyalty. He becomes single-minded about marrying Beatrice, probably speaking to Leonato about her immediately after the confrontation with Claudio and again just before the wedding. His new behavior finally culminates in his public proposal to her, risking not only her refusal and contempt, but also the ridicule of the assembled company. Has Benedick changed during the week of the play? Most certainly, both in his public and his private attitudes. That a dyed-in-the-wool bachelor is transformed into an eager bridegroom is extraordinary, yet Shakespeare makes it believable, with a little help from Benedicks friends.

Developing Successful Strategic Alliances

Developing Successful Strategic Alliances The traditional relationship between the client, consultants, main contractor, subcontractors and suppliers within the construction industry using a traditional contract is in most cases but not all very contractual and adversarial one Blame Culture which is not productive in a business as it about relationships, where the client and consultants puts all of the risk on to the main contractor who in turn passes it down the line to their supplier chain i.e. Suppliers Subcontractors, due to the nature of the construction industry i.e. large and complex projects that need to be completed to unrealistic time frames, budget, quality, safety expectations, this is the direct opposite and goes against the grain of Strategic Alliances. Gomes-Casseres 2003 p.1213 combines elements of item 1 2 above Alliances are agreements between two or more separate firms that involve ongoing resource contributions from each to create joint value, are incomplete contracts where the terms of the agreement cannot be completely specified and agreed at the outset and joint decision making to manage the business and share value We will be adopting the characteristics of item 3 above in our business plan. Alliances (large and small) have been around in one form or another since the early 1990s, they are used in all different industries across the world and the construction and engineering industry is no exception some notable projects that have been completed around the world using alliances are: Burj Khalifa, Dubai UAE, the worlds tallest building was built by a Joint Venture (type of strategic alliance) by Samsung Engineering Construction (South Korea), Besix (Belgium) and Arabtec from UAE; The Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE, the worlds largest retail development was built by a Joint Venture Partnership (type of strategic alliance) by Dutco Balfour Beatty (the author used to work for this company) Al Ghandi and Consolidated Contractors International Company (DBB/AG and CCC); and Gateway Bridge Duplication Upgrade Project, Brisbane, Australia, was built by Leighton Contractors Abigroup Joint Venture at a cost of AUS$1.88b it consisted of the duplication of Gateway Bridge and 20km upgrading of Gateway Motorway, including the Gateway Deviation. This business plan has be developed using the principles of leading alliances academics, experts practitioners in their field in particular Gomes-Casseres work to develop best practices that work, while recognising that each alliance is unique and there is no one size fits all approach. This document is a work in progress and we would be working with the potential partners after the business alliance strategy has been established by MCS Constructions, to jointly develop the alliance operating plan, this will construct a solid foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship. The topic of this report is Defining a Business Plan for a Potential Strategic Alliance, there are many possible interpretations of this topic as strategic alliances have been in existence since the early 90s, are used in across a variety of different industries, companies both large and small, on a domestic and international level which can range from very simple to the complex. Drawing upon my own life/work experiences, knowledge, skills and qualifications in the construction and engineering industry both local and international over the last 10 years plus (refer CV in Appendix ?), and considering I do not have access to relevant information on an existing alliance, I will be looking at the feasibility of developing a potential strategic alliance and defining a business plan which will include but not limited to the following areas as outlined in the elective assignment specification (refer appendix ?): This is drawn on the extensive life/work experiences, knowledge, skills and qualifications gained by the owner/director Mr. Matthew C. Smith in the construction and engineering industry both local and international over the last 10 years plus (refer CV in Appendix ?), which is evident in the business today. We are exploring the feasibility of setting up a Strategic Alliance with other trusted companies within the industry, to provide its clients (Public Private) with single-source of responsibility, a one-stop shop to complete its projects of various sizes and complexity on time, to budget, quality and safety that exceeds the clients expectations and objectives. In order to do this a strategic alliance would provide a vehicle with capital/finance, additional knowledge, skills, experiences, expertise from the potential partner companies (Consultants, Major Preferred Suppliers and Major Preferred Subcontractors) both local international, resources, connections, capabilities and competencies, where the clients projects require a broad range of expertise, some of which we may not have in-house. We would be looking at developing this alliance capability to enter the overseas and remote projects in developing and third world countries in particular Middle East / Africa / Asia etc. We would also welcome alliances closer to home (Australia) when needed and depending on our clients requirements. Is to provide its clients (Public Private) with a single-source of responsibility, a one-stop shop to complete its projects of various sizes and complexity on time, to budget, quality and safety that exceeds the clients expectations and objectives in an economic, efficient, ethical, environmental sustainable way. At this stage of the business plan we have not identified any particular companies as potential partner organisations but MCS Constructions would be looking to undertake a strategic alliance that consists of both local and international firms (large or small) within the construction and engineering industry supply chain both up and down the line. The rationale for MCS Constructions to partner with the supply chain (as outlined above) both up and down the line (forward and backward integration) for it to deliver the alliances clients within the construction and engineering industry, projects that are on time, to budget, quality and safety and exceeds the clients expectations and objectives. We offer our potential partners our core competency of Technological Know-How and Management Know-How within our chosen area of knowledge, skills, experiences and expertise in commercial construction i.e. new build, fit-out, refurbishment and heritage listed work. We would be looking for a potential partner with which would complement us and provide capital/financing, additional resources, capabilities, competences, skills, experiences, knowledge, connections, expertise etc. The anticipated benefits would be that MCS Constructions would be able to grow and expand its business overseas into new markets with the additional capital/financing, resources, capabilities, skills, experiences and expertise in their chosen area i.e. Consultancy, Major Preferred Suppliers and Major Preferred Subcontractors, to share risk/reward (Gain/Pain Share) and am opportunity to learn. Now we have made the decision to enter a strategic alliance, we have many choices to be made that relate to the design of the alliance, scope, goals, management processes including legal, tax, insurances, financing, structure etc. This will be outlined in a formal alliance agreement (refer to appendix ? for a sample copy). In relation to legal, tax and insurances, performance bonds/guarantees, profit etc. (for the purposes of this report is outside its scope) this will depend on the local jurisdiction that the strategic alliance is under i.e. Country that the alliance is operating in for example Dubai, UAE it is a requirement that international companies setup a joint venture to partner with a local company sponsor where 51% will been owned by the local company and 49% by the international company. The author used to work for Dutco Balfour Beatty LLC in Dubai, UAE which was 51% owned by the local company Dutco and 49% owned by Balfour Beatty the international company. On a separate note the author used to work for Balfour Beatty in the UK. There are three major forms of strategic alliances Joint Venture, Equity Strategic Alliance and Non-Equity Strategic Alliances, the final decision on the form will be negotiated between all parties to their mutual benefit, but it is envisaged that we will use a Non-Equity Strategic Alliance (refer to definitions section) which over time may develop into a Joint Venture. Stage 1: Utilise the alliance partners specialty in their chosen area, we will allocate tasks and responsibilities to each partner on the basis of what they do best, we will tender and bid for constructions and engineering projects in various target markets/segments, tendering and bidding for projects requires capital, resources, time, etc., if we are not successful at winning work we will continue to look for other opportunities, if we are successful at winning work then we will move into Stage 2; Stage 2: Once we have successfully won and been awarded the project/contract from the client we will enter the Project Stage where we will utilise the alliance partners specialty in their chosen area, we will allocate tasks and responsibilities to each partner on the basis of what they do best, the project stage will depending on the type, size, complexity of the project be broken down into various stages which will typically following a traditional matrix: Alliances Specific Strategy and Alliances Analysis Selection this will be undertaken be the Senior Management of MCS Constructions championed by the owner / director Mr. Matthew C. Smith but will including other internal resources HRM, Accounting / Finance / Legal and Operational Managers, as well as external consultants when required and needed such as Facilitator, Lawyer, Investment Bank, Strategic Alliance Management Consultants i.e. Vantage Partners to provide their expertise as this is the first strategic alliance for MCS Constructions. Alliance Value-Creating Negotiations, Operational Planning and Structuring this will be continued by the owner / director Mr. Matthew C. Smith and the senior management of the preferred potential partner once a MOUP has been enacted by all parties including a non-disclosure confidentiality agreement, this is to continue to build the relational capital and trust between the parties moving forward. According to (Gomes-Casseres 2003 p. 120 64% of poor or damaged relationships between firms are the foremost cause of alliance failure.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man :: Portrait Artist Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man    The mind wanders, on occasion, through many processions of thought. When at the beginning of this text, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, I found it difficult to follow young Stephen's meandering thoughts with any semblance of comprehension until I finished reading the novel. I then began to research the novel and Joyce and realized the significance of these seemingly random thoughts. These are the thoughts of a budding artist in infancy.    As Stephen matured, so did his thoughts. His struggle with self is central to understanding the novel. Without any indication of any other person's thoughts, Stephen's thoughts provoke our own to fill in where Joyce left the narrative blank. His struggle with self deals with religion, sin, sexuality, and prudence. Courage may be added to this list, but to a lesser extent. Stephen feels it is sufficient to hide and keep silent more than to stand on a soapbox and say what he thinks to a crowd.    Many of his mannerisms are learned responses from earlier dealings with schoolmates and family. In Chapter 1, line 30, Stephen hides when he is in trouble for something unknown to the reader. He hides his emotions on lines 81 and 82 of chapter 1 when his mother is crying as she leaves him at school. He attempts to hide his shame, on lines 259-265 in the same chapter, at not knowing the correct answer between kissing his mother or not doing so.    These learned responses of defense are somewhat, but not completely ignored when his thoughts begin to mature and he forms his own philosophy of what is beautiful through the study of others (Chapter 5, Lines 1161-1469). He speaks openly, to Lynch at least, about what beauty is and what art is. Later, also in Chapter 5, he speaks openly to Cranly about religion and his lack of belief therein. He believes that Cranly is friend enough not to tell others that Stephen is, what might have been considered, a heretic.

Womens Roles During Times of War Essay -- American History Females Ro

Women's Roles During Times of War Despite the prevalence of war goddesses in most traditions from China to Greece to Ireland, women have been separated from the front lines of war for centuries. Western tradition claims that women are not made for war, but for household work: sewing, cleaning, cooking, and looking after children. Society told women to carry brooms in lieu of swords; to collect firewood instead of ammunition, and to keep house rather than protect a nation. Yet, for centuries, women have fought their peoples' wars, even if they never lifted a sword or fired a rifle. We rarely hear of these women, though, because they were not on the front line. The AAS Online Exhibitions claims, "The term "war hero" usually refers to a man who unselfishly risks his life to fight1." In many ways this is true. War heroes, especially of wars that were fought earlier than the twentieth century, are almost invariably men. In schools throughout the United States, primary school students learn the names of heroes of various American wars: George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert E. Lee; but rarely do they learn about the women who helped these heroes: Molly Pitcher, Belle Boyd, and Elizabeth van Lew. Women learned to sacrifice their husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers for the same causes for which these men sacrificed their lives. The first United States war in which women fought was the American Revolution: the war that allowed their country to be formed. While their husbands cleaned their hunting rifles and readied their clothing, American women fought the British in their own way. The most prominent form of battle, especially in Boston and New England, was the boycott on tea. It sounds like a simple thing, boycotting... ..."Women of the American Revolution." http://ws.web.arizona.edu/ws200/fall97/grp11/part7.htm 4. "Molly Pitcher (Valley Forge Frequently Asked Questions)." Â © 1998 – 2004. http://www.ushistorty.org/valleyforge/youasked/070.htm 5. Zarro. "Women of the American Revolution." 6. Zarro. "Women of the American Revolution." 7. Zarro. "Women of the American Revolution." 8. Zarro. "Women of the American Revolution." 9. "AAS Online Exhibitions: A Woman's Work is Never Done." 10. "AAS Online Exhibitions: A Woman's Work is Never Done." 11. "Hearts at Home: Spies." Â © 1997. Cited 22 November 2004. 12. "Hearts at Home: Spies." 13. "Rose O'Neal Greenhow Papers." Â © May 1996. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/greenhow 14. "Female Spies for the Union." http://womenshistory.about.com/library/misc/cw/bl_cw_spies_union.htm 15. "Female Spies for the Union."

Injury can result from violence Essay -- Social Issues, Domestic Viole

Injury can result form violence Injury Can Result from Violence Injury can result from many different incidents. One specifically important incident resulting in injury is domestic violence. It is approximated statistically that 1.8 million to 3-4 million domestic violence cases occur each year, unfortunately, the number of cases that occur cannot be more accurate due to domestic violence usually occurring in the relative privacy of one’s home. (Kelly, 2003) As disturbing as these numbers may be, we need to acknowledge that domestic violence is not a new problem arising in American homes but what is new is that we are now more aware of how serious the issue of domestic violence is in today’s society. Today, domestic violence, in its broadest definition is being defined as verbal, emotional, threatening, or physical abuse among current or former intimate partners and includes any persons related by blood. (Robert, 2002) They may be living currently within the same household or have been in the past for it to be considered do mestic. Domestic violence has no barriers. It affects any race, religion, culture, or socioeconomic status. In today’s world every nurse knowingly or not is most likely to encounter a situation involving domestic violence. (Nucero & O’Connor, 2002) Therefore, it is important that within this discussion that the following issues is to be identified: the seriousness of domestic violence and what factors contribute to domestic violence, what role the legal system must take on when domestic violence occurs, and lastly what a nurse and the medical world can do in identifying and assessing domestic violence. Domestic violence is a serious problem affecting many people each and every ye... ...ic violence, as we can see from the previous read information, results in injury. It is a very serious issue for the people within a violent home setting and with today’s legal system domestic violence cases are being taken extremely serious. It is important that we as nurses, if we feel someone is in a violent home setting, to identify these patients and assess as needed. By nurses identifying and assessing victims of violent acts we can help these people and contribute to decreasing the number of violent acts that occur. If a nurse or anyone knows or suspects that someone is being abused, we need to let that victim know there are alternative solutions, choices they can make, and that there is hope to solve the problem at hand. We should also let this victim know that without help, this problem may only get worse and could progress in frequency and severity.

Citizenship Coursework- Illegal Downloading

More than 8 million people are illegally downloading at any one time; it has become a major problem for the music industry. Many people do not see the problem it causes and many do not realise the effect of what they are doing, some don't even seem to know that it is illegal. Although most people do not seem to notice the effects, the film and music industry are noticing. They are noticing a loss in revenue. This then prevents things such as new upcoming or just plain decent only just found musicians and artist. Plus some films never make it to production, there original ideas never to be shared. Musicians pushing forward in the career are missing out on opportunities after much time and effort has been put in (plus there are a lot of band that just fluke it to success). So on general people in these industries that deserve to be recognised have a much less chance thanks to illegal downloading. Basically it's Stealing, stealing music is the same as stealing anything else. It is illegal and the consequences are real – for you and for the music. Stealing music is against the law. Stealing music betrays the songwriters and recording artists who create it and stifles the careers of new artists and up and coming bands. Stealing music threatens the livelihood of the thousands of working people from recording engineers to music retailers and their staffs who are employed in this industry. Downloading music is a great way of reaching out for musicians if it is done in a controlled manner in which the musicians can still be paid for there ‘work'. Plus it is just another way that people can access musician's songs. This is a handy way for customers as we live in a society that uses mp3 players where all their music is transferred over the media device. Rather than good old CD players and well cassette players, where you had to go out and but the CD's or tape, which is more efficient from piracy. But artist have to keep up with modern devices to make sure their music gets out there. Fans want to access music in the easiest possible way and that way is over the internet rather than going to town to but the CD, just being lazy. Although some may be down to the fact a lot of teenagers are unable or don't know how to set up an account with a legal download site or company such as iTunes. But want is quite worrying to say the least is the fact that there are those out there who do now realise it is wrong. Also there are those who try to justify illegal downloading. For the customer it all comes down to two many things; cost and convenience. The only decent way about it is if the music is downloaded illegally and the person likes that album or whatever they then go out and buy it, if they don't then they just delete it. It is a way about it but not around it, There will always be those trying to get what they want for a little as possible and if that is free then they will do it. It is just that the internet can do so much to help new band get recognised, however the internet is pretty much impossible to monitor and patrol completely and strictly. People will take advantage of this and are doing so. Illegal downloading is a hot topic and those who have an opinion may differ hugely form other, a lot tend to sit back about the situation but those that take side tend to feel strongly about it. There are those that realise what they are doing and continue to do so without thinking about the negative effects they are having on peoples lives, not just the musicians but others working in the industry. On the other hand they should do more to allow more to by CD's as many of them are highly priced, which they don't need to be as more money comes from gigs then album sales. Then again there is no excuses for downloading illegally. Though the music industry should realise that it must spread out across the internet and do it's best to appeal to customer over the internet. .Both sides of this argument have to make changes, as they are actually both losing out, the industry are making loses and the listener are missing out on potentially great music from artist not given a chance, as well as them missing out. So changes must be made to end piracy and get the music industry to appeal to more people so no losses are made and all is pretty damn good.