Date

2013

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Teacher Education

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of Readers Theater on reading fluency, reading comprehension, and attitude toward reading in middle school students with mild-to-moderate disabilities. All fourteen participants in this research were students in one special day classroom who read below grade level. Quantitative measures for this pre-experimental research were obtained by comparing pre-test and post-test scores from three nationally-normed assessment instruments. The independent variable in each case was Readers Theater. The dependent variables of reading fluency and reading comprehension yielded interval data and were analyzed using paired samples t-tests. The dependent variable of attitude toward reading was further broken down into three separate categories: attitude toward recreational reading, attitude toward academic reading, and overall attitude toward reading. The design of the attitude survey incorporated a 4-point Likert scale yielding nonparametric data that was an alyzed using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs test. Results revealed statistically significant growth in reading fluency and in one aspect of attitude toward reading over the six-week intervention period. Specifically, the research revealed increases in the number of correct words read per minute and in attitude toward recreational reading among the participants. Although increases were seen across all measures, a statistical difference was not seen in scores for reading comprehension, attitude toward academic reading, and overall attitude toward reading over the course of the study. Results from this investigation imply that Readers Theater has the potential to increase both reading fluency scores and enjoyment of reading in struggling middle school students with mild-to-moderate disabilities.

Comments

Thesis (M.A.) Teacher Education Department

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