Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
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A Literature Review: Improving Literacy Rates of Elementary Students
Kiara Harris
Liberty University
EDUC 656
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Abstract
Content-area reading instruction is a very important component in our students’ success. Reading
is a skill that most children have a difficult time mastering. Many factors can be considered as to
why students’ struggle with reading. Learning to read is vital students’ success in all of their
academics you must able to read to do math, science experiments, to learn history facts, and to
use technology (Hatfield, 2006). Teachers must instill the importance of reading in their students
as early as elementary school in order for them to be successful throughout adolescence and
adulthood. The literature that supports content- area reading promotes using strategies, methods,
and the hiring of effective and well-qualified teachers to improve and increase the literacy rates
of elementary students. Effective teaching practices and the use of the direct instruction can help
to improve literacy of students in all content areas. Employing effective methods and strategies
can also contribute to the increased literacy rates.
Keywords: content-area reading, elementary school
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Improving Literacy Rates of Elementary Students
Many educators believe fluency and comprehension are the most important concepts of
reading which helps students understand textbook and other supplementary readings. Over the
last two decades strategies have been created and implemented to help improve students’ literacy
rates. Teachers can use a vast number of strategies to help improve the literacy rates of their
students in all content areas.
A major theme throughout most of the literature regarding improving the literacy rates of
elementary students was the importance of employing effective strategies and the hiring of well
qualified teachers. The use of strategies and well-qualified teachers can to help to improve
literacy rates in elementary school throughout adolescence into adulthood. Early detection of
inadequate reading skills helps teacher know what type of lessons and objectives they should
create to help their students improve their fluency and comprehension skills. Reading is a vital
part of our academics and our life. Without reading we cannot do well in our subjects, we can
drive, cook, use appliances, take medications, and etc. Reading plays a major part in our life.
Helping to improve students’ reading skills early on gives them the chance to be successful the
rest of their lives.
A major emphasis in the literature regarding improving the literacy rates of elementary
students was the need for well-qualified teachers and programs that would benefit struggling
readers. Students are unable to get extra help with their reading in the classroom due to large
class sizes, one teacher, and teachers having to prepare the students for state and national tests.
For some students learning to read can be very difficult task. Reading should be introduced to
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children as early as possible and instilled in them how important reading is. Teachers should
encourage their students to read on a daily basis as it will help to increase their fluency and
comprehension. Most of the literature focuses on improving literacy rates of elementary students
and how different strategies can be used to help improve those rates.
Strategies for Improving Literacy Rates of Elementary Students
Unarguably, learning to read is central to students’ success in all content areas (Hatfield,
2006, p.41). When young children are unable to begin reading successfully in elementary school,
they lose ground academically, and fail to make up in the areas they are lacking in during the
school year (Hatfield, 2006). This piece of literature discusses a method that would help to
increase and improve the literacy rates of elementary students. Students that struggle with
reading need extra attention and help, but do not receive due to the teacher not having the time to
help students one on one. According to Hatfield (2006), utilizing volunteer tutors is an effective
strategy that can help to improve the literacy rates of elementary students. Hatfield (2006), states
that volunteer tutors can provide students with the attention they need in the subjects they are
having difficulty with. Studies show that students that struggle with reading work better in a one
on one environment rather than a large group. They feel more open about discussing why they
are having a difficult time reading one on one rather than in front of their peers. Students feel like
they will be picked on because they are not good readers or that they are not as successfully as
the other children in their class. According to the study, students that participated in the tutoring
sessions showed vast improvement in reading (Hatfield, 2006).
Another method that can help to improve the literacy rates of elementary students is a
remedial reading program. Providing remedial reading programs to students that struggle with
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reading will help to improve both reading fluency and reading comprehension (Hausheer,
Hansen, & Daumas, 2011). The improvement of reading fluency and comprehension is vital to
elementary schools students because they are at the age of development where learning is vital to
their growth (Hausheer, et. al, 2011).
The remedial reading program is a supplementary program that consists of re-reading
unfamiliar text until a satisfactory level of fluency is reached (Hausheer, et. al, 2011). It also
strategy is to implement assisted reading, reading while listening, and paired reading (Hausheer,
et.al, 2011). The strategy of remedial reading is successful because incorporates feedback from
instructors to the students, and improve students’ fluency and comprehension in reading due to
small, interactive group instruction, direct questioning and responses, breaking tasks into smaller
component parts, designating extended periods of time to focus on reading, and receiving
feedback (Hausheer, et. al, 2011). Each component allows students to receive a more
personalized approach and individual attention (Calhoon, 2005). Crowe (2005) states studies
show that feedback given to students during reading improves their word accuracy, reading
comprehension, and fluency. Remedial reading helps to strengthen vocabulary, increases
language skills, and builds general knowledge by setting a foundation for basic life skills
(Hausheer et. al, 2011).
The Universal Design for Learning is another strategy that was discussed within the
literature as an effective method to improve elementary students’ literacy rates in all content
areas. The Universal Design for Learning is defined as an educational framework based on
research that provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the way students
respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged. It also
provides barriers to instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, challenges, and
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maintains high achievement expectations for all students (National Center on Universal Design
for Learning, 2012).
UDL focuses on reducing barriers to learning by providing multiple means of
representation, providing multiple means of action and expression, and providing multiple means
of engagement (Narkon, & Wells, 2013). The first UDL principle, providing multiple means of
representation includes providing options for perception, language, mathematical expressions,
symbols, and comprehension (Narkon & Wells, 2013). This principle helps to ensure alternatives
are included in the curriculum planning that increase accessibility, clarity, and comprehensibility
across learners (Narkon & Wells, 2013). The second UDL principle, providing multiple means of
action and expression, incorporates providing options for physical action, expressive skills,
fluency, and executive functions like planning and monitoring (Narkon & Wells, 2013). This
UDL principle helps to ensure that alternatives are included in the curriculum and lesson
planning to help increase all students’ ability to express what they know and to engage in
strategy use, practice, and organization of information to facilitate learning (Narkon & Wells,
2013). The final UDL principle, providing multiple means of engagement, incorporates
providing options for recruiting interest, sustaining effort, persistence, and self- regulation
(Narkon & Wells, 2013).
Improving Literacy Rates in the History Content Area
Elementary students can learn how to take an interpretive approach to learning
history so they will be able to construct knowledge about their collective past experiences in a
way that provides a meaningful context for understanding present experiences (Fertig, 2005).
Children communicate their interpretations like historians, by telling or writing stories in which
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they do not discover the past but create it (Fertig, 2005). They choose events and people that they
believe constituted the past, and they decide what about them is important to know (Fertig,
2005). Children historical understanding as they reconstruct the meaning of events in time but
not by interpreting history itself (Fertig, 2005 p.2). However, students interpret information
derived from a variety of sources to establish historical evidence (Fertig, 2005). Teaching and
learning history in elementary school prepares children for living in a democratic society in
which citizens are expected to understand the meaning and significance of controversial social
issues from different perspectives (Fertig, 2005). Teachers must employ effective methods and
strategies to help students interpret past and present historical events. Understanding the past is
very important for understanding our future.
History should be taught in elementary in three steps: problem-solving, critical thinking,
and decision making. In order to understand history, one must be able to think critically about the
events that occurred in the past, solve the problem that created the social issue, and make
decisions on which laws should be passed or who we should vote for. Unfortunately, history isn’t
taught to students in those three steps, but rather it is presented to students as inventories of
famous people, events, dates, and meanings they are expected to memorize instead of analyze
and learn (Fertig, 2005). Requiring students to memorize history facts has the potential of
instilling in the misconception in students that learning history involves nothing more than
memorizing bits and pieces of events that happened decades ago (Fertig, 2005). Teachers and
students that only memorize history rather than knowing the past are depriving themselves of the
opportunity to teach and learn history from different approaches (Fertig, 2005). Teachers should
approach instruction in a different way each day to keep their interested and engaged in the
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material. Teachers must understand the importance of teaching history to their students rather
than having them memorize history facts.
Elementary teachers can avoid reducing history instruction to memorization of facts and
procedures by engaging students in a process of disciplined inquiry (Fertig, 2005). The primary
objective in teaching students history in elementary school is to get students interested in
learning about the past so they can begin asking their own questions (Fertig, 2005). Instead of
beginning instruction with the textbook, teachers should take time to assess how students are
conceptualizing their prior knowledge of history and use interesting activities to open up the
lessons instead of just throwing facts at the students. Many different types of methods and
activities can be used during the history lesson to keep students interested and to increase class
participation. In order for teachers to successfully teach their students history, they must have
extensive content knowledge of history, use direct instruction, and employ effective strategies
and methods to keep students interested, increase class participation, and to effectively teach the
lesson (McCall, 2007).
Reading instruction must be designed to align students’ identified needs with instructional
practices and appropriate technology that has been selected to help met lesson objectives (Meo,
2008; Proctor, Dalton, & Grisham, 2011). The skill levels and needs of all students in the
classroom must be determined first in order for them to meet the desired outcome of the lesson
(Narkon & Wells, 2013). Objectives and goals of the lesson should be aligned with national and
state educational standards. When planning lesson, teachers should know what they want their
students to learn from the lesson. Assessments should be used to assess how well the students
learned the material and if the objectives were met.
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Conclusion
The literature within this review promotes the improvement of literacy rates in
elementary school by employing different strategies and methods, and by hiring well-qualified
teachers that can extensive content area knowledge. Learning to read and write is vital to
students’ success in primary grades, and by fifth grade students should be fluent in reading and
writing in all content areas and have gained comprehension strategies. This is accomplished by
providing students with a variety of texts to read and by using direct instruction instead of
memorization. Teachers must determine the skill levels and needs of all students in order for the
desired outcome to be met (Narkon & Wells, 2013). Teachers should set measurable and
observable goals that all students will be able to meet and differentiate instruction when needed.
Our students are the future; their advanced abilities in reading comprehension will be needed in
today’s society.
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References
Calhoon, M.B. (2005). Effects of a peer-mediated phonological skill & reading comprehension
program on reading skill acquisition for elementary students with reading disabilities.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 424-433.
Crowe, L.K. (2005). Comparison of Two Oral Reading Feedback Strategies in Improving
Reading Comprehension of School-age Children with Low Reading Ability. Remedial &
Special Education, 26, 32-42.
Fertig, G. (2005). Teaching Elementary Students How to Interpret the Past. The Social Studies
Hatfield M. (2006). The effects of a pre-service teacher tutoring program for at-risk students.
Educational Planning
Hausheer, R., Hansen, A., & Doumas, D. (2011). Improving Reading Fluency & Comprehension
among Elementary Students: Evaluation of a School Remedial Reading Program.
Journal of School Counseling, 9, 9.
McCall, A. (2006). Enriching state studies: Teaching & Learning from Experienced Teachers.
Social Studies & the Young Learner, 19, 17-22.
Meo, G. (2008). Curriculum planning for all learners: Applying universal design for learning
(UDL) to an elementary school reading comprehension program. Preventing School
Failure, 52, 21-30.
Narkon, D. & Wells, J. (2013). Improving Reading Comprehension for Elementary Students with
Learning Disabilities: UDL Enhanced Story Mapping. Preventing School Failure, 57(4),
231-239: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2012). CAST: Wakefield, MA.
Proctor, C.P., Dalton, B., & Grisham, D.L. (2011). Scaffolding English language learners &
struggling readers in a universal literacy environment with embedded strategy instruction
& vocabulary support. Journal of Literacy Research, 39, 71-93.
