Effective Literacy Based Software Programs in a 5th Grade Environment

Abstract

As technology has evolved in our society, the same can be said for elementary literacy instruction. Students today are growing up in a technologically advanced society which offers many different modes of interacting with literacy. With the development of new online software devices, there are many opportunities for students to grow and learn about literacy in interesting ways. Teachers are often competing against computer games for the attention of their own students. What many teachers fail to see is that they need to take advantage of our students’ engagement with computer software. While traditional methods such as guided reading, read-alouds, and practice sheets may still be important, they will not hold the attention of our student body for very long. Teachers need to incorporate the use of literacy software programs into their classrooms in order to increase motivation in student literacy learning. In turn, students should be more engaged in their own learning and will be learning valuable computer skills that will carry over into their adult life. The purpose of this study is to determine how literacy software programs that the teacher uses affect student’s motivation and achievement in literacy learning activities. In order to determine this, I conducted a 6 week research study in a 5th grade classroom at an elementary school in a small suburban school district. All findings in this study were directed to answer three focal questions about the effectiveness of literacy based software programs in an elementary classroom.