THE EFFECT OF A LITERATURE-BASED PROGRAM INTEGRATED INTO LITERACY ANDSCIENCE INSTRUCTION WITH CHILDREN FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS

THE PURPOSE of the study was to determine the impact of a literature-b ased program integrated into literacy and science instruction on achie vement, use of literature, and attitudes toward the literacy and scien ce program. Six third-grade classes with children from diverse backgro unds (N=128) were assigned to one control and two experimental groups (literature/science program and literature-only program). Both standar dized and informal written and oral tests were used to determine growt h in literacy and science. Use of literature was measured by asking ch ildren to name book tides they knew and had read both in and out of sc hool. Interviews with teachers and children determined attitudes towar d the literature and science programs. Children in the literature/scie nce group scored statistically significantly better on all literacy me asures than children in the literature-only group. Children in the lit erature-only group scored statistically significantly better on all li teracy measures, except for the standardized reading test, than childr en in the control group. There were no differences between the groups on number of science facts used in science stories written. In the tes t of science facts and vocabulary, the literature/science group scored statistically significantly better than the literature-only group and the control group. Observational data collected during periods of ind ependent reading and writing, when children interacted in social setti ngs, reported the nature of literacy activities that took place.