Understanding the Changes in Writing Between Early to Academic Literacy: The transition between Grade 3 and Grade 4 Students

Mir-Orefice, Aurélia

Understanding the Changes in Writing Between Early to Academic Literacy: The transition between Grade 3 and Grade 4 Students

dc.contributor.advisor	Nordstokke, David
dc.contributor.author	Mir-Orefice, Aurélia
dc.contributor.committeemember	Nordstokke, David
dc.contributor.committeemember	Roessingh, Hetty
dc.contributor.committeemember	Burns, Amy
dc.contributor.committeemember	Drefs, Michelle
dc.date.accessioned	2023-11-02T16:33:57Z
dc.date.available	2023-11-02T16:33:57Z
dc.date.issued	2023-11-01
dc.description.abstract	Due to the increasing curriculum demands, students often struggle to successfully transition from grade 3 to grade 4. During this transitional period, students are expected to have learned how to write and use those skills to perform academically. There are several variables at play in terms of making the transition from early literacy to academic literacy, such as vocabulary, handwriting, and fluency. Being successful in this literacy transition is crucial for overall academic success and flourishing. This study aims to explore different factors that may influence students’ writing during this transitional period. English Language Learners (ELL) and English Native Speakers (ENS) were compared. Students were compared in grade 3 to grade 4 in terms of quality of writing, quality of handwriting, total number of words (TNW), low-frequency threshold (LFT), band 4 coverage, and off-list words. A path analysis was conducted, demonstrating the importance of handwriting quality and lexical reach on fluency and indirectly on writing quality. Results show no significant differences between ELL students and ENS. Although there were no differences in quality writing outcomes from grade 3 to grade 4, LFT decreased, and TNW, handwriting quality, and band 4 coverage increased. In grade 3, all variables were correlated with quality writing outcome. However, in grade 4, the percentage of off-list words is no longer correlated with the quality writing outcome. In grade 3, only the LFT, the TNW, and the quality writing outcome were correlated with the grade 4 quality writing outcome. Path analyses suggest that the LFT and handwriting quality impact the TNW, impacting the quality writing outcome. Overall, students struggle to make the leap from grade 3 to grade 4 and require more support.
dc.identifier.citation	Mir-Orefice, A. (2023). Understanding the changes in writing between early to academic literacy: the transition between grade 3 and grade 4 students (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/117531
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/42374
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Writing
dc.subject	Vocabulary
dc.subject	Handwriting
dc.subject	Fluency
dc.subject.classification	Educational Psychology
dc.title	Understanding the Changes in Writing Between Early to Academic Literacy: The transition between Grade 3 and Grade 4 Students
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Psychology
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.