The Influence of Embedded Word-Study Instruction, Social Context, and Motivation of Children's Independent Reading and Writing: A Case Study of 3 First-Graders. Reading Research Report No. 65.

A qualitative study followed slow-progress students as they engaged in embedded word studies in thP;r classroom-based literacy activities. Issues addressed were: (1) the ways embedded word studies promoted slower-progress students' word knowledge; (2) how develoura knowledge influenced these students' reading and writing attempts; and (3) effects of the social context on beginning readers' strategies and motivation to gain word knowledge. Participants included a Caucasian male, an African-American male, an African-American female, and their teacher in an eastern United States public school. Open and axial coding was performed on field notes (including interviews), running records, and students' writing samples to find recurring patterns. Instruction successfully promoted the case-study students' individual progress. Social context was a means to enhance students' involvement that increased strategy use. Findings support the view that word studies can be embedded within a holistic literacy setting in ways that result in gains in spelling and decoding competence. (Contains 40 references and 9 figures of data.) (Author/RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************