Date Approved
8-8-2026
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Education-Literacy Studies: Reading (M.Ed.)
Degree Program
Education Leadership & Counseling
First Advisor
Elizabeth Stolle
Academic Year
2025/2026
Abstract
Writing is a large part of education, social communication, and work environments. However, the ability of elementary students to write proficiently is severely lacking. Much of educational writing and work-place writing is informational and the foundation of this writing begins in elementary school. There is a need to increase the amount of instruction and practice that elementary students receive in informational writing so that they are able to write in a competent manner. Writing proficiency in elementary school will affect the education a student receives moving forward and ultimately their adult lives.
Elementary educators need to integrate classroom instruction to efficiently and effectively use class time. Leveraging content to teach reading and writing is essential. This practice allows students to build knowledge of topics while simultaneously building reading and writing skills. Cognitive process theory emphasizes the importance of building knowledge while students learn to navigate the processes and subprocesses involved in composition. Sociocultural theory and the writers-within-community model add integrating the development of self-regulation skills. The development of self-regulation helps students to monitor and control their own thinking, emotions, and behaviors while working to complete a challenging task in the classroom. The unit produced is the combination of second grade physical science content, reading, writing instruction, and self-regulated strategy development.
ScholarWorks Citation
Crawford, Ashley, "Integrated Self-Regulation Strategy Development and Physical Science: A Unit for Second Grade" (2026). Masters Projects. 719.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/719
