Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This study was conducted with 5 first grade students at a suburban public elementary school in Northern California. Reading assessment data was analyzed for changes in reader accuracy, error management, and comprehension using a text level gradient from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that is based on the Complex Literacy Processing Theory developed by Marie Clay; which is the theoretical rationale for this study. The study found that the intervention to enhance fine motor skills improved the overall accuracy and comprehension of the participants.
","abstract_html":"<p>Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This study was conducted with 5 first grade students at a suburban public elementary school in Northern California. Reading assessment data was analyzed for changes in reader accuracy, error management, and comprehension using a text level gradient from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that is based on the Complex Literacy Processing Theory developed by Marie Clay; which is the theoretical rationale for this study. The study found that the intervention to enhance fine motor skills improved the overall accuracy and comprehension of the participants.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["West-Higgins, Tyler"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Suresh Appavoo, EdD","Jennifer Lucko, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:44Z","subjects":["fine motor skills","kindergarten readiness","reading acquisition","intervention","elementary","Marie Clay","first grade","Complex Literacy Processing Theory","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Methods","Elementary Education","Elementary Education and Teaching","Language and Literacy Education","Other Education","Other Linguistics","Other Teacher Education and Professional Development","Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/343","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Suresh Appavoo, EdD","Jennifer Lucko, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["West-Higgins, Tyler"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-04-21T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["fine motor skills","kindergarten readiness","reading acquisition","intervention","elementary","Marie Clay","first grade","Complex Literacy Processing Theory","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Methods","Elementary Education","Elementary Education and Teaching","Language and Literacy Education","Other Education","Other Linguistics","Other Teacher Education and Professional Development","Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/343"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This study was conducted with 5 first grade students at a suburban public elementary school in Northern California. Reading assessment data was analyzed for changes in reader accuracy, error management, and comprehension using a text level gradient from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that is based on the Complex Literacy Processing Theory developed by Marie Clay; which is the theoretical rationale for this study. The study found that the intervention to enhance fine motor skills improved the overall accuracy and comprehension of the participants.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Improving Reading through Fine Motor Skill Development in First Grade"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Suresh Appavoo, EdD","Jennifer Lucko, PhD"],"dc:creator":["West-Higgins, Tyler"],"dc:date.available":["2018-04-21T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This study was conducted with 5 first grade students at a suburban public elementary school in Northern California. Reading assessment data was analyzed for changes in reader accuracy, error management, and comprehension using a text level gradient from the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that is based on the Complex Literacy Processing Theory developed by Marie Clay; which is the theoretical rationale for this study. The study found that the intervention to enhance fine motor skills improved the overall accuracy and comprehension of the participants.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/343"],"dc:subject":["fine motor skills","kindergarten readiness","reading acquisition","intervention","elementary","Marie Clay","first grade","Complex Literacy Processing Theory","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Methods","Elementary Education","Elementary Education and Teaching","Language and Literacy Education","Other Education","Other Linguistics","Other Teacher Education and Professional Development","Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education"],"dc:title":["Improving Reading through Fine Motor Skill Development in First Grade"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:04:44Z"}