Implementing Guided Reading Strategies with Kindergarten and First Grade Students
Author: Abbott, Lindsey
Date: 2012-05-00
Type: Dissertations/Theses
Subjects: Check Lists,Reading Readiness,Phonemics,Action Research,Economically Disadvantaged,Reading Strategies,Phonemic Awareness,Teaching Methods,Grade 1,Kindergarten,Reading Skills,Reading Motivation,Emergent Literacy,Reading Difficulties,Intervention,Small Group Instruction,Visual Aids,Decoding (Reading),Behavior Problems,Drills (Practice),Parents,Surveys,Time on Task,Cooperative Learning,Reading Comprehension,Phonics,Vocabulary Development,Reading Fluency,At Risk Students,Rural Schools,Urban Schools

In the action research project report, the teacher researchers found that many kindergarten and first-grade students did not have the reading readiness skills to be reading at their benchmark target. The purpose of the project was to improve the students overall reading ability. The dates of the project began on September 8 through December 20, 2011. There were 74 students and 74 parents that participated in this research study. The teacher researchers noticed that the students lacked reading readiness skills that were necessary to meet grade level benchmarks. The teacher researchers used a parent survey, baseline assessments, and observational checklist to document evidence. The teacher researchers found from the parent survey that students who lacked interest in books and reading them demonstrated low reading readiness skills. The baseline assessment the students took showed an overall weakness in letter identification, initial sounds, medial sounds, and ending sounds. The observational checklist indicated difficulty with segmenting sounds, letter sound knowledge, inability to rhyme, decoding difficulties and reading miscues, poor comprehension, lack of interest in books, lack of print awareness skills, poor attentions spans,  lack of response during whole group instruction, and off-task behaviors. The teacher researchers used a variety of interventions to improve their students overall reading skills. These interventions included small guided reading groups, word work, phonemic awareness drills, and posters that gave visual clues on how to decode unknown words. In the guided reading groups the students were paired with other students at their same reading ability. Flashcards were used during word work that helped to gain letter and sound knowledge and identification. Phonemic awareness drills helped to promote students sound and decoding skills. The posters provided a quick and kid friendly visual clue to help read unknown words. The students overall reading growth was the most notable result taken from the action research project. The teacher researchers saw marked growth in letter recognition and beginning sounds. In letter recognition the targeted students represented that 100% (n=21) of the students recognized all 10 of the letters tested. In beginning sounds 100% (n=21) the targeted students recognized all 3 beginning sounds. The teacher researchers concluded that the interventions used during this research project helped to promote reading readiness skills in most of the targeted students. Four appendixes present: (1) Parent Survey; (2) Observational Check List; (3) Site A Baseline Assessment; and (4) Site B Baseline Assessment. (Contains 6 tables and 31 figures.)