READING HABITS OF SECOND GRADERSAction research to determine the best method of encouraging autonomy in second grade students while improving their choice and independent reading of library books.

Kristy Dallas Alley901-262-5451U00056393

RESEARCH QUESTIONHow can I encourage autonomy while guiding and improving the reading habits of my second graders?

PROBLEM CONTEXT AND RATIONALE Who am I as a professional?

Bachelor of Arts in English from Rhodes College

Completed K-12 Language Arts certification alongside undergraduate work

Fifteen years as a secondary English teacher

Currently a first-year librarian in an elementary school

PROBLEM CONTEXT AND RATIONALE Current work and action research setting and

context Urban elementary school 542 students in pre-K-5 Approximately 2/3 African-American, 1/3

Hispanic, fewer than 10 Asian and white children combined

96% of students received free or reduced lunch Many Hispanic students speak no English upon

arrival Many Guatemalan families speak dialects that do

not exist in written form, have never been literate

SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS84 second-grade students in four

homeroomsEach homeroom visits the

library once a week for 30 minutes

59 African-American students25 Hispanic students54 males, 30 females

PROBLEM CONTEXT AND RATIONALE How my question relates to my work context

This group of students had never been allowed to check out books, which I did not know at the start of the school year

Second grade is plagued with behavior problems that make free checkout and reading time difficult

There was a pattern of students checking out certain books they could not read because of a “cool” factor

I wanted to find a method of helping students choose books with the maximum autonomy while still encouraging them to pick books they could really read and enjoy

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE “School library collections are not merely

extensions of classroom book collections or classroom teaching methods, but rather places where children can explore interests safely and without restrictions. A minor’s right to access resources freely and without restriction has long been and continues to be the position of the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians.” Best practice: Allow students to select books in

the least restrictive environment possible

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE Lance & Hofschire

(2012) From 2005 to 2011,

student reading scores on standardized tests improved in schools that gained or retained a school librarian

National Assessment of Educational Progress (2008) States that gained

school librarians from 2004-05 to 2008-09 showed greater increases in 4th grade reading scores than did states that lost librarians during this time period

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE

SYSTEMS OF DETERMINING READABILITY PROVE INCONSISTENT Lively &Pressey (1923)

Created the first widely used readability scale for books

Basis of systems used by schools nationwide from 1923 through the present day

Based on the “vocabulary burden” of a given book

Vogel & Washburne (1928) Combined the

Pressey method with analysis of sentence structure, paragraph structure, weight of book, and type face to place books at a specific reading grade level

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE Lexile Levels

Heavily associated with new Common Core Standards

Measures “text complexity” based on a combination of factors

Lexile bands do not match closely to previous readability systems and tend to be more demanding

Lexile is criticized for its inability to account for content, resulting in placing books like Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men at a grade 3-5 level

LEARNING THEORIES Amritavalli (2012):

Learner autonomy and leaner-chosen texts

Guthrie&Alvermann (1999): Engaged readers

reading is best learned when a child shows interest in reading and when every child chooses the text which is at the right level of challenge and interest for that child

Joint functioning of motivation, conceptual knowledge, and social interactions during literacy activities

DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR LEARNERSThe students in my sample are in

the stage of concrete operations according to Piaget’s four stages of learning.Beginning to understand the

difference between genres and types of books

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE

Key Ideas and Details

Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text

Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

TN Department of Education Reading Standard

Students should be able to

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE

Craft and Structure Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song

Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

TN Department of Education Reading Standard

Students should be able to

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE

Integration of Ideas Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

TN Department of Education Reading Standard

Students should be able to

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE

Range of Reading and level of Text Complexity

Read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 2–3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range

TN Department of Education Reading Standard

Students should be able to

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE BASE American Association of School Libraries

Standards for the 21st Century Learner Standard 4: Pursue Personal and Aesthetic

Growth Students should read, view, and listen for

pleasure and personal growth; read widely and fluently to make connections with own self, the world, and previous reading

seek information for personal learning in a variety of formats and genres; connect ideas to their own interests and previous knowledge and experience

organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily

ACTION PLAN Over the course of six weeks, I experimented

with three different methods of conducting checkout with second graders in the library, with the goal of determining which method resulted in the highest number of students reporting that they read all or most of their book on their own and that they enjoyed the book.

Methods included Completely unrestricted access to every book in the

library with no guidance Unrestricted access to all books, but with strong

guidance Narrowly restricted access to books only within Lexile

bands recommended for second grade

DATA COLLECTION

Research

Journal

Pre Survey

Book-specific Survey

ATRIUUM Reports

Post Survey

DATA COLLECTION Research journal to record observations

about student responses and behavior during the research

Pre and Post survey about general reading habits and feelings regarding library books

Book-specific survey correlated to the method of checkout used when the book was obtained

ATRIUUM (circulation software system) reports confirming specific titles checked out each week

FINDINGS Students expressed a preference for the

checkout method that combined book talks and facilitated access with freedom to choose any book.

The preferred method resulted in the highest percentage of students reporting that they read all or most of their book that week.

The preferred method was the only one that resulted in zero “I didn’t read my book” responses for the week.

Student responses about their favorite type of book changed significantly between the pre and post surveys.

EVIDENCE: PRE SURVEY

I like checking out books:

I read my whole book by myself

The books that I choose are usually

My favorite books are

Yes 97.26%, No 2.74%

Always: 50.68%; Usually: 36.99%; Sometimes: 9.59%; Never: 2.74%

Too hard for me to read by myself: 13.89%; Just right: 47.33%; Really easy: 38.89%

Picture books with just a few words on each page: 29.17%; Picture books with a lot of words: 31.94%; Chapter books: 38.89%

Question Response

EVIDENCE: POST SURVEY

I like checking out books:

I read my whole book by myself

The books that I choose are usually

My favorite books are

Yes 98.65%, No 1.35%

Always: 61.33%; Usually: 14.67%; Sometimes: 22.67%Never: 1.33%

Too hard for me to read by myself: 15.07%; Just right: 52.05%; Really easy: 32.88%

Picture books with just a few words on each page: 45.33%; Picture books with a lot of words: 32%; Chapter books: 22.67%

Question Response

EVIDENCE: PREFERRED CHECKOUT METHOD

I like it whenWe can check out any book with no sugges-tions 33.33%We can check out any book but Ms. Alley tells us about special books 47.22%We can only choose books from the tables 19.44%

EVIDENCE: BOOK SPECIFIC SURVEYS

I read all/most of my bookMethod one unrestricted 90.15%Method two unrestricted w/ book talks 91.05Method three restricted to my selections 81.95

EVIDENCE: BOOK SPECIFIC SURVEYS

I read my book by myself

Method one 63.89%Method two 72.06%Method three 76.71%

EVIDENCE: BOOK SPECIFIC SURVEYS

I really liked this book

Method one 74.65%Method two 79.41%Method three 77.46%

CONCLUSIONS This action research was helpful in determining

the best method of checkout for my second graders. I feel that this information can also be applied to other grade levels.

Participation in the surveys had the unintended but desirable consequence of giving the students a sense of agency in the way they chose and read their books.

Conducting the book talks for a few books at once forced me to skip reading whole chapters and instead focus on just giving a few details to hook students’ interest, and the students were better able to stay focused and attentive.

VARIABLES TO THE STUDY The second week of the study was spring

break, so I could not collect any data that week.

Suggestions from book talks I gave prior to this research influenced student book choice.

NEXT STEPS Going forward, I plan to spend more time at

the beginning of the school year helping students become oriented to library procedures and expectations so that checkout options will not have to be limited by behavioral problems.

I also plan to use book talks systematically throughout the year to focus on different genres and formats of books in the library.

I am looking forward to sharing the results of my research with the community of librarians in my school district, as well as my principal and the teachers at my school.

FUTURE RESEARCH QUESTIONS How can I better connect with

kindergarteners at the start of the school year to help them transition both in and outside the library?

How can I better engage my most reluctant readers, especially in fifth grade?

REFERENCES Amritavalli, R. (2012). Helping children become

readers. Language and Language Teaching. 1 (1). Clausen-Grace, N. & Kelley, M. (2009-2010).

Facilitating engagement by differentiating independent reading. The Reading Teacher, 63, (4) pp.313-318.

Defining text complexity. (2013). The Lexile Framework for Reading. Metametrics.

DuBay, William H., (ed.). (2002). The classic readability studies. Impact Information.

Guthrie, J.T. & Alvermann, D.E. (1999). (Eds). Engaged reading: Processes, practices, and policy implication. New York: Teachers College Press.

Fry, E. (2002). Readability versus leveling. The Reading Teacher, 56, (3) pp. 286-291.

Killeen, E. (2012). Precious children. Teacher Librarian, 39(4), 60.

REFERENCES Krashen, S. (2001). The lexile framework: Unnecessary and

potentially harmful. California School Library Journal, 24(2): 25-26.

Lance, K., & Hofschire, L. (2012). Change in school librarian staffing linked with change in CSAP reading performance, 2005 to 2011. Denver, CO: Colorado S State Library, Library Research Service.

Lane, K. & Marks, R. (2008). Is there a positive relationship between public library services and early reading success? School Library Journal.

Paris, S. (2002). Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement: Measuring Children's Reading Development Using Leveled Texts. The Reading Teacher, 56, (2) pp. 168-170.

Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels. 2011. American Association of School Libraries.

REFERENCES Ray, M. (2012). A blip in a word cloud--unless

we act. Teacher Librarian, 39(4), 56+. Standards for the 21st century learner.

(2007). American Library Association Supplemental information for appendix A of

the common core state standards for English language arts and literacy: New research on text complexity. (2012). Council of Chie State School Officers.

Tap the school library to bring a wider world to students. (2012, March-April). American Teacher, 96(4), 4.