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
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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.