My capstone project focused on my kindergarten class for the 2018-2019 school year at a suburban Omaha school district located near a military base.  Being located near a military base and working with a student body with a fairly substantial mobility rate, it is especially appropriate to collect data on students that was easily transferable to other schools and is not tied to the curriculum.   I had eighteen students in my class that had a variety of skills and experiences. In my classroom, there were 8 boys and 10 girls. 22% (4) were African American, 5% (1) were Hispanic, 5% (1) were Asian, and 67% (12) were Caucasian. This data told me that I had racial diversity within my classroom, and my students' experiences with reading may differ based on past experiences.  17% (3) of my students had an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and received a variety of services such as: occupational therapy, behavior support, academic support, special education, and speech.  These students needed additional supports and close monitoring to make sure that they were making appropriate gains in reading achievement. Communication with other professionals about appropriate goals, interventions, and effective strategies helped to support the students by providing continuity as well as supported my instruction and success with these three students. Two students received reading intervention services from our reading specialist.  They met five days a week with the reading specialist for a half hour and received extra practice and teaching on skills they needed to be successful readers, and they also met in the classroom with me. These students received one-on-one practice reviewing letter names, sounds, and decoding skills. I used anecdotal notes and running records that were done with the reading specialist to improve my guided reading instruction in the classroom; this professional collaboration and communication expanded on the data with which I based my instructional decisions.  With such diversity within the classroom, it was important for me to meet the learning needs of all students in order to improve reading achievement.

 

 

 

 

The data I collected for my students showed a greater need for improvement in reading than math.  The fall Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment revealed a wide range in student scores in my classroom.  The MAP reading test is an adaptive test administered three times per school year, and it provides a score based on student's abilities in relation to national and district grade level norms.  It showed that 28% (5) scored below average, 33% (6) scored average, and 50% (9) scored above average for grade level norms in the fall. These results told me that whole group instruction would be ineffective within my classroom because many students may be lost, while others would be engaged, and some would be bored. By differentiating instruction through small group, I kept all learners engaged at the appropriate level.

 

Our baseline Fountas and Pinnell reading benchmark, that was given in October, provided data that showed five students reading at pre-reading level, nine students reading on grade level, and five students reading above grade level. Using this data, I created similar leveled groups for guided reading in my classroom in order to create specific instruction for each group to help them move forward.

 

In my district, we used the Reading Street series to teach the curriculum standards.  The Unit 1 Benchmark, that was done in September, echoed the themes noted from the MAP and Fountas and Pinnell data.  The four areas of reading achievement that were assessed using this benchmark were letter naming, phonological awareness, word knowledge, and listening comprehension. Five students scored below level and thirteen students scored on-level in phonological awareness.  50% of the class scored on/or above- level for letter recognition. Sixteen students scored on or above-level in comprehension with two falling below. Five students were unfamiliar with all eight words they needed to know at that point in kindergarten.  These results told me that the students in my classroom encompassed a range of needs that could only be addressed appropriately through small group instruction with specific teaching points.

 

The letters and sounds assessment, a district assessment,  provided data to show that students within my classroom ranged from struggling to name letters to reading and understanding text.  Knowing letters and sounds is foundational in beginning reading.  By teaching guided reading with specific teaching points, I targeted the students who were struggling with letter recognition and sounds and provided them activities to continue to build this knowledge.  For those that knew all letters, sounds, and were reading it was imperative to push them to continue to improve in their reading achievement.

 

In my district, we used a word study curriculum called Words Their Way.  The spelling inventory, conducted in October using Words Their Way inventory, showed that six students were emergent in their word building skills.  This data told me that they were not able to recognize letter sounds, and would, therefore, struggle to decode words while reading. Continual support through this curriculum helped students with decoding skills for each word.  Using word study during guided reading enriched this curriculum and improved student reading skills.  Regular use of running records and anecdotal notes provided up to date information to assist in the planning of specific teaching points, daily.  I looked at strengths and weaknesses, in all students, in order to challenge them to grow as readers. Differentiating guided reading instruction helped to meet the needs of all learners within my classroom, those below, on, and above level.