Guided Reading
Planning for Differentiation
Reflection
IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING
Through my action research, I experienced the benefits of implementing purposely planned guided reading lessons. Prior to action research, I was unsure about what texts to select for each group and what to skills to teach to improve student reading achievement. By regularly completing running records and analyzing the students reading behaviors, I was able to select appropriate tasks for each group. After looking at the data each week, I referred to the F & P Literacy Continuum to select the skill for the following lesson. Using purposefully planned lessons and teaching specific skills based on the group's needs, students benefited and made connections from week to week. By using a two-day lesson, I was able to maximize my time with each group and provide more time for instruction and reading. Prior to action research, I was busy scrambling to organize materials and thinking of appropriate questions rather than focusing on student's reading. During my research, I completed one running record with each student per week. I looked at each student individually and made decisions to move them to the next reading level or plan specific teaching points based on data. Before action research, I was not organized when completing running records, and I did not immediately analyze the data to make changes in instruction or move students when appropriate. By changing my focus and planning specific lessons for each group during action research, I saw a positive impact on student reading achievement.
IMPACT ON CURRENT TEACHING
Action research has impacted my current teaching as a first-year kindergarten teacher. Prior to action research, I was unsure of how to use the Literacy Continuum for planning and picking appropriate skills to teach for each group. I was also not confident in deciding whether a student was making progress and ready to change levels. Action research provided me the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the Literacy Continuum and implement the specific skills for each level into my guided reading lessons. Coming into this year, I was familiar with guided reading and the format of a basic lesson, but I did not have the skills to teach a guided reading lesson appropriate for beginning readers. At the start of the year, I was concerned because more than 50% of my class was not able to identify all 26 letters and sounds. They were not ready to begin decoding and reading words. After action research, I am confident that what I was doing during the guided reading block was appropriate and benefitting my students because they were all reading and making progress. The guided reading time with each small group was very limited and needed to be maximized to its full potential. For this to happen, I had to create an organized guided reading binder that housed all my lessons, skills, and data for each group. With this binder, I knew exactly where to find specific information and resources. I also developed independent activities for the students to complete when not at my table. During action research, I was able to maximize my time because students had learned the routine of using the independent activities each week to review skills. During action research, I found a need in my students, researched, and collaborated to find ways to meet this need, created a plan, implemented the plan, and collected data to improve my overall instruction as an educator and plan to continue to use this method both now and in the future.
IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
During action research, I had the opportunity to expand my professional development and collaborate with numerous stakeholders about guided reading. At the beginning of the year, I had a brief understanding of what I needed to be doing for my students and the resources to do so. Through action research, I learned from multiple experts with experience in guided reading as well as peers who have conducted action research before. Through reflection and collaboration, I learned the importance of staying organized and using resources to make the right decisions for students. Action research also improved my communication with parents. I was able to confidently communicate with parents on how their child was progressing in reading. I could explain where they were at and what we needed to be doing to get them to the next step. I also provided resources for all students to take home and read with family, and I specifically made activities for my students who were below grade level for extra practice at home. Action research allowed me to collaborate with external stakeholders and reflect on my teaching to become a better educator.
NEXT STEPS
Conducting action research stressed the importance of having a data-driven classroom. By using student data from day 1 and forming relationships with all students, my instruction across the curriculum will have a strong foundation. I not only plan to use F & P benchmarks, running records, and classroom surveys in my future teaching, but I also want to use data from state assessments, letter/sound recognition, and word study that was mentioned in my rationale. My action research confirmed a positive impact on reading achievement by using purposeful planning, so I will plan to continue to use the F & P Literacy Continuum and lesson structure for the duration of the year and begin the same way next year. During action research, I had to make changes along the way and would possibly refine these pieces at the beginning of the process when conducting action research again. Due to snow days, I had to move around the days I was collecting data to make sure that all students were receiving the same instruction and data points regardless of the day. I also began my action research wanting to conduct a cold read and a warm read running record with each kid every week. I started using that structure the first day and found that the time I had did not allow for this to happen, so I changed my data collection to one running record per student per week. I would make these changes in the future. I still wonder what results I would see if I could compare a cold running record prior to instruction to a warm running record after instruction and practice. Would I have clearer data? I wonder if I would see an impact on students' spring MAPS scores after action research? I also wonder what percentage of growth showcased in the data I collected was due to action research and what could be attributed to the normal progression in students' reading abilities. I wonder what my data would look like if I implemented purposeful planning at the beginning of the year. The structure and intentional planning provided so many skills and opportunities for students to grow in their reading abilities. Knowing my students and their abilities will provide me with a starting point to purposefully plan my guided reading lessons to maximize student engagement and achievement in future years. With continued experience throughout the years, I will be able to develop my lessons and confidence in guided reading.