Rationale for Research

Reading instruction has always been a huge emphasis at Cardinal Valley, but at the same time, my greatest teaching struggle. Our teaching schedule calls for two reading blocks: Whole Group and Small Group Reading. Whole Group reading instruction is usually organized by our school's reading program, but Small Group instruction is planned by the teacher. Since I know my greatest weakness as a teacher is reading instruction, my Small Group plans need a new look. When it came time to select a topic for this research project, I immediately chose to focus on an aspect of Small Group Reading.

The reason I chose to focus on reading instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) is simple. Seventy-one percent of the student population at CVE is Hispanic and more than fifty percent of our students are ELLs. In the intermediate grades, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension are the central focus of reading instruction, and are all quite challenging for ELLs. I wanted to enhance my reading instruction to improve my students' reading abilities.