If I Could Start All Over....

My first attempt at an action research project would best be described as a rollercoaster. I know. Not very creative, but its true! I looked at this project as a big scary rollercoaster, with flips and turns, passing through dark spots in a tunnel, going upside down, not being able to see what’s in front of you, and wondering when it’s going to end.

Now that I am in the middle of my project, I am kicking myself for not doing a few things “right.” There are quite a few changes I would have made if I could start all over. First, I would have also administered the Garfield Writing Attitude Survey. I gave my students the Reading survey, but since we have incorporated the Dialogue Journals, I am interested to see if students still maintain the same views on writing. Its no surprise that reading and writing are despised among intermediate students and getting them to write a paragraph can be like pulling teeth. However, my three girls can easily cover a whole page in their journal in fifteen minutes. Granted, they have complete control over what they are writing, and I am not critiquing every sentence written. Regardless, I want them to understand that they are WRITING! Now my boys aren’t as eager as my girls are, but again, that’s to be expected. However, all students produce enough writing to contribute to the conversation. I would have liked to compare their perspectives toward writing from the beginning and end of this project. I can almost guarantee their attitudes would have improved.

Next – student work. During my student teaching semester, I practically held onto all copies of student work for evidence. And if I didn’t keep the original, I made a copy. Somewhere in the chaos, I didn’t think so store my students’ work. Bummer. I do have quite a few work samples and pictures to refer to, but I am not satisfied with the amount that I have. If I could start over, I would have saved it all. Okay, maybe not all of it, but more than I have now!

My last change is not a big one, and would probably not make any difference at all, but I still would have liked to do it. I would have liked to provide my students with their journals, explain the role and purpose of their journals, then given them time to personalize them. Again, this would probably not affect the work inside the journal, but it might instill a sense of ownership and encouragement for my kiddos.

Overcoming Writer's Block

Now that my action research is well underway, it would only make sense that I hit a wall. The two activities I have focused on, narrow reading and dialogue journals, have been successful components of my small group reading instruction. The feedback from my students remains positive – they are still very excited to write in their journals, and they love learning science content in our reading block. However, I felt I have hit a roadblock. I thought I did not have any new information or data to report on. I did not want to blog for the purpose of blogging, and I felt I had not uncovered any monumental data. Things in my classroom, and the process of my action research project have been moving along steadily, amidst the recent transformation of small group reading.

I have finally established a routine during small group, and this is a huge feat in itself. My students are familiar with our routine as well, which helps them know what to expect so they can prepare for this hour of instruction. Dialogue journals are still completed by students on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I respond on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, some of my students have asked to have their journal on off days to share personal information with me. The fact that these students have felt so comfortable talking to me and sharing private stories with me is the exact reason I chose to incorporate this activity into our reading. Although my dialogue journals do not focus on any reading or writing skills, the role they play in the classroom is significant. Through these journals, I have developed very strong, genuine relationships with my students and I have learned more about them than I anticipated. My girls’ journals are more detailed and personal than the boys’, but that is to be expected. One thing I have found is my girls love talking to me about what I have written in their journals during recess, and any other “down time” we may have. The dialogue journals have helped create meaningful relationships with my students, which, in my opinion, is more important than anything else.

The Impact of Narrow Reading

Last year, my small group reading block was ran completely different than this year, and because of the drastic changes, I have struggled to implement my research project. During small group last year, I was able to dedicate 90 minutes to instruction; this year, I only have 60 minutes. As we all know, time is precious and every minute counts, so the loss of thirty minutes has really affected me and my plans for small group reading. I also had three reading groups, because I was lucky enough to have a reading interventionist and a special education teacher working with groups at this time. With three teachers working on small group instruction, I was able to separate my students into three ability groups with no more than eight students in each group. This year, however, I am not collaborating with a special education teacher, so my students have been divided into two groups of twelve students, and they work with a reading interventionist or myself.

Amidst the chaos in my professional and personal life, I have been able to squeeze in some informal interviews with my kiddos about small group reading. I am continuing to incorporate the narrow reading strategy into my small group instruction, but wanted to get some feedback from my students about this method. Here is a transcribed version of our discussion:

LK: Let’s talk about the reading we are doing during our small group time. What do you all notice about the texts we are reading?

Brian: They are like what we are learning about in science.

LK: You’re exactly right, Brian. What do you all think about that?

Anthony: I think its cool. I like reading about animals.

Jessica: I like reading more about the stuff we are learning in Science because it helps us remember more.

LK: Ok, great. I know what we read during small group is related to what we are studying in Science, but are you all getting bored with what we are reading? Is it too much Science for you?

Michelle: No, I don’t think so. I like learning about the different animals.

Karen: It helps me because we get to learn about it twice. And some of the stuff we learn in small group with you is different than what we learn in Science.

LK: Did you all notice that yesterday we read about sharks and their unique characteristics, but we focused on main idea, which is a reading skill? Have you ever studied Science content during reading time?

Kevin: I don’t think so. But in Science we don’t have time to learn all about each animal, and I like that we can with you in small group.

LK: That’s exactly the purpose of reading these Science related stories. I want you all to be able to make the connection between a Science text and reading skills, just like we did yesterday.

As illustrated in the interview, my students have been very receptive to the narrow reading strategy. I was worried they would eventually become bored with the emphasis on Science content, but I have yet to hear any complaints. In fact, they all seem very excited to learn more about our Science content. They are able to make stronger connections between texts and really love applying what they are learning. Through this activity, I hope these students realize that any text, whether it is related to science, social studies, or even math, requires application of reading skills. So far, the incorporation of Science content into our small group time has provided positive feedback. The incorporation of Science based text encourages greater student participation and more meaningful conversation. Finally, based on discussions with my students, they would much rather read about topics they are already interested and invested in, rather than random texts that do not mean anything to them.