IMPACT OF READ NATURALLY SUMMER AND FALL 2013 ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AND EDU604 CULMINATION PROJECT DOANE COLLEGE SUE SCHLICHTEMEIER-NUTZMAN, PH.D. By Lucas Apfelbeck

WHAT IS READ NATURALLY???  Read Naturally’s programs help develop and support the five essential components of reading, identified by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Read Naturally’s selection of reading-intervention programs can help you address the needs of a broad range of at-risk readers.  Read Naturally's structured intervention programs combine teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring — three strategies that research has shown are effective in improving students' reading proficiency.

HOW IT WORKS 1. Get ready to read. Pick any story. Read the title, look at the picture, and think about what you might learn by reading the story. 2. Read for an adult. Read the story while an adult times you for one minute and counts the words you don't know. Finish reading the story, and then talk about what you learned. 3. Mark your cold score in blue. Get your cold score by subtracting the number of words you underlined from the number of words you read in a minute. 4. Read alone, and raise your score. Read the story several times alone, without listening to iPod, until you can read the story well. Used from:

HOW IT WORKS (CONTINUED) 5. Read along with the iPod. Read aloud with the iPod three times or until you learn all the words. If completed, you can record yourself and listen to your recording. 6. Mark your hot score in red. Get your hot score by subtracting the number of words you didn't know from the number of words you read in a minute. Write your hot score on the red line below the story. 7. Take the Quick Quiz. Circle the correct answers and check with a teacher. Teacher will mark comprehension progress. Used from:

DEMOGRAPHICS OF WESTBROOK ELEMENTARY LevelNumber of students PK50 KG56 1 st 61 2 nd 61 3 rd 65 4 th 65 5 th 69 6 th 71 The Information below was found on the Official Nebraska Government website. Student Enrollment

DEMOGRAPHICS OF WESTBROOK ELEMENTARY (CONT’D.) Ethnic GroupNumberPercent White % Asian153.0% American Indian10.2% Hispanic377.4% Black7314.7% Two or more races316.2% Total498100% SchoolPercent Westbrook50.40% % of students on free and reduced lunch in Additional Information Students with Disabilities (Fall 2008) = 21% English Language Learners ( ) = 2.33% Source:

LITERATURE REVIEW: CASE STUDY Dr. Dave Heistad conducted a case study with grade 3 students who participated in a study of Read Naturally during the school year. All students in the study received classroom instruction, along with Read Naturally in addition all throughout the entire school year. Attached below is a figure used in Dr. Heistad’s case study comparing fluency for students who used Read Naturally in comparison to those who did not: The Effects of Read Naturally on Grade 3 Reading: A study in the Minneapolis Public Schools (2005)

ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS Statement or Observation:  Students are not making significant progress improving their reading skills. Primary Question:  What is the impact of Read Naturally on reading skills? Guiding Question:  How does it affect comprehension?  How does it affect fluency?

RESEARCH DESIGN/DATA COLLECTION Purpose of Action Research:  The purpose of this action research was to examine the effectiveness of Read Naturally as an extra reading support for students in fourth grade, improving their reading skills in the areas of comprehension and fluency.

DEMOGRAPHICS Figure 1: Percentage comparison of non-sped male and female participants to sped male and female participants. Figure 1 (above) provides a view of the percentage of both 4 th grade male and 4 th grade female participants who were given pre and post assessments using Aimsweb in the 2013 study. The figure shows that 8 non-sped students (2 male, 6 female) and 9 sped students (6 male, 3 female) participated in the study.

DATA BREAKDOWN Tier 1 Figure 3: Tier 1 students’ pre and post data. Figure 3 (above) shows Tier 1 student growth rate from the beginning of the year to their post six-week assessments. All students, with the exception of Student 4 in fluency, increased overall in both fluency and comprehension.

DATA BREAKDOWN (CONTINUED) Tier 2 Figure 4: Tier 2 students’ pre and post data. Figure 4 (above) shows Tier 2 student growth rates from the beginning of the year to their post six-week assessments. All students, with the exception of Student 2 in comprehension, increased overall in both fluency and comprehension. Student 3 had a significant gain in fluency, fluctuating the overall growth of Tier 1 & Tier 2 students’ fluency mean substantially.

DATA BREAKDOWN (CONTINUED) Tier 3 Figure 5: Tier 3 students’ pre and post data. Figure 5 (above) shows Tier 3 student growth rates from the beginning of the year to their post six-week assessments. Tier 3 students received their reading curriculum and instruction in their homeroom, as well as Read Naturally for 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week. All students, with the exception of Student 1 and Student 4 in comprehension, improved on their fluency and comprehension.

RESULTS Figure 6: Mean of student improvement comparison Figure 6 (Above) indicates the overall improvement from the students’ pre and post six-week assessments used in the 2013 study. Growth for every group in fluency and comprehension were determined by every student’s individual performance based on their pre and post assessments over fluency and comprehension. After determining the rate of improvement, if any, students’ scores were averaged to find the results

RESULTS (CONTINUED) Figure 7: Mean of gender improvement comparison Figure 7 (Above) shows the overall mean of growth in comprehension and fluency broken into the controlled gender group vs. the gender group who used Read Naturally.

RESULTS (CONTINUED) Figure 8: Read Naturally vs. Non-Read Naturally students improvement Figure 8 correlated to results in a recent study, The Effects of Read Naturally on Grade 3 Reading: A study in the Minneapolis Public Schools (2005), Dr. Dave Heistad conducted a case study with grade 3 students who participated in a study of Read Naturally during the school year.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION  What does the data represent?  What do the impact of the data?  How will this affect my instruction?  Questions?