Action Research Project: First Grade Comprehension By: Carissa Davis

Action Research Question Ms. McInvale assigned me to work with two of her higher level students, focusing on comprehension, or higher-order thinking. She wanted these students to be challenged beyond the text. The students were currently on a reading level I, and expected to be at a reading level J by the end of the year. Question: What are the best practices to improve two first grade students’ comprehension skills, moving them from reading level I to reading level J?

Best Practices Analytical thinking: step-by-step approach (Garner, 2014) Repetitious practice: practice makes perfect (Garner, 2014) Making meaning of the information, creating new ideas from meanings, and acting on those ideas; relating new ideas to past experiences (Garner, 2014) Jigsaw strategy: in groups where each has a different topic; students teach one another what they learned (Reading Rockets, 2014) Introducing morpheme first (Network Recording Player- Comprehension- Going Beyond Fluency, 2014)

Pre-test Data Student Comprehension Strategy Use Survey (Teaching Children to Read, 2012): 15 questions, responding 1 for never, 2 for sometimes, and 3 for always Student E: never checks memory of the story parts, never stops and checks for understanding of ideas, never outlines story to remember what is read, never relates what is read to own experiences Student S: never stops to see if what is read makes sense, never asks questions about the story to see how well it is understood, never checks memory of story parts, never stops to think about ideas fitting together in the story, never outlines the story, does not try to picture the words in mind Reading Comprehension Worksheet (Itsy Bitsy Fun, 2014): short passage on goldfish and four short questions Student E: missed one question, scoring a 75% Student S: got all questions right, scoring a 100%

Strategies Activating prior knowledge: draw information from previous experiences Questioning: focus on the theme or main topic of the story Analyzing text structure: discuss what they think will happen in the text and how these events will relate to the main ideas of the story Creating mental or visual images: prompt students to visualize or think on past experiences that relate to the text; look through the pictures and predict what will happen Summarizing: state the main points in a concise form Teaching Children to Read, 2012

Mid-point Data PARIS (Teaching Children to Read, 2012): Three Little Kittens Predict: What do you think this text is about when you look at the cover? Ask questions: What questions do you have when you look at the pictures? Retell: What were the most important events? Infer: What can you take away from the book that was not directly written? Summarize: What is the main point of the text? Main Idea & Three Details (Teachers Pay Teachers, 2014): Henry and Mudge Outline of story Main Idea: the building block for what is in the book (ice cream cone) Supporting details: added to the story that develop the main idea (Ice cream scoops) The Five “W’s” (Great Schools, 2014) Who, what, when, where, why

Posttest Data Question Cube (Teachers Pay Teachers, 2014): This book is about… This book reminds me of.. I wonder… I liked when… I did not like when… My favorite part was… Student E: Hungry, Hungry Sharks Student S: Saving the Rainforest Final Test (Have Fun Teaching, 2014): The King of the Jungle Student E: answered all questions correctly Student S: answered all questions correctly

Progress

Reflection What Worked Student Comprehension Strategy Use Survey PARIS Strategy The Five “W’s” Choosing level J texts What Should Improve Vocabulary lesson with morphemes Jigsaw strategy: each individually work on one part, then come together to share More assessments throughout similar to the final assessment

Further Questions What comprehension strategies would you recommend? Would you have done anything differently? Do you think longer sessions would have been more beneficial?

References Garner, K. (2014). Alabama Reading Association Conference. Great Schools (2014). Retrieved from grade/writing/?start=30http:// grade/writing/?start=30 Have Fun Teaching (2014). Retrieved from worksheets/reading-comprehension-worksheets/first-grade-reading-comprehension-worksheets/first- grade-reading-comprehension-worksheet-king-of-the-junglehttp:// worksheets/reading-comprehension-worksheets/first-grade-reading-comprehension-worksheets/first- grade-reading-comprehension-worksheet-king-of-the-jungle Itsy Bitsy Fun (2014). Retrieved fromhttp:// ts.pdfhttp:// ts.pdf Rasinski, T. Comprehension- Going Beyond Fluency (2014). Retrieved from Reading Rockets (2014). Retrieved from comprehensionhttp:// comprehension Reutzel, R. & Cooter, R. (2012). Teaching Reading Comprehension. Teaching Children to Read (p ). Pearson. Teachers Pay Teachers (2014). Retrieved from Comprehension-Question-Cube http:// Comprehension-Question-Cube Teachers Pay Teachers (2014). Retrieved from Main-Idea-Ice-Cream-Cone http:// Main-Idea-Ice-Cream-Cone