Independent Reading in Kindergarten Students An action research project by: Christy Stevens Governor Teacher’s Network Participant

Purpose My focus is to see if certain independent reading strategies will improve student reading achievement in Kindergarten.

What does Independent Reading mean in Kindergarten? Read Independently (read pictures, find words, recognize letters, retell a story, listen to a story and follow along, and eventually read fluently) Read to a partner Read to an adult (R.E.D. folders)

How will I do this? I first assessed students using the DIBELS reading assessment tool and will look specifically at the TRC results. I will implement the independent reading strategies within my reading centers. I will meet with children discussing one book a week and hold independent conferences at least twice a week to focus on oral retell skills. Read one book a day and ask students to listen for a “WOW” word to go on our “WOW Word” bulletin board. I will rotate books out of their book bags one time a week. I will progress monitor my struggling students every ten or twenty days and note changes. I will administer the middle of the year assessment in December and take note of growth. I will use a survey to assess student’s attitudes towards reading to assure that students are enjoying reading independently.

The change I am implementing… I have placed an independent reading time within the reading centers I already utilize in my kindergarten classroom at least three times a week. I conference with students independently or in small groups during their independent reading time guiding students on good literature to read, asking them to retell a story, and/or monitoring the reading skills they are supposed to be practicing. Work with students one time weekly on reading book reports (R.E.D. folders).

Beginning Stages…Collecting Books & Ipod Shuffles

Read Everyday (R.E.D.) Folders

What does independent reading look like?

What does partner reading look like?

What does listening to reading look like?

What does a R.E.D. book report look like?

What does an individual reading conference look like?

WOW Word Wall

A big thanks to… Craig Casper for the Ipod shuffles donation. Gary & Susan Casper, Kim Kirby, Heather Matthews, Ashley Collins, Michelle Bobo, Jennifer Pierce, Diana Arnold, Renee Wagner, & Lori Cowper for book donations. Jojo Nichols for the Read Everyday Folder idea. Shannon Long for helping me determine how to use the Ipod shuffles. Ms. Combo for helping me sort books and implement this research.