1. Male 8 th graders at Kingsview Middle School have demonstrated a lack of interest in reading. This lack of reading for pleasure and their struggles with reading text in the classroom has lead to a drop in their MAP-R, MSA and overall scores on quizzes and tests. Because of this drop in performance these students have been brought to the forefront in reference to our school improvement plan. The purpose behind the action research is to find the root causes of this drop in their scores and overall learning in 8 th grade. Some of the data we will look at will be the circulation numbers for the 8 th grade males in comparison to their peers. We will also look at if they are reading during DEAR time, if they are reading the 25 independent reading novels which is a requirement throughout middle school in English classes, and what if any genre of book interests them. In looking at this data we hope to find the root causes of this decline and some insight on how to motivate these students to start reading and improve their learning and overall scores. Gretchen Ryland 5/2011 SLM541

2. Problem Statement Many of our 8 th grade boys are reluctant and unmotivated readers. The group includes African American, Caucasian and Hispanic students. This group will be the focus of my action research. The circulation numbers, personal experience and a survey will be used as data to support the concern and to implement a plan of action. I will be working in conjunction with the media specialist, a few 8 th grade English teachers and the 8 th grade reading teacher. The focus of our action research will be our 8 th grade reluctant male readers. I will be giving a pre-survey to the 8 th grade boys in English and reading classes to gather authentic data to help improve their motivation and try to motivate them to read. I will also be working with the 8 th grade reading teacher to assess areas of strength and interest. I will also give a post-survey to see if there is any progress being made. I will continue to follow up with this next year. Research Questions 1. How often are 8 th grade boys reading independently (at school)? 2. What percentage of each subgroup is at a BASIC level for both MAP- R and MSAs? 3. Why aren’t they reading like their peers? 4. What can we as a community do to motivate them to read on their own?

3. Background Information Kingsview Middle school is located in Germantown, MD. We are one of the top performing middle schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) system. Our population is around 900 students and is diverse although the majority of our population is Caucasian, our Asian, African American and Hispanic populations are growing. Families in the community tend to stay and having taught at the school for 13 years, I have taught many students and their siblings from the same family. Even with the consistency in the community and the overall support of parents there are still problems. Motivating our male population to read continues to be a challenge and a problem.

4. Research Plan Data Collection Tools Activity The stakeholders in this data collection are the students, the staff, the administration, the parents and the community. All members of the community need to take a look at what they are doing to help students succeed. Questionnaires/Surveys The following survey would be given to 8 th grade English classes. The focus would be on the boys in the class and the data would be triangulated along with their MAP-R scores and MSA scores along with teacher interviews, teacher observations, and finally random student interviews. The purpose of the survey is to get to the core of why certain male students in the 8 th grade do not read independently and what types of programs/information or incentives will encourage them to read.

5. STUDENT SURVEY This is a survey about reading. Please answer the questions from your point of view and honestly. Your opinion counts. Thank you for taking the time to do this! PART 1 – Check underneath the statement that describes you. ALWAYS SOMEWHAT NEVER I read. 2. I read during DEAR time. 3. I go the media center. 4. I check out books from the media center to read independently. 5. The media specialist for helps me choose books to read. PART 2 – Please write out your answers to the following questions. You can list your answers. 6. Why did you answer #1 the way you did? 7. What words come to mind when you think of the word READ? 8. If you were the teacher or the media specialist what would you do to encourage/help students read? 9. Do you feel welcomed in the media center? Why or why not? 10. What needs to change in the school to encourage students to read the required 25 independent reading novels?

6. Interviews Interviews will be held with the students (random male sample), teachers (English and reading to start), and other staff as needed (staff development teacher, media assistant, special education staff). The questions will be changed somewhat when interviewing the random sampling of students (these questions will focus on them and what they see as solutions to helping them improve and be confident in their independent reading). The interview would last approximately 15 minutes. This will incorporate time to set up the space, take notes, and give all parties a chance to reflect on the interview process and the information gathered. A typical interview would revolve around the following questions. 1. Who are the reluctant/struggling readers and what traits do they have in common? 2. When do these students read? And what do they read during this time? 3. How has reading been presented to them in their classes? 4. Have the students been taught reading strategies and been given a chance to use them in all of their classes? 5. If students do choose a book or other reading material, where do they get it from? Do they get it from the public library, a book store, the school media center? 6. What barriers do these students have in reference to their reading ability? 7. What incentive/s do these students have to improve interest in reading independently? 8. Do the students standardized test scores correlate to their reluctance/struggles in reading? 9. What has helped these types of students over the years? 10. Write down what you think the reasons are as to why our male 8 th grade students are not reading at the same rate as their peers. List any possible incentives or solutions you have found work in your classroom/media center/ or for your own encouragement in reference to reading independently.

7. Observations Observations will be made by the media specialist or the teachers. Observations would revolve around students preparation for DEAR time, the number of books they have read independently (25 is the requirement in MCPS), their participation in class as books/novels and plays are read, and finally what types of books the male students are choosing to check out of the media center if any. The observations could be written over a 1 to 2 week period where the observer uses a chart to record what they see from the male students in the class in regards to the choices of books they read independently, if they bring a book or reading material to DEAR time, how much time do they actually spend reading the material, and their overall behavioral response to reading on their own or in the classroom setting. The observations could be done by the media specialist twice a week for 8 weeks or by the teacher everyday for 4 weeks. This would provide consistent data and therefore the data would be more reliable. Archival Information This information will be pulled together by the team leaders, resource teachers, the media specialist and the special education department. The data that will be gathered will focus on students MAP-R and MSA scores, as well as circulation reports, anecdotal records of teachers, and past scores of the students. This information in part has been an ongoing focus of our school improvement plan as well, so the administration would need to give their insight as other data is gathered. All stake holders will need to be able to look at the data gathered for the findings as well as next steps. Looking at student scores over the 3 years (5 th -7 th grade data is readily available to us) and this data can be used to look at trends over time.

8. Dissemination Plan The findings will be shared with students first during small group meetings. They will be asked to comment and give feedback on what the data says to them. They will also be given the opportunity to share how they think we should proceed. Then the staff will be brought into the conversation through team meetings and department meetings again giving feedback on the data and what it tells them. The staff will brainstorm ideas of what changes should be made and how they should be implemented. Finally the community will be given the information at a PTSA meetings and through the newsletter that they receive monthly They will have the chance to give us their feedback and where they see us going with the changes. Once all of the feedback is gathered a small group including students, staff and the community will meet to begin putting the action plan into affect and start the process of change.

9. Literature Review The key points from the articles reviewed are the following. *Boys need to feel connected to what they are reading. *Boys need to find their relevance to the real world within the covers of a book. *Boys need to feel valued in the school community. *School climate affects overall achievement of its students.