Reading Comprehension
5th Grade - CADRE
For my data collection, my quantitative data focused on students’ text levels, selection test scores, and text dependent analysis response scores; while my qualitative data relied on field notes I gathered during guided reading groups and writing conferences.
When looking at my students’ text level scores in the fall I was not very surprised by my findings. I had a few students reading above grade level (28%), a majority who were on grade level (40%), and a handful who were below (32%). Since I work with fifth graders, it is rare for them to jump a few text levels because they are reaching the adult reading stage. Since all of my students were on target with fluency, this led to me really focus on their comprehension of the more challenging text through close reading. After winter text leveling, I found that a lot my students who were on grade level jumped to above grade level, but my below grade level group did not change that much. 28% of students were below grade level, 24% on grade level, and 48% above grade level. This drew my focus as to what strategies needed to change for that group to be more successful and at least reach grade level by the end of the year. Finally, after completing the last text leveling I was pleased to see that over 50% of my students were above grade level, 22% were on, and only 20% were below grade level. While this is not a perfect scenario, each individual student showed growth from fall to spring. There was also significant growth when comparing the percentages of students below, on, and above in the fall to the spring.
The next piece of quantitative data I used for my research was selection test scores. Selection tests consist of 17 multiple choice questions (both vocabulary and comprehension) that are based on a short story we had been focusing on that week. When looking at the data you can see an almost upside down bell curve. The class average started at 15.34 on the 27th of January, dipped to a low of 13.52 on the 3rd of March, and ended strong with a high of 15.64 on the 7th of April. Each short story ranged in genre which played a part in the engagement of students and their comprehension of the story itself. The lowest average (13.52) was a story about Mahalia Jackson. My class only read this story twice and there was little interest. This was seen through class discussion and student attitudes. The week with the highest average, 15.64 was a result from a story about the Hindenburg. This had very high student interest, which I believe played a major role in their engagement and comprehension of this specific piece of text.
The last piece of quantitative data I used was the average ideas and organization scores on Text Dependent Analysis responses. Students completed a baseline, midterm, and final piece on all fictional passages. As the year progressed, so did their scores. I believe this is due to the increasing familiarity and comfortability with writing a piece such as a TDA. Students started with not truly understanding the purpose or need for structured evidence writing. Through the use of writing conferences, I was able to set small focus points and goals with each student on a specific area of the rubric they wanted to improve upon. This gave students a sense of ownership of their work and a purpose for their TDA writing.
Each piece of quantitative data built upon itself. As students were becoming more confident readers through the use of close reading, their text level and selection test scores improved. Students gained the ability to reread a text multiple times to build understanding and look for clues about the story while reading. Through the use of field notes during guided reading groups and after text leveling, students reported the different signposts they had seen and other key details they noticed while reading. From the fall text level to the winter, the above grade level percentage increased by 20%. I believe this increase is a result of the Notice and Note Sign Posts and rereading strategies being introduced. After introducing the different sign posts with Pixar shorts students began to take ownership and look for those different points in a story. When text leveling students would go back and reread if they weren't sure of what they had already read. I really encouraged students to go back into the text to find their answers instead of just relying on what they remember. This is a skill they can continue to use throughout their education and will be a great asset to them.
At the beginning of my study I had students read the passage for the Selection Test only two times. When applying my close reading strategies with my class I began to increase the number of reads we did with the passage. We started with simply listening to the story one day and then silent reading it another day before taking the test. The next week, we again, listened to the story one day, buddy read it the next day, then silent read it the final day before taking the test. This showed an increase in test scores, which made me believe we were on the right track. Finally, I decided that the first day my class would listen to the story without any discussion afterwords. The second day they would buddy read it and have a mini discussion talking about the passage and what they had learned. On the third day, I would read the story to them and stop to ask different questions about the passage to give students time to discuss with me and their classmates. Finally, on the fourth day students read the passage to themselves. By the time students took the test on Friday (day five), they had read the story four times. They then had the choice to read the story again before taking the test or using it as a resource if needed. This method really showed improvement towards the end of this study, which can be seen by the increase in the class average score on selection tests.
By using the close reading skills they acquired, their ability to pick out specific evidence and key points in the text for a TDA also improved. It was great to see growth in all areas by improving students comprehension, which can be seen on the Selection Test scores, students' text levels also increased. By improving students' reading comprehension and giving them the needed close reading strategies they had the key strategies to be able to synthesize a piece of text and construct a TDA. As students learned more close reading strategies they were able to utilize them and improve their TDA scores.
Throughout my action research I met with guided reading small groups and had one-on-one writing conferences with my students. During guided reading groups I focused on reviewing close reading strategies and the Notice and Note Signposts. By using complex chapter books students reread chapters to gain a deeper understanding of what was going on in the story and why the author had written the story the way he/she did. This gave students a second opportunity to ask questions and have a smaller group setting to have deeper discussion about a piece of text they were all reading. Writing conferences worked the same way, but instead the student was leading the conversation based on the previous TDA he/she had written. Each student would reread their TDA and analyze the rubric they had been rated on. Next, students would pick an area they would like to focus on the next week and have a goal for themselves for the next TDA. Students did not write a TDA every week because of its complexity, but each goal was evaluated after each TDA was complete. As students began to utilize close reading strategies such as rereading and looking deeper into the text, constructing TDAs became second nature. Students seemed to become more aware while reading and choosing ideas and evidence when writing became easier.