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IRAP Inquiry Project

Phase 6-Developing an Action Plan

Gina Boyd

Gosport Elementary School

ACTION PLAN

 

As a result of my inquiry project, I considered several changes to my current instruction and practices. 

  1. I would consider using the Repeated Reading Cycle with students in my classroom who struggle with fluency.  It was a valuable framework for working with the least-fluent readers. The procedure was time consuming and highly individualized, so some modification would have to be made if the method is to be used with several students. I would model the procedure for an instructional assistant several times until he/she felt comfortable with the process then work closely with them and guide them as they worked with a few students in the room.  More students could be served if two or more adults use the procedure with them.  I would not assign students to the instructional aid exclusively. Instead, I would alternate cycles between the classroom teacher and the instructional aid for each student.
  2. Many of my students would benefit from setting goals for rate and accuracy and tracking their accomplishments reaching those goals.  It may not be necessary to use the entire Repeated Reading Cycle with them, but setting goals for reading may increase their motivation to improve.  I have known for sometime that letting students track their progress gives them a sense of responsibility and ownership. Using the procedure with Alan clarified my thinking about this, and I will be using goal setting with my students. I anticipate goal setting will take some scaffolding, but once students are used to the procedure I think it will work well in my classroom.
  3. Along with setting goals, another change I would consider making is changing how I use timed reading the classroom. I would have the children choose a short passage to read timing the entire passage instead of timing the reading for one minute only. The purpose would be to separate the fluency practice from the DIBELS assessment format they are familiar with.
  4. The data suggests that repeated reading with a more skilled reader is a worthwhile use of instructional time.  To facilitate the procedure more often with more students, I would consider using repeated reading with recorded texts.  Students like Alan would profit from and probably enjoy listening to more texts on CD or cassette tape. One issue I have with this is that the texts that are commercially available are too fast for my slowest readers to follow along with. I think I would make arrangement for stronger readers in my class or students in the upper grades to record texts for my students. It would benefit both the listener to hear a stronger reader and the recorder who would have authentic fluency practice.
  5. Finally, I would consider teaching students the difference between a DIBELS assessment where self-correcting can harm the score and reading for meaning in all other texts. This may sound as if I am negative about or trying to disregard the DIBELS testing, but that’s not the case. I see the value in the assessment; however, some good reading strategies like rereading and self-correcting can lower a student’s rate score. For students who read slowly, but are beginning to read for meaning (like Alan) it may be helpful to point out the difference between an assessment for fluency and reading for meaning. That isn’t to say students shouldn’t always be reading for meaning, but making them aware of the difference may improve the DIBELS score.

 

 

PERSONAL REFLECTION

            This project began with the very academic purpose of finding out how repeated reading can improve student reading. It became a personal journey as I watched Alan’s reading habits slowly change. His habit of reading words based on the first letter hindered his comprehension when he read text at any level.  Now he reads with more accuracy and better comprehension because he reads for meaning. I don’t know if the repeated reading cycle is solely responsible for Alan’s growth, but I know it played an important role.  I wish I could describe in words what it felt like to hear Alan read fluently on a passage for the first time. It was almost eerie, but in a good way. I remember Alan looking up at me with surprise and pride the first time he read a text and sounded like his peers. I’ll never forget that moment.