Background

I was new to teaching grade three and was anxious to do the best I could in preparing my grade three students for the EQAO testing. I also wanted to begin to instill a lifelong love of reading in my students. Reading has always been a large part of my life (both for pleasure and professionally) and I wanted to pass that along to these students so that they too could begin to see themselves as lifelong readers.

This action research project came about when I was given the opportunity to join a new team being formed out of the Cayuga Support Centre. Under the leadership of Christine Stewart, six of us came together in late 2001. We separated into two groups of three and each team began to focus on a specific area. Working with Jo-Ann Duns and Cheryl Lynn Boyko-Summerfield, I wanted to find out if using a structured Guided Reading programme would improve the reading skills of my students.

I began the year by testing each of the students on their current reading levels using a running record based on books that had been levelled within the Reading Recovery system. Based on the test results, each child was given a book box and 6 to 8 books at their own independent level for practice reading in the classroom as well as at home in the evenings. The children were encouraged to take a different book home each night and time was provided in the classroom for practice reading on a daily basis. Book boxes were changed every 5 to 10 days or when all the books had been read. Reading a book more than once was encouraged; the more practice the better.

I monitored student reading on a weekly basis by hearing each student read a book of their choice from the book box to me. About once a month, a running record was taken on that child, using an unseen book at the same independent level. I recorded each child's progress on a graph. This visual record included the level of achievement that month as well as the title of the book. (Appendix #1) Once the child was reading competently above 95% accuracy, they were moved up a level and the books in their book box reflected this new ability.

Late in the Fall of 2001 a new system of levelling was introduced based on the research of Fountas and Pinnell(1999). I changed over to this new system from the old Reading Recovery system and continued with the same process to monitor the student's reading progress. In December of 2001 we received a guided reading program that was set up for the primary classroom. This gave me a complete series of reading materials as well as Teacher directions and made it very easy to implement the Guided Reading program into my classroom and Language program.

Question: How do I effectively implement a Guided Reading programme in my classroom to improve individual student reading levels?

Research Process

The children were already levelled and reading independently and it was an easy transition to instructional levels and groupings for Guided Reading. Four groups were created with a combination of both grades - as the children worked at their own pace in reading it was not unusual to have grade 2's reading with the grade 3's and visa versa. Two children were not included as they were reading well below grade level and were working through an accommodated Language program.

These groupings were intended to be fluid - allowing the children to move up or down as their reading abilities necessitated.

Our classroom schedule was set up in such a way that allowed large blocks of time (up to 2 hours) for Language every other day. This allowed time for the following schedule;

• 15 mins - Mini Lesson (whole class)
• 25 mins - Guided Reading session with Group 1
• 10 mins - monitoring of working students
• 25 mins - Guided Reading session with Group 2
• 10 mins - monitoring of working students
• 20 mins - sharing time

The children were given a number of activities to work on independently while I was working with a Guided Reading group. Usually 2 to 3 activities had to be completed within the given time.

These might include;

• Journals
• Reading responses
• Story retells
• Spelling activities
• Working with words activities
• Science or Social Studies activities
• Independent reading

The children were given clear expectations for the sessions and expected to work quietly and effectively during the allotted time.

Results

Right away I noticed an improvement in the children's abilities to work independently and their levels of confidence in their own abilities (when not able to ask for help they were much more able to solve problems on their own or develop coping strategies that worked for them).

During the Guided Reading sessions, the children were focussed on the story books as well as the activities. Using the activities suggested in the guided reading program we were able to work through the stories, both learning from them and enjoying the process.

Listening to individual children's reading I noticed an improvement in many areas of their reading. They were becoming more fluent readers as well as having a better understanding of what they were reading. I also noticed that many children chose reading as an independent activity. Books were being brought from home to share as well as being signed out of the Library for enjoyment. I noticed children reading at recess and one boy in the class would try to read during work times - hiding the book inside his desk! The children were more eager to share their reading with friends and the children were more on task during Independent Reading Time. These observations let me to believe that the children were developing into lifelong lovers of reading. I ensured that there was always a large number of books available for reading in the classroom - in easy to assess bins around the room and I also increased the number of chapter books available to the children.

Statistically, there was steady progress through the reading levels by each child. When testing the children on a monthly basis, I could track how quickly they were working through the levels and at times skipping right over levels some months. Every child in the class was progressing on a monthly basis - some in leaps and bounds, others more slowly and steadily. I also observed an increase in fluency - the children were reading much more effectively, using the reading strategies appropriate for the grade level, independently. Fewer stops were noted as were fewer appeals for assistance; therefore the reading became more enjoyable to listen to and the children were able to increase their comprehension following the reading. Oral and written comprehension was much better - fewer prompts were needed during retells and the children were including more personal reflections and higher level thinking was evident in written answers.

Conclusions

Based on the work that the children completed throughout the year and the progress that each individual child made in their own reading, I feel confident in saying that the Guided Reading Program implemented in my classroom helped to improve individual student reading levels. I feel confident that the children's reading abilities will continue to progress through the next years and that reading will continue to be an important part of their lives.

I feel that I have gained confidence in my ability to teach reading in the upper Primary grades and know that what has been accomplished this year will continue to affect my teaching in the years to come.

Next Steps

I plan to continue the Guided Reading program next year; I will again have a combined 2/3 class. I hope to refine the program and continue to monitor individual reading levels closely. I also hope to encourage the children to extend their reading experiences into more independent activities such as; performing the story as a play, creating different ways of displaying their knowledge of what they have learned through reading (posters, mini-books, etc), and allowing then to spend more time sharing their experiences in reading.

Being able to read is like opening a door to a wonderful world full of interesting experiences and gives the reader the chance to gain knowledge and understanding essential to growth and development.

A child who can read, can do anything, go anywhere and become anything they want.

References

Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (1999). Matching Books to Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.