Abstract

This teacher-researcher has described her use of the guided reading strategy in a combined Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten class. Her goal was to improve the reading levels of kindergarten students and have a positive impact on their perception of themselves as readers.

Why the quest for a question began?

After teaching Kindergarten for six years, I had learned how to introduce reading and writing skills and to challenge the students more with each year of teaching. With each year of teaching, I realized that the Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Senior Kindergarten (SK) students were capable of more, in regards to reading and writing, than most of us thought.

Upon moving to a school where parental involvement was high and children were entering with more Kindergarten readiness and after a year of Jolly Phonics which moved the students' reading abilities even further ahead, I knew I had to challenge my returning Senior Kindergartens with a richer and more productive language program. During the summer I took a half day Board sponsored Summer Institute on Guided Reading. I quickly saw that this was the challenge that the students and I needed.

Early in the Fall, while attending a Kindergarten Conversation Meeting, I was introduced to the concept of doing an Action Research Project on Guided Reading. Since I had already begun the ground work on Guided Reading, it seemed logical to formally research the concept and receive the time and support that was being offered to the Action Research group.

At first, my research question, formed with my grade 2 and grade 2/3 critical friend teachers indifferent schools began as: How do I implement Guided Reading in a JK/SK class? After a few weeks, I realized that that question was too narrow and not fully addressing what I was doing in the classroom. I reworked my question and felt more satisfied with the question:

How can I improve the reading levels of all my JK and SK students?

And so the quest began!

I was fortunate that my JK/SK class was split in October to a class of twenty students. Twelve were Senior Kindergarten students and eight were Junior Kindergarten students. There were thirteen boys and seven girls. My oldest SK was a boy born in March. My oldest JK was a boy born in May. The youngest SK was a boy born in October and the youngest JK was a girl born in December.

With the assistance of my critical friends Anne LaRoche and Jo-Ann Duns, my advisor, Christine Stewart and the Early Literacy Teacher, Janet Trull, I began to assess the reading level of my students and determine where I wanted them to be. Janet Trull came in and assessed my SK students' reading levels in September. To my surprise, the students were even better readers than I could have imagined. I had eleven returning SK's and one that moved in over the summer. Out of the twelve students, I had a D, E and F reader, six level A readers, and 3 level pre-A readers (Appendix A).

The first step was to level all my books in the class. With the assistance of Janet Trull, I leveled the books by permanently recording the levels on the front of the books. I separated the books into seven bins, one for each level, ranging from pre-A to E+. This was a time consuming task, but will never need to be repeated and saved time throughout the year, daily!

Secondly, I had to re-work my schedule to allow for Guided Reading, Individual Reading and Reading activities with a trained volunteer. I also had to make sure that all other aspects of the Kindergarten Program 1998 were being taught (Appendix B).

Thirdly, I found two reliable parent volunteers to be trained by Janet Trull in the "All Star Reader" program. They came into the classroom at least six times per month and took the students out to read 'just right' books from individual book bags, as well as to play language games like creating rhyme words with magnetic letters, sound concentration, writing and illustrating a rhyming sentence.

Fourthly, I gave each child a book bag which was stored in the classroom. The book bags included four to five 'just right books' and one or two books at a level above their independent reading level. Guided Reading books were added to the book bags for re-reading for a couple of weeks. Also included in the book bags were their Jolly Phonics sound books for regular individual review and any 'student-made' books. Once, every other cycle, each child read their Guided Reading book and one or two books of their choice from their book bags to me. These books were taken home for sharing and brought back the next school day. During this Independent Reading, I did running records (on C level readers or higher) and looked at areas of focus for future Guided Reading sessions.

Finally, the other Kindergarten teacher and myself offered a Question and Answer session on the Jolly Phonics Program in the early fall. Once again, the Early Literacy Teacher shared information about Jolly Phonics, but also about literacy in general. In November SK parents and in January the JK parents were invited to come to an information meeting about their child's Observation Day. During this meeting I also talked about ways to assist their child's reading ability and showed an appropriate video clip. As well, throughout the year, with each monthly newsletter, a fun language game was sent home as an optional activity.

The journey

It was overwhelming to think of how I would 'entertain' sixteen JK/SK students while taking groups of three to four students for Guided Reading. I looked to my comfort zone of past timetables that rotated four teams of six students through four 'stations' for ninety minutes. I adapted and actually made my 'station' planning easier, by planning six heterogeneous teams of four students each. Three teams would rotate through an art, language and math station, based upon the current theme, for ninety minutes one day, while three teams would have free choice (Appendix C). From the three teams having free choice, students would be pulled for a fifteen to twenty minute homogeneous Guided Reading session. The whole process would be repeated the following day with the teams 'flip flopping' from stations to free play (Appendix B). Teams needed to be regrouped a few times throughout the year to allow for changes in reading ability. Parent volunteers were involved in assisting with Station work. The students quickly fit into the Stations/Free Choice rotation and understood when I was wearing my 'hat' that I could not be interrupted. Unfortunately, due to the age and independence level of my students, if a parent volunteer had to cancel, then the Guided Reading session was also cancelled. I only did Guided Reading two out of three days of the cycle. Independent Reading was once out of three days (and only half the class each time, as it was too difficult to listen to twenty students read to me every cycle).

I originally planned to only do Guided Reading with my Senior Kindergarten students, but after afew weeks, the Junior Kindergarten students asked when they would 'go reading'. It was then that I decided that they were eager and ready and that they would join us on the journey. Currently I have some weak SK's mixed with some high JK's in my middle reading groups. Every student receives their equal share of small group instruction with the teacher, based upon their level. The highest group reads independently and does follow-up activities of dictations and reading to other staff members, while the lowest group looks at simple books and practices pre-reading skills like the number of words in a sentence, tracking words left to right, and word rhyme activities.

The Long and Winding Road

Throughout the year, I have had to change groups, change scheduling, change the amount of people in groups and change the amount of planning I was doing. By January (after Conferences in November for SK's and January for JK's put a temporary halt on any Guided Reading) the system has stayed fairly consistent and run smoothly. Only minor changes to Reading and Station Groups have occurred. About half way through the year, I said "We're going to try something new today." And an SK girl, with enthusiasm, said, "We are always trying something new!" That is when I knew that flexibility and changing things to improve the program were a very important part of making this project work.

In late March, students were re-assessed for their reading levels. Out of the twelve SK's I had a K, L, and M reader (at or above grade level for term 3 of Grade 2). Also there was one D, (at grade level for term 1 for grade 1), three C, four B and one A reader. All SK's had improved at least one reading level and the best improvement was eight reading levels. I also assessed my pre A JK's in March and out of eight students had four B level, three A level and one pre A level reader (Appendix A).

Students have a positive attitude toward reading. When interviewed, all but two students said they were readers. Of those two who said they weren't (one was a pre A and one was a C), when asked if they were going to be a reader soon they replied, "Yep!" and "Yah!" All but one student said they liked to read and all students said they enjoyed the Guided Reading, Independent Reading with a volunteer and taking home book bags. Some interesting comments that came out of these interviews included:

Do you like to read? "I like to show my parents that I know how to read.', "Yes, 'cause my family sometimes all read together. It is fun.", "Yah, I didn't but now I do.", "Yes, I don't know why, my brain just told me it.", "Reading is fun."

Why do you like taking home your book bags? "'Cause I know how to read those ones. Those are the only ones I know how to read." , "Mostly, 'cause it's fun to read 'em to my family.", "There's sometimes books that are really hard.", "Yah, You get to read a lot of books.", "Yah, I get to read to 'nother people."

Do you like to do Independent Reading with a volunteer and why? "Yah, I like when you make new words.", "Yes, 'cause we do fun stuff like spelling words.", "I like being with Mom and drawing pictures."

From these statements it appears evident that the students considered themselves readers and enjoyed reading. Two important attributes to have if students are going to be lifelong readers.

Students were using reading strategies on their own. I observed a group of girls playing school. One was the teacher and was asking, "How many words are in the title?" They counted and got the correct number of twelve. In another incident, a level C SK girl paused at the word 'push' in a level D Guided Reading book. She said the correct word. When she was asked how she knew that it was the word 'push', she replied confidently, "I looked at the first letter and the picture and push made sense!" It is evident, from these examples, that the students were internalizing and using skills taught in Guided Reading lessons, independently and correctly.

Parents also volunteered positive attitudes towards students' reading. The two trained parent volunteers commented that two pre A students had a "better understanding of reading." They also mentioned that rhyming skills were improved from September. One Mom mentioned that she thought her daughter had 'got it!' and I agreed. One Mom of an A reader mentioned that she had "caught her son reading often at home." A Mom of the D, newly re-assessed L reader, mentioned that her son was reading "Magic Tree House" chapter books with expression and could recap what was happening in the books to her. A Mom of a JK pre-A reader mentioned that her daughter was trying to read books that her Grade 1, level E daughter was bringing home. A Mom of an A reader (now D) said the struggle to get him to read was over and he was reading willingly. Several parents sent in books from home, with notes attached, asking if their child could read the book to me or showing me what their child was reading at home. One Mom shared with me a story of her level M son taking the class stuffed dog home for the night and finding him reading a chapter book to the dog. He had always refused to read chapter books to her, saying they were "too hard", but read the whole first chapter to "AdventureDog". Therefore, parents observed improvements in reading and their children using the skills learned at school in their everyday reading experiences.

I sent home a formal survey to parents in May to gather data for my project. Fifteen out of nineteen (one student moved in mid-April) were returned. When asked if their child was a reader in September thirteen parents replied "no" and two replied "yes" (the September D and F readers). When further asked if their child is a reader now, two replied "no" (the pre-A and a JK B reader) and thirteen replied "yes". Interesting comments from the survey included:

Why would you say your child is a reader? "She can now read short stories and identify words.", "He is constantly sounding out words, asking what a word is if he doesn't know, will pick up a book and actually read the words", " He can identify simple words and can sound out more difficult words.", "She is now able to recognize letters and sounds.", "He loves to read books and asks me to help him on the words.", "He will try to read his own books at home.", "He can understand what he has read."

Is there other information that you can share with me about your child and reading progress that you have observed since September? "He loves being read to, but he can not read words himself. He will lie in bed at night and 'read' or look at books.", "She has progressed a lot since September by sounding out words more and identifying familiar words.", "He has a great interest in learning to read, now.", "He is finding that being able to read is useful.", "She gets very excited when she brings home her book bag.", "My children wake up in the morning and bring their chapter book to my room- the first thing they want to do is have me read the next chapter. It has been a two year process, but my SK has finally caught the reading bug.", "Since September, she, has taken much more of an interest in reading everything around her (cereal boxes, signs, advertisements.)", "I've really noticed, he enjoys reading". It is really wonderful to see him beginning to read.", " My child feels he is a 'reader', so I try to foster this positive image of himself.", "He is far beyond his two older siblings at the same age.", " She is well on her way to being a reader!", " My JK's writing has developed so quickly this year, I know it is a result of the intensive program.", "His reading has improved greatly.", "We are very pleased with his progress since September", "I am amazed at the increase in the level of the books he is reading. He is reading with flow now, as opposed to reading just words. His confidence in reading has greatly improved. This has led to increased confidence in other areas, too. He takes great pleasure when we stay up late and are 'bookworm buddies'." From these surveys, it is apparent that parents saw improvements in their child's reading level and in their ability to read independently. Parents, who returned the survey, were pleased with their child's progress and some were even surprised at how far their reading had come.

There are many exciting conclusions that can be drawn from this project and its data. Firstly, students at the Junior and Senior Kindergarten grade level have the ability to learn to read and will prosper in reading if given small group, appropriate leveled reading materials. From the comments gathered, these students will not only learn to read, but will learn to love to read. Secondly, if parents are "trained" in the ways to assist their child to read, through workshops and home activities, parents can and will become active and knowledgeable participants in helping their child to read. Thirdly, if Kindergarten teachers are willing to "think out of the box" and challenge themselves and their students, average Kindergarten students can leave Senior Kindergarten entering grade one at the emergent reading level or higher.

The Destination

Students will be heading off to grade one at, or above, grade level in reading. They have been given 'enrichment' activities to do at home, such as the pre-primer and primer Dolch list and List 1 of the Rebecca Sitten spelling list. These items will be introduced to them formally by the grade one teacher. Students are leaving SK with a positive attitude towards reading and a good foundation in print concept.

The eight JK students will form the nucleus of a new JK/SK class in September. Again, all but one is reading at, or above, Senior Kindergarten grade level. This information excites me to 'start again' in September.

Many factors affected this class: heavy parental involvement and interest, a good phonemic awareness based on the Jolly Phonics Program, three above grade level readers who modeled the excitement of reading, and an intensive reading program which centered around Guided Reading on a weekly basis.

I feel I successfully addressed my action research question of: "How do I improve the reading levels of all my JK/SK students?" I approached this task through: 1) Getting help from knowledgeable people (i.e. Early Literacy Teachers, Board Consultants). 2) Reading and attending workshops about Guided Reading. 3) Setting up a timetable and resources that allowed for small group Guided Reading instruction, as well as, time for independent reading and book bag reading. 4) Recruiting reliable parent volunteers to assist in the classroom and with Individual Reading sessions. 5) Passing on valuable information about reading and the steps new readers take, through workshops and monthly home activities or games.

Without the support of my principal, Michael Brinker, and vice-principals, Fran MacLean and Charles Irvine, I could not have become involved in such a project. They supported me and permitted me release time to meet with my critical friends. Board Consultant Christine Stewart was the organizer of the Haldimand Education Action Research Team (HEART). She not only set up meetings, videotaped my class and edited my project, but also gave tremendous support and was the 'middle person' between myself and Superintendents Dan Dunnigan and Jackie Delong, who authorized the release time and paid for conferences to educate me in the topic of Action Research. The entire HEART team of critical friends, Anne LaRoche and Jo-Ann Duns, and a second group of Sandra Hedley, Marsha Lofthouse and Patricia Smith shared insight and encouragement. Early Literacy teacher, Janet Trull, provided me with both her time and expertise to help with this project. All parents actively assisted in improving their child's reading level; however, fourteen out of twenty parents actively participated in my classroom, supervising Station work, so that I could pursue Guided Reading lessons. Two mothers especially, Jennifer Smith and Krystal Smith, volunteered countless hours by doing structured Independent Reading and language activities with the children in the hall. Secretaries, Darlene Roloson, Tina Andela and Louise Jennings, were very accommodating for phoning in for supply teachers. My husband Michael and daughters Kennedy (5) and Mikayla (2) were patient and understanding when I had a late meeting or conference or had to do work at home. Many people had a role to play towards the success of this research project and I wish to thank them on behalf of myself and my class.

I look forward to beginning the journey again to see if these results were 'just a fluke' or valid. I know that flexibility, and patience, will be the key to setting up the program in September, and reflection and revision will be the key for the remainder of the year.

'Life is a journey, not a destination.' Together we will enjoy the journey!