School Name: Park Avenue
School District: SD#68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith
Inquiry Team Members:D. Mark Robertson (drobertson@sd68.bc.ca)
Carly Gauthier (cgauthier@sd68.bc.ca)
Tara-Lyn Megyesi (TMegyesi@sd68.bc.ca)
Inquiry Team Contact Email: drobertson@sd68.bc.ca
Type of Inquiry: NOII (focus on core competencies, OECD learning principles, etc.)
Grade Levels: Primary (K-3)
Curricular Area(s): Language Arts – Reading
Focus Addressed: Other: Reading Volume
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? By providing our struggling readers with good fit, high interest books, we wanted to see if it would help them to become more engaged and thus improve their reading outcomes.
Scanning: We looked at the reading results from the NLPS Screener (many students below reading levels). We also observed inside our classrooms that students are not getting excited about reading the books we currently have available in and around the school. The four key questions were embedded in our thinking as we moved forward with our study. We inevitably wanted our readers to be more excited about reading each day. We currently (September 2017) had very few high interest books and were still using low interest readers from upwards of thirty years ago. The next logical step was to introduce new high interest books in order to spark engagement and improve reading outcomes. We used the OECD principles of learning to guide our inquiry. The learners were put at the center as we wanted to get students more engaged in reading. The hope was to motivate learning by discovering their individual interests and the key role of personal emotions in their success. The First Peoples Principle of connectedness came up during the scanning process. We needed to find high interest books that students could connect with and relate to. They needed to explore their interests and likes in order to move forward with their learning.
Focus: We selected this area because we were unsatisfied with the reading results of our young learners. Upon review, it was concluded that we needed to incorporate books that students can and want to read in order to increase their reading experiences and their reading engagement. We were hoping that reading levels would improve and that our students would be more excited to read as a result of this process.
Hunch: It was our hunch that the use of old readers and outdated books may have been contributing to less motivated readers with lower overall reading levels. We needed to find out what 21st century learners were interested in and not be afraid to adapt our practice accordingly.
New Professional Learning: We decided to increase the amount of books that students can and want to read in order to increase their reading experiences and their reading engagement. A reading inventory was created in regards to reading practices and attitudes and then administered to some of our struggling readers. We then introduced these same students to high interest books to help motivate their participation and excitement for reading. One on one reading was done week after week by our I and I teacher with our struggling readers. A final survey was then administered to students upon completion of the study. Results were recorded and tabulated to help support future inquiry in this area.
Taking Action: 1. We chose our most vulnerable readers based on the results of the NLPS screener.
2. A reading inventory was created in regards to reading practices and attitudes and then administered to our vulnerable readers. This inventory included questions about reading at home, books that interest them, and whether they prefer fiction or non-fiction etc…
3. We then introduced these same students to high interest books to help motivate their participation and excitement for reading. One on one reading was done week after week by our lead Inquiry and Innovation teacher.
4. A final survey was then administered to students upon completion of the study. This survey included questions about exciting books, the ability to focus on reading, areas they have improved, and where they want to go next with their learning etc…
5. Results were recorded and tabulated to help support future inquiry in this area.
6. The plan is to now purchase more good fit, high interest books for the beginning of the new calendar school year (2018-2109).
Checking: The results were very positive overall. All 6 students had found a book series that they were excited to read. Reading times were now considered more exciting and overall student focus improved. They enjoyed reading one on one with a teacher and saw this as a rewarding experience each week. All 6 students had a better knowledge of personal books of interest and enjoyment. They were even able to report on how they were doing with their reading and what areas they needed to improve on moving forward (ex. fluency, accuracy, and comprehension). We were very satisfied with these results.
Reflections/Advice: We learned that the interest of our struggling readers can be improved with the introduction of good fit, high interest books. It was exciting to see the overall growth of certain students involved. One student in particular had a substantial increase in their reading level upon completion of the study. They are now hooked on a particular series and enjoy reading time each day. It is exciting to get more high interest books into our school and see reading outcomes and engagement improve as a result.
Next year we hope to target more students and what they do during reading times. The hope is to incorporate more books into collections based on the likes of the students. We will attempt to get them hooked on a particular series and hopefully offer more support during reading times.