Title:
Nightly Reading: The Impact on a Student’s Reading Level
The Impact of Parental Involvement with Nightly Reading and a Child’s Reading Level
Needs Assessment:
The need for this study came about due to the number of retentions in first grade due to the child not being on the recommended reading level. Last year alone there were seven children retained in first grade because their reading level was not at the recommended level of a Rigby level 18. There were 3 girls and 4 boys, one child was Hispanic and six were Non-Hispanic. The children that are not to a level 18 but are to a level 14 receive a summer binder, which is like a home summer school. There were 4 children given a binder, two followed the program and were retested at the beginning of this year and were promoted to Second grade, and two did not follow the program and were retained in first grade.
Objectives and Vision of the action research project:
The vision for this research is to be able to provide parent with evidence that reading to their child nightly is a crucial element to the success of their child’s reading level. In order to collect data, student’s reading levels will be monitored and evaluate each nine weeks. Nightly reading will be assigned as homework, and parents will be asked to log the nightly reading on a reading log.
Review of the literature and Action Research Strategy:
This is an area that I have just started looking at. I have collected some very good articles that supports my research. I have also asked our reading specialists for any journal articles they have that addresses this subject.
Articulate the Vision:
In order to get the information out to the public, I first brainstormed the idea with my administrator/supervisor and shared my vision with her. I then talked with our reading specialists, who work closely with students that are below the recommended reading level. I shared my concerns and vision with teachers in the upper grade levels, and they are sending some of their top students to come and read with my students each day. While we know that this does not replace the parent involvement, it gives the students an opportunity to see that reading is important. As a grade level, we sent home our expectations for reading homework on the first week of school and during our parent/teacher conferences in October, I stressed the importance and shared with them information from the US Dept of Education on nightly reading titled “Why can’t I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?” For my students, I talk with them about the importance of reading with their parents and provide incentives for those students that read for 20 at least 4 nights a week. They are given the opportunity to play a homework game and earn certificates to use in class.
Manage the organization:
The first step in the process is to determine the student’s reading level. This is done through Rigby testing and students are tested on their ability to retell the story, read the story with 95% accuracy or above and answer comprehension questions that are both actual and inferential questions. Once the testing is complete, students are placed into reading groups. The level of their reading determines how often their small group will meet with the teacher. This reading level also helps to determine whether they are a candidate for a reading pull out program in which they receive additional reading instruction from one of the reading specialists. Once the children are identified with a need for reading pull-out instruction, they are tested further by the reading specialists to identify the starting place for instruction to begin. The reading specialists and the teacher meet to discuss the goals of each child and they work closely together to help the child grow as a reader. The student’s reading level is retested each nine weeks. Reading logs are reviewed daily and marked by the teacher. They are highlighted if the child read with a parent and if not, there is a line drawn on that space with the date. The students that are identified as below recommended level meet with the teacher daily for 20 minutes and with the reading specialists four times a week for 30 minutes. The students that are not reading nightly, students from upper grades come and read with them for 20 minutes during the school day. A below level conference was held in January for those student is still below level. The parent met with the teacher, an administrator, and the reading specialists to discuss the plan. This is a collaborative plan and the parents sign the document stating they agree to the recommendations. There will be another conference in April if the child is still below level, and new recommendations are made. The majority of the data collection is done by the teacher.
Manage Operations:
The drive behind this research was to find out if the parental involvement has a major impact on student’s reading level, and if so, what things can be done from the school end to help reduce the number of retentions each year. The child’s reading level and nightly reading homework is what is driving the priority. As mentioned in the above section, the students are grouped according to their reading level. This research is a work in progress so I have not resolved any conflict as of yet. I am still collecting the necessary data to complete the research.
Respond to Community Interest and Needs:
This research will help to provide additional services to students that are falling below level. This information will give teachers research based evidence on the importance of parent involvement that can be shared with parents at parent/teacher conferences in October. My hope is to also create a new awareness among teachers to get creative on ways to encourage parental involvement in nightly reading. I have already started brainstorming and idea for next year: a milk and cookie reading night to increase parent awareness.
