Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013

Wondering:
How can I utilize strategies in literacy instruction to increase struggling students
confidence in their reading abilities?

Rationale of inquiry:
In my classroom there are two students that are struggling specifically with reading
and need to make large growths in their literacy development this year. As Ive watched
and observed so far in my internship the more Ive noticed a need for more individualized
instruction for these students. My CT and I feel that what these two students need
especially are ways to boost their confidence and motivation in regards to literacy. I chose
to focus my wondering on these students because I want to find ways to get them excited
and motivated about literacy in the classroom and help increase their confidence towards
the subject. I hope that by increasing their confidence this will help to improve their
literacy skills as well.

Summary of research literature:
Throughout my research I hope to learn about research-based methods that can be
used to help students literacy development, but more specifically help to increase readers
confidence level when it comes to literacy. So far Ive found strategies that are related to
content and instructional strategies, such as the incorporation of poetry into the classroom,
partner reading, and practicing phonics and phonemic awareness. For each of these
strategies I have found articles where research studies have been conducted to test prove
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
how these methods can not only improve students literacy development, but improve their
confidence as well.
According to one article, students involved in a reading intervention study
demonstrated greater progress in reading as a result of phonemic awareness, phonics
activities, and word reading (Duff, Haiyou-Thomas, and Hulme, 2011). Evidence proves
that using a Reading Intervention, such as the one in this study, greatly improves reading
ability in struggling readers. An additional article from my research supported the concept
of a researched strategy called Partner Reading and Content, Too and how it can benefit
struggling readers. This strategy provides a scaffold for struggling readers in developing
their literacy and also helps them with their comprehension of content from informational
texts. It also includes discussion between students, which supports higher order thinking.
The incorporation of poetry into instruction is another proven strategy that offers
some advantages for struggling readers and their foundational reading skills (Rasinski and
Zimmerman, 2013). The article discusses multiple reasons why poetry can be so effective
in improving struggling readers reading abilities. A few reasons the authors suggest
poetry is because they are short in length, they are fun to read, and they can be
incorporated into all content areas. Another article that explains how poetry can benefit
struggling readers focuses on a specific program called the Poetry Academy. This
program brings humor and pleasure to struggling readers while encouraging them to read
confidently and fluently (Wilfong, 2008). In the article students who participated in the
program talk about how much it helped them as readers and benefited their literacy
development.
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
Finally, I also found research that discusses how as students reading abilities
improve their motivation in reading will also improve. These finding illustrate to me that
in order to increase struggling readers confidence and motivation I need to focus on
improving their reading abilities. I hope to use a mixture of instructional and motivational
strategies to benefit the struggling readers in my classroom.
Data collection methods:
Ive chosen to use observations, field notes, anecdotal notes, and reflective journals
to collect data about my wondering. Considering confidence is something that is hard to
track and measure via assessments and charts, I chose these methods because they will
allow me to keep track of observations Ive made about the students behavior and
attitudes during literacy instruction. My goal is to collect data about my wondering each
day I am in the classroom. I try to work with the students during literacy instruction each
day, whether I am teaching a whole group lesson, teaching a small group lesson, or simply
guiding them during a center activity. Each opportunity is a chance for me to observe them
and practice some of the methods Ive learned about in my research. Each week I want to
compile my data and analyze it so I can reflect and see what methods worked, what didnt
work, and new methods and/or strategies that I want to try and incorporate during the
upcoming weeks.

Data analysis methods:
After developing my inquiry and collecting data on my wondering I noticed a few
patterns in my data. I developed these patterns by noticing similarities in my students
behavior and performance during their literacy instruction. I used this information to
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
conclude which strategies were effective in helping increase my students confidence and
also develop two main themes from my inquiry. One strategy that benefitted my struggling
students was the integration of multisensory and hands on activities. I was able to notice a
significant difference in my students learning when they were actively participating in
their learning versus just sitting and listening to me. Especially for the few students I was
focusing my wondering on I could tell that they were definitely kinesthetic learners so this
type of instruction was the most beneficial for them. Another strategy I used was
developing their phonics and phonemic awareness instruction. I noticed that this
specifically was where my struggling readers were struggling in their literacy development.
Therefore I tried to work on teaching them sounds and reinforcing them when they read. I
mostly focused on segmenting individual sounds and then blending them together to make
a word.
After implementing these strategies into my literacy instruction I noticed a few
positive changes in my students behavior. First of all, I noticed an increase in their
participation during whole group and small group lessons. At the beginning of the year
they would not raise their hand very often and would sit towards the back of the carpet
during instruction. Now they almost always raise their hand and try to participate during
discussion and even volunteer to answer questions or perform tasks. My data that I
collected supports this increase in participation and I believe it is caused by a confidence
increase in their abilities. Another theme that I noticed is that my students began to take
more initiative during their instruction and make an effort to challenge themselves. I
believe this is occurring because the students have gained more confidence in their abilities
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
and therefore want to try new things and test out these new strengths that they have with
their reading.
Summary of main findings from inquiry:
One theme that emerged from my wondering was how my students challenged
themselves as a result of the strategies I used in my literacy instruction. This in itself
demonstrates that my students confidence has increased throughout my inquiry. When
looking at my anecdotal notes and reflective journals, and reflecting on my observations in
the classroom I noticed that there were several times my students surprised me with their
level of thinking and ability in a positive way. For example, during a lesson on the long e
sound I had students try and come up with additional words that used the ee or ea
sounds. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they could come up with multi-syllabic
words that were not in our story. I took note of these words on my checklist and noted
how easily they came up with these additional words. In addition, during a word sort
activity I was prepared to model and scaffold the students thinking, however the students
immediately took ownership of the activity and sorted the words themselves. While I was
there to guide them when they needed it, their initiative showed me that they were
confident enough to step up and do the activity themselves. Both of these things inform me
that as a result of my instructional strategies and positive motivation my struggling readers
have gained confidence in their abilities and apply that confidence in their literacy
instruction.
Another theme that I noticed throughout my data was an increase in participation
during activities. Many students who dont feel confident in their abilities dont participate
during instruction and lose focus. Since I began my wondering Ive notice my struggling
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
readers participate so much more during whole group and small group activities. My
anecdotal notes from various lessons prove that not only do these students participate
during read alouds and whole group instruction, but they add enough to the class
discussion that I can assess that they comprehend important information from the lesson.
In addition, in one of my reflective journals I take note specifically about how Ive noticed a
particular student raising her hand more often during whole group lessons. I reflect on
how much she participates and how hard she tries in the classroom. It is this behavior that
I try to encourage when I notice it in my classroom and I think this has helped with her
confidence as well. This data supports that my struggling readers participate more during
instruction due to an increase in their confidence.
Implications:
What I have learned overall from my wondering is that the best way to help
struggling readers in your classroom is to first notice what specifically they need to work
on and develop in terms of their literacy development and focus on that during their
instruction. The more comfortable they feel in that area of literacy the more confident they
are going to feel as readers. In addition to that its important to incorporate multisensory
instruction into your teaching and try to always accommodate their specific learning style.
For the struggling readers in my classroom they learned best through kinesthetic activities
so I tried to incorporate them as much as possible. Finally use explicit instruction as much
as possible and use your instruction to model for them and guide their thinking. Eventually
students will feel confident enough to challenge themselves and do things on their own,
trusting their abilities as readers. In addition its important to reward students when you
notice this positive behavior. Positive reinforcement and motivation reinforce positive
Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
behavior and encourage them to continue their habits in all areas of their literacy
development.
When I began my inquiry I was focusing on two particular students in my classroom.
However, since then Ive noticed other students in my classroom struggle with reading and
not believe in themselves or their abilities. Ive tried to use strategies that Ive seen work
with other students, but they have proven to be not as effective. Now a new wondering
that I have is How can I help increase my students confidence and self-efficacy?

Caitlyn Robey Inquiry Brief Fall 2013
References
Duff, F. J., Hayiou-Thomas, M. E., & Hulme, C. (2012). Evaluating the effectiveness of a
phonologically based reading intervention for struggling readers with varying
language profiles.(Report). Reading And Writing, (3), 621.
Melekoglu, M. A. (2011). Impact of Motivation to Read on Reading Gains for Struggling
Readers With and Without Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly,
34(4), 248-261. doi:10.1177/0731948711421761
Ogle, D., & Correa-Kovtun, A. (2010). Supporting English-Language Learners and Struggling
Readers in Content Literacy with the "Partner Reading and Content, Too" Routine.
Reading Teacher, 63(7), 532-542.
Rasinski, T., & Zimmerman, B. (2013). What's the perfect text for struggling readers? Try
poetry!(TEACHING LITERACY). Reading Today, (5), 15.
Wilfong, L. G. (2008). Building fluency, word-recognition ability, and confidence in
struggling readers: the Poetry Academy: the Poetry Academy brings humor and
pleasure to struggling readers while encouraging them to read confidently and
fluently.(Report). The Reading Teacher, (1), 4.