1. Students Reading Below Grade Level: 4th Grade
By: Annie La
ED 7202, Spring 2012

2. Table of Contents Introduction Statement of Problem
Review of Literature
Statement of Hypothesis
Participants
Instrument(s)
Research Design
Procedure
Results
Discussion
Implication
References

3. Introduction
Successful reading comprehension increases reading level (Pang, Muaka, Bernhardt & Kamil, n.d.)
College readiness (ACT, n.d)
Instructions, research and simple tasks (Mounce, n.d.)
Reading Strategies
Include fluency, vocabulary and comprehension (Duncan, 2010)
Student frustration without application of reading strategies (Cooper, n.d.)
Teachers need to model skills and strategies (Brenda, Buck & Giles, 2009)

4. Statement of Problem
Eight million students in the nation read below grade level (Alliance of Excellent Eduaction, 2006)
40% are not fluent readers (Begeny, 2011)
46% of large city public schools in the fourth grade read below reading level.
(The National Center for Education Statistics, 2009)
34% of the Nations public schools in the fourth graders are below reading level.

5. Review of Literature: Current Instructional Strategy
Read aloud
Model reading fluency (Kruse, 2007)
Children learn through interactive read aloud (Campbell, 2001)
Preview- Predict- Confirm Model (Furtado, 2008)
Guided Reading
Small groups working on the same reading strategy (Thames, 2008)
Provides structure, instruction and purpose to reading (Ford & Opitz, 2011)

6. Pros: Read Aloud
Increases comprehension of text, build vocabulary and familiarity with sound
(Cummins & Stellmeyer-Gerade, 2011)
Provide students with reading fluency
(Adamson, Adamson, Anderson, Clausen-Grace, Earnes, Einarson, … Wooten, 2006)
Critical questioning through text and talk
(Beck & McKeown, 2001)

7. Cons: Read Aloud Does not teach reading strategies and skills
Nonsense Word Fluency: phonetics and decoding (Cummings, Dewey, Latimer & Good III, 2011)
Prevents beginning readers from reading independently
Lost of interest
Comfort of read aloud (Kruse,2007)

8. Pros: Guided Reading Students become independent readers
(Ford & Opitz, 2011)
Build comprehension strategies through model and practice
(Ferguson & Wilson, 2009)
Increase reading comprehension, accuracy, fluency and vocabulary
Gain skills in word recognition, reading texts and writing
(Santa & Hoien, 1999)

9. Cons: Guided Reading
The strategies taught in guided reading are redundant and can be seen in other lessons throughout the day.
Reading skills and strategies are taught as part of a lesson within the curriculum
(Ferguson & Wilson, 2009)

10. Theorists & Practitioners
Francis Galton: mental measurement
Lewis Terman- intelligence test in 1922
(Cadenhead, 1987)
Fountas & Pinnell: A-Z text gradient
(Thomas, n.d.)
Guided Reading:
Emmett Betts- directed reading activity in 1946
Lillian Gray and Dora Reese- guided reading questions
(Ford & Opitz , 2011)

11. Statement of Hypothesis
Providing one group of six - fourth grade students in P.S. X, Brooklyn, NY with guided reading instruction for 40 minutes, every morning, four days a week for six weeks, will increase students’ reading level as measured by Fountas and Pinnell’s running record.
Having the second group of six - fourth grade students in P.S. X, Brooklyn, NY without guided reading instruction, every morning, four days a week for six weeks, will not increase students’ reading level as measured by Fountas and Pinnell’s running record.

12. Participants Two focus groups
Group 1: extra guided reading in the morning
Group 2: does not receive guided reading in the morning

13. Research Design Quasi-Experimental Design Two groups
Non-equivalent control group
Two groups
Groups randomly assigned but individuals are not
Individuals based on reading level: J/K/L
Groups may include IEP and ELL learners
Symbol Design: O X1 O O X2 O
(O) Pre-test, (X1) Treatment for Group 1, (X2) Treatment for Group 2, (O) Post-test

14. Threats to Internal Validity
History
Maturation
Testing/ Pretesting
Instrumentation
Mortality
Statistical Regression
Selection-Maturation Interaction

15. Threats to External Validity
Ecological Validity
New York City public schools
Multiple Treatments
An increase in guided reading throughout the day/week
Novelty Effect
Guided reading books online

16. Procedure Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System: Level K
Pre-Test: January
Post-Test: March
Accuracy scores:
95%-100%- independent level K, re-tested level L
90%-95%- guided reading level K
Below 90%- re-tested level J

17. Pre-Test/ Post-Test Results
Descriptive Statistics
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Mean
85.500
88.667
Descriptive Statistics
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Mean
87.667
92.833
3.70%
5.89%

18. Survey Analysis and Correlation
Post Test Scores
Pre-Test Scores
.rxy= 0.229
.rxy=0.797
Student x y 1 4 78 2 5 94 3 71 82 89 6 92 7 93 8 90 9 91 10 11 74 12
Student x y 1 4 91 2 5 97 3 68 90 6 95 7 92 8 99 9 87 10 11 12 98

19. Bell Curve Post-Test Pre-Test Mean: 90.75 Mean: 86.583 SD: 8.058
Var:
Pre-Test
Mean:
SD: 8.163
Var:

20. Discussion & Implications
Additional guided reading instruction increases reading level
Treatment group V.S. Non-treatment group: 5% increase
Further research is needed
Extended period of time

21. References
ACT. Reading between the lines: what the ACT reveals about college readiness in reading. Retrieved from
Adamson, P., Adamson, B., Anderson, L., Clausen-Grace, N., Earnes, A., Einarson, C., … Wooten, A. (2006). Read and write it out loud!: Guided oral literacy strategies. School Library Journal, 52, 90.
Alliance for Excellent Education. (2006, February). Adolescent literacy [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from
Beck, I., & McKeown, M. (2001). Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. The Reading Teacher. 55 (1),
Begeny, C. (2011). Effects of the helping early literacy with practice strategies (HELPS) reading fluency program when implemented at different frequencies. The School Psychology Review, 40 (1),
Brenda, B., Buck, K., & Giles, R. (2009). First-grade reading gains following enrichment: phonics plus decodable texts compared to authentic literature read aloud. Reading Improvement, 46(4),
Cadenhead, K. (1987). Reading level: A metaphor that shapes practice. The Phi Delta Kappan, 68(6),
Campbell, R. (2001). Read-alouds with young children. International Reading Association, 114.
Cooper, D. (n.d.). Stopping reading failure: Reading intervention for upper-grade students. Retrieved from
Cummings, K., Dewey, E., Latimer, R., & Good III, R. (June 2011). Pathways to word reading and decoding: The roles of automaticity and accuracy. The School Psychology Review, 40 (2),
Cummins, S., & Stellmeyer-Gerade, C. (2011).Teaching for synthesis for informational texts with read-alouds. Reading Teacher, 64(6),
Duncan, P. (2010). Instilling a lifelong love of reading. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 46 (2),
English Language Arts [Chart]. (2011). Retrieved from New York City Department of Education Web Site:

22. References
Ferguson, J., & Wilson, J. (2009). Guided reading: It’s for the primary teachers. College Reading Association Yearbook, 30,
Ford, M., & Opitz, M. (2011). Looking back to move forward with guided reading. Reading Horizons, 50(4),
Furtado, L. (2008). A read-aloud cross-age service learning partnership using multicultural stories. The Reading Matrix, 8(2),
Kruse, M. (2007). Read- alouds? Think again. School Library Journal, 53(6),
Mounce, A. (n.d.). Strategies to teach students reading below grade level. Retrieved from
National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Science. (2009). Trial urban district snapshot report: Reading [Data set]. Retrieved from
O’Connor-Petruso, S. (2012). Descriptive Statistics Threats to Validity [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
Pang, E., Muaka, A., Bernhardt, E., & Kamil, M. (n.d.). Teaching reading: Educational practices series- 12. International Academy of Education, 6-24.
Prado, L., Lee, P. (2011). Increasing reading comprehension through the explicit teaching of reading strategies: Is there a difference among the genders? Reading Improvement, 48 (1),
Ross, J. (2004). Effects of running records assessment on early literacy achievement. Journal of Education Research, 97(4),
Santa, C., & Hoien, T. (1999). An assessment of early steps: A program for early intervention of reading problems. Reading Research Quarterly. 34,
Thames, D., Reeves, C., Kazelskis, R., York, K., Boling, C., Newell, K., & Yang, W. (2008). Reading comprehension: Effects of individualized, integrated language arts as a reading approach with struggling readers. Reading Psychology, 29,
Thomas. (n.d.). Fountas and Pinnell- Early literacy experts offer new reading intervention program. Retrieved from

23. Student Survey Sample Question: Part I: Frequencies
Directions: Fill in the lettered box corresponding to your answer.
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Never Once times times Everyday
0 times per week per week per week
I spend time reading outside of school _______
I spend time reading in school _______
Part III: Short Response
What are some of your favorite books to read?
_______________________________________________________

24. Student Surveys Cont. Sample Question: Part IV: Background Information
Directions: Fill in completely the lettered box corresponding to your answer.
Example: Answer = a = = b = = c = = d = = e =
1. Gender:
a. Male b. Female 1. __________
2. Where were you born? ________
a. USA
b. South/ Central America
c. Europe or Canada
d. Asia
e. Africa

25. Teacher Survey
Sample Question Part II: Agree/ Disagree Directions: Fill in the lettered box corresponding to your answer. Example: (1) (2) (3) (4) Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree 1. My lesson plans are interdisciplinary with reading. 1. ____ 2. I conduct read aloud in my classroom. 2. ____