1. Creating a Literacy-Rich Environment Jennifer Hanson Autumn Hendry Candice Holmes Michelle Ryland EDUC 4800 Action Research Project Georgia Gwinnet College School of Education Fall 2012

2. Introduction Need: We were able to incorporate a variety of reading strategies to increase student reading abilities. Causes: Simonton Elementary, Teachers will develop independent readers and writers through effective literacy instruction in Reader's and Writer's Workshop. Dacula Elementary, All K-5 students at Dacula Elementary will be part of a literacy rich environment and a rigorous balanced literacy program. Winn-Holt Elementary, Appropriate implementation of literacy-rich strategies in the classroom.

3. Introduction Need: We were able to incorporate a variety of reading strategies to increase student reading abilities. Solution: Buddy Reading, Guided Reading, Shared Reading, Read Aloud, Read to Self. Using these practices can help improve a students fluency and comprehension of what they read. Incorporate literacy in all subject areas.

4. School Improvement Plans: Winn-Holt, Dacula, and Simonton Analysis of School Improvement Plan: We focused on the main struggles that students have with literacy in the classroom. Topic Selection: Each of our schools had a high need for literacy improvement in the classroom. Benefit: Improvement of literacy scores, Increase student motivation and confidence, Differentiation based on each students’ need. Allows students and teachers to be partners in the learning process.

5. Description of Action Plan Buddy Reading- showed that social interactions and working collaboratively proved to be very successful. 3 main themes: the children used reading strategies and prior knowledge to scaffold each other’s learning, they made varied connections with and to the text in order to construct meaning within their partnerships, and they used play as a type of social interaction and motivational method while reading. Guided Reading – grouping students together based on their reading levels and improving their reading abilities by assisting them with their fluency and comprehension.

6. Description of Action Plan Shared Reading- Teacher is reading aloud to a group of students using sources such as “big” books to allow students to see the print and illustrations. Read to Self- Students read individually and comprehend the information that was read by themselves versus being in a whole or small group setting. Builds responsibility and independence in a reader.

7. Relevant Literature Scott, Jerrie L. "Impact On Education Effective Literacy Instruction for Urban Children: Voices from the Classroom." Impact On Education Effective Literacy Instruction for Urban Children: Voices from the Classroom. International Reading Association, Feb.-Mar. 2009. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. http://futurescholars.rutgers.edu/futurescholars/research/impact_on_education/09- 01-01/Effective_Literacy_Instruction_for_Urban_Children_Voices_from_the_Classroom.aspx.http://futurescholars.rutgers.edu/futurescholars/research/impact_on_education/09- 01-01/Effective_Literacy_Instruction_for_Urban_Children_Voices_from_the_Classroom.aspx This article focuses on helping students in the classroom to improve their fluency and comprehension when reading during a daily 5 exercise for literacy instruction. Another focus of this article was on seeing what counts as effective literacy practices in the classroom. Clark, Sarah. “Organizing Literacy Classrooms for Effective Instruction.” 65.2 (2011): 96-109. The article, “Organizing Literacy Classrooms for Effective Instruction”, by Sarah Clark, discussed how teachers can promote literacy instruction in their classrooms by incorporating best practices and an organized system of planning, development, and implementing of curriculum.

8. Relevant Literature Gambrell, Linda B. "Creating Classroom Cultures That Foster Reading Motivation." The Reading Teacher Vol. 50, No. 1, Sept. 1996. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. This article gives ways to help motivate a child's interest in reading in the classroom. "Literacy Centers." Reading Rockets. Reading Rockets, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. http://www.readingrockets.org/article/38302/. Retrieved: October 29, 2012, http://www.readingrockets.org/article/38302/ http://www.readingrockets.org/article/38302/ This article gave some helpful ideas for types of literacy centers that can be used in the classroom for elementary and secondary education. Flint, T. (2010, September 26). Making meaning together: buddy reading in a first grade classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 289-297. This article talks about how to incorporate buddy reading into the classroom and also gives several vignettes of two students (first graders) that were buddy reading.

9. Relevant Literature Wiseman, Angela. "Interactive Read Alouds: Teachers and Students Constructing Knowledge and Literacy Together." Early Childhood Education Journal 38.6 (2011): 431-38. The author used a nine-month study from a Kindergarten classroom where the teacher facilitated interaction between students by incorporating read alouds that provided opportunities for open-ended responses and reading instruction. The study found that students who were exposed to interactive read alouds displayed positive attitudes towards reading. Reutzel, R., & Clark, S. (2011). Organizing literacy for effective classroom instruction. Reading Teacher, 65(2), 96-109. This article relates particularly to new teachers and how to create a literacy-rich environment in the classroom. It goes through nine different that teachers ask when they are first starting out: anywhere from anywhere from how do I organize my classroom for a literacy environment to developing a classroom management plan to planning the first week of reading.

10. Presentation of Findings/Artifacts Classrooms will become more successful by implementing these reading strategies and will help to create a more literacy-rich environment.

11. Feedback and Conclusions Very visually engaging display! Great information! Easy to understand and user friendly! You did a fabulous job explaining the project and incorporating the various components. I love the detail in the action plan of reading types. All four are very important parts when teaching students to read and apply what they read. Love the color on the board. The pictures add a lot to the board. The way you describe your plan of action is how all classrooms should run.

12. We Learned THESE Lessons Lessons Learned: Literacy is a base foundation for everything in the classroom. We can use this by making sure that our students improve their reading level by the end of the year. Meaning to Us as Educators: We were able to collaborate together and learn much more about how to create a literacy rich environment for when we become teachers. Things We Would Do Differently Next Time: We could have worked with a student or group of students to be able to provide statistics in our project.

13. Executive Summary Need Identified: Creating a literacy- rich environment in the classroom. Artifacts Developed: A tri-board presentation along with a powerpoint Feedback: See feedback cards End Result / Impact: After our research and reading our articles we learned that a classroom that has a literacy rich environment is a great way for the students to learn about different content areas during literacy. We also found that all of these strategies that we have listed on our poster board worked in our classroom for each content area.

14. Credit; Appreciation; Thanks Mrs. Parker at Dacula Elementary Mrs. Bradford at Winn- Holt Elementary Mrs. Kross at Winn-Holt Elementary Ms. Hollis at Simonton Elementary Mrs. Enright at Dacula Elementary Dr. Curtiss at Winn-Holt Elementary Dr. Young at Simonton Elementary All of our professors