Effects of Read-Aloud on
Reading Achievement
Laura Thompson
Title 1 Reading Teacher
First Grade
Forrest W. Hunt Elementary
RutherfordCounty
Background/Introduction:
I want to create a variety of instructional strategies for my Title I students that vary from the strategies they encounter in their regular classroom. My experience has taught me that all students learn differently; by offering a variety of strategies I have the opportunity to reach all of the students. Additionally, utilizing different strategies will reduceboredomamong students who receive instruction in the classroom and the Reading Lab. In order to grasp and keep their attention, I need to have a multitude of diverse strategies that I can use. I would like to study the use of reading aloud to students as an effective strategy.
I feel it is important to expose students to high quality literature. Through books, students can use their imagination, learn facts and information, have experiences that are otherwise impossible for them, and explore their emotions. Using literature to teach reading will expose students to these wonderful aspects of books while giving them the necessary education to become readers themselves. A key component to using this strategy will be to select books that enhance and help teach the different aspects of reading achievement that I will be measuring.
Reading aloud to students motivates them to want to read independently. It also helps to create an interest in reading. I want to further study these and other effects of reading aloud to students.
Literature Review:
The National Reading Panel (2000) submitted a report to Congress of their findings based on their assessment of the “status of research-based knowledge, including the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read.” In the area of phonics instruction, they found, through meta-analysis, that “systematic phonics instruction enhances children’s success in learning to read” and that first graders who were given phonics instruction show improvement in their ability to decode, spell and comprehend text. The Panel also points out the importance of providing exciting and engaging phonics instruction as a part of the whole reading program. The research also shows that fluency is an important component of reading comprehension. Comprehension can be enhanced through the use of vocabulary instruction. Increased vocabulary knowledge impacts the development of reading skills and is crucial in reading aloud where it can be learned incidentally in context. Cooperative learning, question answering and story structure are three of the seven instructional strategies the Panel found to have solid scientific basis for improving comprehension.
Becoming a Nation of Readers (1985) is a report provided by the Commission on Reading which presents a “thorough synthesis of an extensive body of findings on reading.” The Commission emphasizes the importance of reading aloud to children. They found that reading aloud builds the knowledge required for success in reading and that the benefits are even greater when the child is actively engaged in the lesson, learning and talking about the letters and words. Their research shows that phonics instruction is essential for teaching children to read. In order to have a literate environment, the Commission found that it is necessary to have many opportunities for reading aloud. Reading aloud to students draws their interest toward reading and provides a model of good oral reading. The Commission on Reading recommends that teachers of beginning readers “present well-designed phonics instruction” and “devote more time to comprehension instruction.”
Henry Blok (1999) presents in his article a meta-analysis of reading aloud at school based on ten studies. He found that “reading to smaller groups and younger children results in stronger effects.” He also found stronger effects of read-aloud in studies with trained teachers as well as in those in which the books were carefully chosen.
In Chapter 1 of Jim Trelease’s book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, he cites several reasons why reading aloud to children is important. First of all, he states that reading aloud to students will help to sculpt them into “lifetime readers” rather than “schooltime readers.” He points out that humans will repetitively do things that bring them pleasure and if reading becomes a pleasurable activity they are more likely to read often. He also states that reading aloud creates a similar bond with students as conversation does.He goes on to point out; however, that reading provides students with a higher level of vocabulary than conversation alone.
Pat Cunningham wrote the article, “If They Don’t Read Much, How They Ever Gonna Get Good?” in which she emphasizes the effect reading aloud to students has on their motivation to read. She goes on to note the importance of choosing read aloud books that will motivate all students, including struggling readers.
Research Question:
What effect does reading books aloud to students have on their overall reading achievement? For the purpose of this study, achievement includes phonics, word recognition, comprehension, fluency and attitude toward reading.Reading books aloud is defined as literature read aloud to the students by me during their group time. Literature, in this study, is fictional picture books which in some cases will be presented as a big book. Comprehension is defined as being able to understand and grasp the meaning of the text that is read. Fluency is automaticity in word recognition while reading orally. Word Recognition is the ability to recall and pronounce a word instantly. Phonics is using letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns to decode words. Attitude toward reading refers to the students’ appeal to reading as well as their engagement in it.
Design:
Participants:
I am studying a group of five first grade students that come to the Title I Reading Lab from 1:30pm – 2:00pmeach day. These students are recommended by their teacher as students who will benefit from additional reading practice and instruction. The group includes three girls and two boys that are all six years old.Three of the students are Caucasian, one is African American and one is Hispanic. Eighty percent of these students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The Reading Lab is a small room near the first grade classrooms where the students come to receive additional reading instruction. The room is very inviting and includes colorful decorations, book characters, and displays as well as hundreds of books. Seating includes sitting on the carpet, around a table or on individual “reading seats” like a sofa, rocking chair or whistle seats.
Intervention/Instruction Procedures:
For the purpose of this study, I read books aloud to students for thirty minutes each day,two to three days per week.I selected books from the Caldecott Award list and The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. In addition, I read books that emphasized the specific skill I was teaching or that were relevant to the current season and holiday.
During the study,I implemented four instructional strategies. These included highlighting in a big book or on a chart, highlighting on individual sheets featuring quoted text from the book, interactive reading, and guided reading lessons. I also included some read-aloud books for enjoyment and entertainment each week.
The first strategy I implemented was highlighting in a big book or on a chart. For this strategy I used the books Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Guarino and Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell. After I read the story, students found and highlighted,with highlighting tape, specific high frequency words and beginning consonants on the big book or chart. The students responded well to the activity but the wait time for each student was too long. They were not actively engaged throughout the entire lesson and their interest strayed.
I adapted the first strategy to include all the students throughout the entire lesson using the books The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt and Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. For these lessons the students each had a paper with quotes from the book typed on it. After reading the story, they found and highlighted specific high frequency words and beginning and ending consonants on their papers. I found this strategy to work better than the first because it kept all of the students busy but it felt too much like doing worksheets. I wanted the students to be even more active and engaged with hands-on activities that allowed them to manipulate the letters, sounds, words and sentences.
The third strategy I tried was with the books Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. After I read the story, the students participated in a second reading by taking the part of a character or acting out the motions. Each student was actively engaged in the lesson and the book and participated with enthusiasm. They were all verbally and physically participating in the story during their part. This strategy worked well with these books but would not work for all books.
Finally, I used the books Storm is Coming by Heather Tekavec and Duck on a Bike by David Shannon to introduce a topic for a guided reading lesson. After reading the book, I led in a discussion about storms and bicycles to activate prior knowledge and to front-load related vocabulary. I chose a leveled book pertaining to the topic of the read-aloud. We began by reading the leveled book aloud together. Then the students read the book several more times in a variety of ways including choral reading, partner reading, whisper reading and cloze reading. Individually, the students completed a vocabulary matching activity with words from the book. With partners, the students completed a sequencing activity. Using sentence strips with sentences from the book the students were able to put the sentences in the order of the story without the help of the picture cues. I was amazed to see how well the students were paying attention to the words and using logic to put the story back together. This strategy actively involved each student the entire time. They were excited about reading and enjoyed the hands-on activities in the guided reading lesson.
I read books aloud each week to the students just for enjoyment and entertainment. These books included In a Dark Dark Room and Other Scary Storiesby Alvin Schwartz,Shake Dem Halloween Bonesby W. Nikola-Lisa,A Dark, Dark Tale by Ruth Brown,Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber,Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, andThe True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. After reading these books,I emphasized a comprehension skill in a discussion of the book but we did not do any further activities with the book. The students all enjoyed the books and were able to answer questions, both literal and interpretive, after I read.
Data Collection Methods:
I conducted assessments for each area of reading achievement. Informal assessments were administered weekly. SORT-R3, Running Records, surveys and fluency assessments were administered at the beginning and end of the study. Each assessment was conducted individually. The students orally gave me the information upon request. Anecdotal notes about the students’ involvement in the lesson and comprehension of the story were written at the conclusion of each lesson.
To assessphonics, I conducted weekly informal assessments of alphabet knowledge, initial sounds, final consonant sounds and consonant blends and digraphs. The alphabet knowledge assessment presents the letters out of alphabetical order and requires the students to name the letters (Appendix A). The initial sounds assessment requires the students to produce the name of the letter, the sound the letter makes and a word that begins with that sound(Appendix B).The final consonant sounds assessment provides pictures for which the students must write the final consonant sound (Appendix C). The consonant blends and digraphs assessment requires the students to produce the sound the blend or digraph makes and a word that begins with that sound (Appendix D).
To assess word recognition, I conducteda pre and post SORT-R3 (Slosson 2002) and weekly informal assessments of the Rutherford County Kindergarten Words, Rutherford County First Grade Words, and 100 Instant Words. The Slosson Oral Reading Test Revised (SORT-R3) measures word recognition levels. For this test the student must pronounce the word correctly within five seconds of seeing it. Based on the student’s raw score, he or she is given a grade equivalent (Appendix E). Kindergarten (Appendix F), first grade (Appendix G) and instant word (Appendix H) assessments require the student to recall and pronounce the word at sight.
Comprehension is assessed through pre and post Running Record (Nelley 2002) retell accuracy and anecdotal notes from observation. Running Record scores determine individual instructional reading levels. While the student reads the selected leveled book, I mark any errors made. After reading, the student retells the story orally and answers questions related to it. An error analysis is used to look for overall patterns of meaning, structural or visual errors. (Appendix I)
I used a fluency test to measure oral reading fluency. For this assessment the student reads for one minute while I count the number of words read correctly. (Appendix J)
I used pre and post surveys (Appendix K) and anecdotal notes from observations to check for the students’ attitude toward reading.
Data Analysis Procedures:
After completing weekly assessments, I entered data on each student’s Reading Lab Personalized Education Plan.I filed assessments into the categories phonics, word recognition, comprehension, fluency and attitude toward reading. I entered all quantitative data into bar graphs to show the amount and frequency of growth.I used anecdotal notes to determine revisions for lesson planning.I used the data I collected from Running Recordsto look for growth in instructional reading level. In conjunction, oral retell and questioning was used to check comprehension. Error analysis provided information on the frequency of meaning errors, structural errors and visual errors. I looked for an increase in fluency on the fluency test and an increase in word recognition level on the SORT-R3. I analyzed the answers to the surveys to determine if attitude toward reading had improved. I used the charts and graphs to organize the information in a way that made it easy to see the changes. I wrote notes at the end of each lesson regarding the students’ active participation, time on task and attention to the lesson. This allowed me to redesign instruction (Appendix L) to better meet the needs of my students.
Results:
Each student demonstrated growth in the assessed areas of phonics. Each read-aloud lesson focused on a phonics skill. The students identified, highlighted, and produced names of letters and initial and ending sounds. Although I did not focus phonics instruction on blends and digraphs during this study, I pointed out several as we encountered them in text.
The students also showed growth in the assessed areas of word recognition. They were exposed to several high frequency words as I read aloud and were required to identify and read them during the lesson. Both the interactive reading lesson and the guided reading lesson included repetitive text consisting of high frequency words.
Students showed growth on Running Record assessments including their ability to adequately retell the story. Comprehension strategies including main idea, setting, characters, and sequencing were taught with each read-aloud book. Orally students were asked to answer questions and retell the books I read aloud. Both individually and in groups, the students were required to demonstrate their understanding of the story and the comprehension strategy through the activity.
The oral reading fluency of all students improved by, at least, fifteen words per minute. Repeated readings by both me and the students attributed to this increase. I modeled fluent oral reading as I read each book aloud. The interactive reading lessons and the guided reading lessons gave the students the opportunity to read the text repeatedly.
The first survey showed that all of the students had a positive attitude toward reading and being read to. The final survey showed that their attitude toward reading and being read to had changed only slightly. Instruction did not negatively affect their attitude. In reviewing my notes, I found that as the weeks progressed the students’ interest in the lesson and the books being read increased. The lessons in the latter part of the study were more active and engaging which served to capture and hold their attention better.