Running head: GUIDED READING EFFECTS ON COMPREHENSION 1
The Effects of Guided Reading on Sixth Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension
Rebecca L. Templet
Southeastern Louisiana University
GUIDED READING EFFECTS ON COMPREHENSION 1
Abstract
The researcher will examine the effectiveness of guided reading on sixth graders’ reading comprehension. Seventy-six sixth grade students from a semi-rural school will participate in a six-week study. The experimental group will be composed of 47 regular education students who will receive daily, guided reading lessons, and the control group will not receive the treatment. A pre and post reading comprehension test will be administered to all participants to measure changes in reading comprehension. An open-ended survey will also be given to participants in the experimental group to analyze their attitudes and their perceived effectiveness of the guided reading treatment. The researcher intends to show that guided reading has a strong positive impact on reading comprehension.
The Effects of Guided Reading on Sixth Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension
With the recent implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) across the nation’s public schools, there have been significant shifts in English Language Arts. Among these shifts is the expectation that all students will be able to read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts proficiently and independently. This study will examine the effects of guided reading on the reading comprehension of sixth grade English Language Arts students in attempt to meet the CCSS expectations.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of guided reading on the reading comprehension of sixth grade English Language Arts students.
Review of Literature
Reading is a complex process of identifying symbols, as well as being able to gain meaning from the text. When beginning to learn to read, the focus is on phonemic awareness and letter-sound recognition. As reading progresses, learners realize that letters become words and words form sentences; it is during this progression when comprehension becomes a significant goal of reading (Bongratz, Bradley, Fisel, Orcutt & Shoemaker 2002). Readers can begin to focus on what the text means and not just what it says. There are several factors that contribute to a child’s success in learning to read. According to Bongratz et al., these factors include: exposure to literature in the home, parental involvement, socioeconomic status, ethnic diversity, and media influences. Reading is a necessary skill used far beyond school years; it is used to accumulate knowledge, communicate with others, and achieve goals throughout one’s life. Therefore the importance of reading and reading comprehension cannot be taken lightly.
Reading comprehension and students’ ability to interpret text have been issues for debate, both nationally and locally, for many years (Anderson, O’Leary, Schuler, & Wright, 2002). Bongratzet al. (2002) claim that today’s students exhibit deficits in literacy throughout the nation. This has led the guided reading movement, which originated in New Zealand, to take hold in the United States.
Guided reading is a teaching method used with both struggling and independent readers to achieve three essential purposes: to meet their individual instructional needs, to teach students to read and understand increasingly difficult texts, and to construct meaning using problem solving strategies to determine unfamiliar words (Iaquinta, 2006). According to Fountas and Pinnell, the basic structure of a guided reading lesson begins with a selection of a text (the level of the text should be just beyond students’ reading level). Teachers provide an introduction of the text, “interact with students briefly while reading, guide the discussion, make teaching points after reading, and engage students in targeted work to help them learn more about how words work” (Fountas & Pinnell, 2013, p. 271). This method enables readers to simultaneously learn about the process of reading while actually reading by becoming actively engaged in the lesson through thinking about the text before reading, concentratingon the meaning while reading, and sharing thinking processes after reading.
An essential component of guided reading is the teacher’s role during this process. During reading, teachers use facilitative talk to teach, prompt, and reinforce the reader in efficient processing as well as promote dialogue using the complex language of the text. Guided reading includes discussion about the text in which students tend to use more complex language from within the text rather than their own language. Occasionally misconceptions about the discussion process and the teacher’s role can be noted during implementation. As Fisher noted in her study, discussion is sometimes rigidly controlled in which the teacher’s interpretation of the text becomes the goal for children rather than a truly guided discussion in which students are encouraged to share their thinking (Fisher, 2008). In the article, “Guided Reading Beyond the Primary Grades,” the author states that a teacher should question, prompt, and provide comments that show students how to think beyond the obvious and to accept control for considering, evaluating, and adjusting what they read (Mooney, 1995a). It is essential that teachers act as a group member and do not become the keeper or checker of information.
Another essential component of guided reading is utilizing a small group. According to the article, “Guided Reading – The Reader in Control,” the maximum benefit of the guided reading approach is when children interact with a small group of peers as well as the teacher (Mooney, 1995b). When creating guided reading groups, one should consider grouping children by their developmental state (approximately the same level of development) and exhibiting common attitudes, understanding, and behaviors to allow students to support one another. Student grouping must also be dynamic (flexible and changing). Teachers should use data from assessments and running records to group and regroup students as they progress (Fountas & Pinnell, 2013). Gabl, Kaiser, Long, and Roemer(2007) state that assessments play a major role in appropriate implementation of a guided reading program and that teacher training to properly use these assessments is also necessary.
Research has overwhelmingly shown that guided reading is an effective tool for increasing students’ reading comprehension. Gabl et al. (2007) concluded that guided reading using leveled text was highly successful in addressing reading comprehension deficits. Anderson et al. (2002) also stated that guided reading was very successful at all grade levels. This negates the notion that guided reading is a tool used exclusively for beginning readers. Opponents may theorize that the increase in comprehension is due in part to students reading aloud the text rather than solely due to the guided instruction. In a study, Hale, Skinner, Williams, Hawkins, Neddenriep and Dizer(2007) determined that comprehension was significantly greater when students read aloud passages compared to silently reading passages. Regardless of the cause, if it is due in part to reading aloud or solely to the targeted reading strategies embedded within a guided reading program, the positive effects on students’ ability to comprehend text yields undeniable results for all readers and all grade levels.
Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that sixth grade English Language Arts students who participate in guided reading will score statistically significantly higher than sixth grade students who do not with respect to reading comprehension.
Operational Definitions
The sixth grade students used in this study are typical 11 to 12 year old students in a regular education program who do not receive any accommodations or modifications. An English Language Arts class focuses on reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and presenting ideas. For the purpose of this study, reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text or passage or the ability to construct or determine meaning, which is usually done through interaction with the text. Fountas and Pinnell (1996) state that guided reading is “an instructional context for supporting each reader’s development of effective strategies for processing novel texts at increasingly challenging levels of difficulty”(p.25). Essentially, it is a structured technique that supports and encourages the development of strategies within a small group (Andersonet al., 2002). Independent reading occurs when a student can read the text with accuracy in order to understand what is being read. Silent reading and independent reading are used synonymously in regard to this study.
Methodology
Research Design
This study will utilize a concurrent, mixed methods design (QUANT + QUAL). For the quantitative component, the researcher will use a quasi-experimental nonequivalent pretest posttest control group research design followed by a qualitative component that will include a survey with open-ended questions to assess students’ attitudes about the treatment. The independent variable will be the mode of reading. The levels include silent or independent readingand guided reading. The dependent variable is the reading comprehension according to test scores. A survey with open-ended questions will be used to collect qualitative dataregarding students’ attitudes and opinions about the effectiveness of the treatment they received.
Sample
A convenience sample of 76 sixth graders between the ages of 11 and 12 will be used in this study. The researcher will be using three of herclasses to pull an easily accessible sample, which will consist of 42 girls and 34 boys. The racial composition will be 6% Hispanic, 24% African American, and 70% Caucasian. Twenty-nine students will read independently (control group), and 47 students (the treatment group) will participate in guided reading to determine the effects of these modes of reading on reading comprehension.
Instrumentation
The Gray Silent Reading Tests will be given for the pretest and posttest. This test is designed to assess students’ silent reading comprehension. The test consists of 13 paragraphs (stories) and each story is followed by five multiple-choice questions. Internal consistency reliability estimates are 0.93 and above, test-retest reliabilities were 0.86 for Form A and 0.93 for Form B and 0.83 across alternate forms, and inter-scorer reliabilities were 0.97 for Form A and 0.98 for Form B. Criterion-related validity data suggests moderately strong correlation implying this is a valid instrument for its stated purposes. Adequate reliability and validity prove this test to be a useful means for measuring reading comprehension.
Procedures
All sixth-grade, regular education students (ages 11-12) from St. Amant Middle School will be required to provide written consent in order to participate in the study. The researcher will select three, intact sixth-grade classes for the study; one class (29 students) will be the control group and the remaining two classes (47 students) will receive the treatment. Both the treatment and control groups will receive the Gray Silent Reading Test (pre-test). For six weeks, students in the treatment group will participate in daily, guided reading lessons. Each day, students will read a reading passage with the teacher and a small group of peers focusing on the six comprehension skills (making connections, predicting and inferring, monitoring and clarifying, questioning, summarizing, and evaluating) as well as the before, during, and after reading strategies. Students in the control group will read the same daily passages as the treatment group, but they will not receive small group, guided reading lessons. The researcher will maintain a running record of each student’s daily progress in the treatment group. At the conclusion of the six weeks, all students will receive the Gray Silent Reading Test (post-test). Students in the treatment group will also receive a survey with open-ended questions to assess their attitudes and their perceived effectiveness of the guided reading treatment at the end of the six weeks.
Data Analysis
In order to determine whether a statistically significant difference exists between students who participate in guided reading and those who do not, an ANCOVA will be used. Qualitative data will be analyzed to attempt to identify common themes or trends that were observed in the data.
References
Anderson, T., O'Leary, D., Schuler, K., & Wright, L. (2002, May 1). Increasing reading
comprehension through the use of guided reading. Unpublished master’s thesis, St. Xavier University, Chicago.
Bongratz, K. M., Bradley, J. C., Fisel, K. L., Orcutt, J. A., & Shoemaker, A. J. (2002, April 1).
Improving student comprehension skills through the use of reading strategies. Unpublished master’s thesis, St. Xavier University, Chicago.
Fisher, A. (2008). Teaching comprehension and critical literacy: Investigating guided reading in
three primary classrooms. Literacy, 42(1), 19-28. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9345.2008.00477.x
Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. (2013). Guided Reading: The romance and the reality. Reading
Teacher, 66(4), 268-284.
Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. (1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinmann.
Gabl, K. A., Kaiser, K. L., Long, J. K., & Roemer, J. L. (2007, May 1). Improving reading
comprehension and fluency through the use of guided reading.Unpublished master’s action research project, St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 496377) Retrieved April 4, 2014, from ERIC database.
Hale, A. D., Skinner, C. H., Williams, J., Hawkins, R., Neddenriep, C. E., & Dizer, J. (2007).
Comparing Comprehension Following Silent and Aloud Reading across Elementary and Secondary Students: Implication for curriculum-based measurement. Behavior Analyst Today, 8(1), 9-23.
Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided Reading: A research-based response to the challenges of early
reading instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 413-418.
Mooney, M. (1995a). Guided reading beyond the primary grades. Teaching Prek-8, 26(1), 75-
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Mooney, M. (1995b). Guided reading--The reader in control. Teaching Prek-8, 25(5), 54-58.