Final Action Research
Final Action Research
Final Action Research
Research Question
After thinking about all my teacher had to say about Students A, K, and S, I created my
research question. Since my teacher made it sound like all of the students were in about the
same place with their nonfiction reading comprehension, I decided to create one research
question that would be the same for all three students. The question I focused on with these
students this semester was: What are best practices for improving nonfiction reading
comprehension in higher level reading students?
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Timeline
Pre-Session
October 1st
Session 1
October 14th
Session 2
October 15th
Session 3
October 21st
Session 4
October 27th
Session 5
October 29th
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should go in each of the blanks.
We focused on finding main ideas and details.
Session 6
November 3rd
Session 7
November 5th
Session 8
November 19th
Session 9
December 3rd
Midpoint Assessment
The students took the Text Features Assessment
and read and answered the questions to the
passage about the flying squirrel.
I also re-assessed the students feelings toward
reading non-fiction with the same survey as
before.
I only noticed one of the students really looking
back in the passage for answers.
We ran out of time to do the Bye-Bye, Fly
reading and questions.
Remediation Session:
Based on the midpoint assessments, I decided we
needed to focus more on text features.
We made Text Feature File Folders so that the
students had a concrete, visual organizer of the
text features they had learned. They had to
provide examples of each one from a book about
the butterfly life cycle.
Final Assessments
The students took both reading passage
assessments again and filled out the non-fiction
feelings survey.
I had the students write a sentence on the bottom
of the assessment something they wanted to tell
me, like something they liked or did not like
about what we did.
Final Assessment Continued:
The students completed the Text Features
Assessment.
finding the important information in a nonfiction text. Students S and A were going to need a lot
more help than Student K to become proficient at this.
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Assessments
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Anecdotal Timeline
Date
Description
of Session
Session 1
October 14
Session 2
October
15th
Skill/Strategy
Taught
Assessments
Anecdotal
Observations/
Reflection
Next Step
Students A, N/A
K, and S
completed
their initial
assessments.
- Nonfiction
Feelings
Assessment
- Bye-Bye, Fly
Reading
Comprehension
Finish
giving
initial
assessments.
- Flying Animals
with Parachutes
Comprehension
Assessment
- Nonfiction Text
Features
Assessment
After
completing all
of the initial
assessments, I
feel that I need
to work with
my students on
being able to
pick important
information out
of nonfiction
texts. I also
feel like I need
to teach the
Session 3
October
21st
Teaching
Nonfiction
Text
Features.
Students
will find
each of the
text features
in their own
nonfiction
text by
marking
them with
different
colored
sticky notes
according to
the text
feature.
- MCREL:
Nonlinguistic
Representation
Session 4
October
27th
Teaching
how to
make notes
of new
information.
- Evidence
Based
Strategy:
Modeling
- Writing
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started trying to find
the words in the
description in the word
box, I explained to her
that that was not going
to work, that she
needed to match the
words in the word box
with the description
that matched. In the
end, she decided not to
complete all of the
boxes because she did
not know the words.
Student K did very well
on the assessment.
Ongoing formative The students were very
assessments as I
engaged in this lesson.
watch and listen to I had a poster with each
what the students
of the text features on
say and do.
it, each one was
mounted with different
colored paper that
correlated with the
color sticky note the
students would use to
mark the features in
their text. They really
enjoyed doing this.
The one feature that all
of the students knew
right away was Title.
All of the rest, they
were not sure which
leads me to believe that
Student K was good at
guessing on the Text
Features Assessment.
Ongoing formative I started the lesson off
assessments as I
by modeling with a
watch and listen to nonfiction book I had
what the students
like theirs. I read a
say and do.
page and thought out
different text
features to my
students.
Session 5
October
29th
We used
bigger
sticky notes
for the
students to
write down
the new and
interesting
information
they learned
as they read
the text.
observations in
the book on
sticky notes
(From
Literature
Review)
Teaching
how to
organize
main ideas
from a
nonfiction
text in a
graphic
organizer.
- MCREL:
Cues,
Questions, and
Advanced
Organizers
- Evidence
Based
Strategy:
Modeling
- Evidence
Based
Strategy:
Choral
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loud about the
information I read.
Then I wrote down an
interesting fact I
wanted to remember on
the sticky note and
posted it on the page.
Then the students each
had their own book,
they were the same
brand and level of
book, but on different
topics. Each one
enjoyed reading
silently through their
book and writing notes
of interesting facts. I
encouraged some of
them along as we went
and they were unsure
of what to write. They
also shared the things
they were learning with
the group which I
thought was cool since
I had not told them to
do that. They would
show each other
pictures from their
book as they read.
Ongoing formative We used a new book
assessments as I
today about Rocks and
watch and listen to Soil. The first thing we
what the students
did with this book was
say and do.
find the different text
features and talk about
how they look a little
different in different
books. We all went
through the same book
together. We read each
page chorally which
the students enjoyed
understanding
finding
important
information
better than they
were in their
assessments. I
think that the
next step is to
help the
students learn
how to visually
organize
important
information
from the texts
they read.
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Reading
Session 6
November
3rd
Mid-point
N/A
Assessments
- Text Features
Assessment
- Animals with
Parachutes
Reading
we have
worked on both
focuses of my
research (text
features and
text
comprehension
). I feel that
the next step is
to take the midpoint
assessments.
Based on these
assessments, I
feel that the
next step is to
solidify both
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Comprehension
Assessment
- Nonfiction
Feelings
Assessment
Session 7
November
5th
Remediation
session.
The students
will make
file folders
to find and
organize the
different
text
features,
while noting
important
information
from a new
nonfiction
text.
- MCREL:
Non-Linguistic
Representation
- Evidence
Based
Strategy:
Modeling
- MCREL:
Cooperative
Learning
the text
features and
locating
important
information in
a more visual
way.
I feel that my
students made
a lot of
progress and
that this
learning tool
helped them
organize it all
together in a
very visual
way. My next
step is to give
the final
assessment.
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Session 8
November
19th
Give final
N/A
(post)
assessments.
- Animals with
Parachutes
Reading
Comprehension
Assessment
- Bye-Bye, Fly
Reading
Comprehension
Assessment
-Nonfiction Text
Features
Assessment
Session 9
December
3rd
Give last
assessment.
- Text Features
Assessment
N/A
I need to give
my students
their last
assessment
next.
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classroom with a lot of
distractions.
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Strategies Used
Nonlinguistic Representation
This is a MCREL strategy that I used many times throughout my research. I used visual
representations to display information to my students as well as for them to organize their
information. The students responded very well to this, I feel that they enjoyed being able to
visually see what I was trying to teach them. The example below is of their Text Features File
Folders.
Modeling:
Modeling is an evidence based strategy and it is extremely important for teaching.
Students need to be able to hear and see what is expected of them in order to know what they
should be doing. I used modeling when I read sections of the text to them, used a graphic
organizer, and when we created the file folders. I would speak my thinking to the students as I
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noted interesting information in the text and then they were able to do the same thing when it
was their turn.
Sticky Notes (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007):
This is a strategy that I got from my research for this project. It helps students note new
and important information in their text by writing their thoughts on a sticky note and then
sticking it where the information was. My students really enjoyed using this strategy and it
encouraged them to talk about their findings with the others in the group.
Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers:
This is a MCREL strategy that emphasizes organizing information into organizers. I
utilized this strategy after I found that my students struggles with locating important information
from texts. We used a graphic organizer to find main details in one of our readings. Images of
these completed graphic organizers are below.
Choral Reading:
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Choral Reading is an evidence based strategy. It helps students speak fluently. This was
not the focus of my research, however I feel that it is important to include fluency in other
aspects of learning as well. Additionally, fluency is the key to comprehension which is necessary
when reading nonfiction texts. My students all read easily at the same rate and enjoyed reading
together.
Cooperative Learning:
Cooperative Learning is a MCREL strategy. I utilized this strategy when the students
created their Text Feature File Folders. They were able to work and brainstorm together. They
really enjoyed this and it lead to a good discussion about each of the text features. I also heard
the students explain the features in a different way than I had been that I think helped them better
understand the feature.
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Assessment Results
Student K
Assessment
Text Features
Bye-Bye, Fly
Animals with Parachutes
Initial Scores
6/8
3/5
3/4
Mid-Point Scores
8/8
N/A
3.5/4
Final Scores
8/8
4/5
3.5/4
Initial Scores
4/8
2/5
0/4
Mid-Point Scores
5/8
N/A
2.5/4
Final Scores
6/8
3/5
3/4
Initial Scores
3/8
2/5
0/4
Mid-Point Scores
6/8
N/A
2/4
Final Scores
3/8
4/5
3/4
Student S
Assessment
Text Features
Bye-Bye, Fly
Animals with Parachutes
Student A
Assessment
Text Features
Bye-Bye, Fly
Animals with Parachutes
*Note: No Mid-Point Assessment was given for the Bye-Bye, Fly Assessment.
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Pre-Assessment
Mid-Point Assessment
Student K
Student A
Student S
Post-Assessment
Pre-Assessment
Mid-Point Assessment
Student K
Student S
Student A
Post-Assessment
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Pre-Assessment
Student K
Mid-Point Assessment
Student S
Student A
Post-Assessment
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Progress Monitoring
At the Initial, Mid-Point, and Final Assessments, all of my students filled out the NonFiction Feelings Progress Monitoring Chart. This sheet allowed the students to let me know how
they felt about the main themes we looked at for the semester. They circled the picture of the
face that described how they felt about that aspect of nonfiction. I was able to see their feelings
toward nonfiction, text features, and comprehension change over the semester.
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Mid-Point
Final
Reading Nonfiction: 2
Reading Nonfiction: 3
Reading Nonfiction: 3
Text Features: 0
Text Features: 3
Text Features: 3
Text Features: 2
Text Features: 0
Text Features: 0
Reading Nonfiction: 0
Reading Nonfiction: 0
Reading Nonfiction: 0
Text Features: 1
Text Features: 0
Text Features: 0
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Data Reflection
Overall I was very happy with the data that I collected from all of my students. Student
K progressed on every assessment. She started off the strongest in each area, and I wish that I
had been able to individualize her learning more. Student S showed a steady progression on
each assessment. She started out not being able to correctly look by in the text for answers, to
actually looking back in the text and correctly answering most of the questions. She also
improved significantly with her text features recognition. Student A showed improvement in all
of her assessments except her final Text Features Assessment. On this assessment she fell back
to the same score she received on the initial test, however she got different ones correct. I feel
that there were outside circumstances that caused this. I was not able to pull my students out in
the hallway that day, so she had to complete the assessment at her table, and I think there were
too many distractions for her that she was not able to concentrate on the assessment. I loved
being able to see the improvement in all of my students. Not only did their assessment scores
improve, but I also noticed their attitudes improving, and they became closer together as a group
when we worked. They looked forward to our time together, and they were all able to come out
understanding nonfiction text features, and how to find specific information better than when
they started.
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Overall Reflection
I was very hesitant about this project at the beginning of the semester. I had no clue what
I was doing, and I was still trying to figure out how to teach things to students. However, now
looking back on it I think it was a great way to force me to start teaching and prepare for
teaching. There are many things that I think could have gone better or that I wish I could change
as I look back. However, that means that I will know these things beforehand the next time I
perform action research, and I will be able to do better and receive even better data.
One thing I really wish I had done in my action research was to individualize it more.
Student K was clearly performing at a higher level than Student S and A, but I still had her do the
same things with them. This means that Student K did not make as much improvement as the
other students. She needed to be challenged, and I should have been able to provide that for her.
In the future, I want to be able to make adjustments for each of my students individually to
individualize their learning.
Looking back, I also wish that I had been able to explicitly focus on finding answers to
questions in the text. I focused mainly on finding important information, which I felt was the
first step to being able to find answers to questions about the text, but I was never able to truly
focus on that aspect. The students did improve in their ability to locate the answers in the text, so
I do feel that what I did was helpful, I just think I could have done it even better.
The other thing that I regret not being able to do was completing all of my assessments
during the Mid-Point Assessment. I ran out of time before I was able to give my students the
Bye-Bye, Fly Assessment, and I knew that I needed to move on in the next lesson and would
not be able to complete this assessment. This means that I cannot accurately compare all of my
data for that assessment since I only have an initial and final assessment. The students did all
improve, I just do not have as much information on that aspect as I do for the others.
My students really enjoyed being able to spend this time together, and they had fun
receiving this extra help. They never complained about coming out with me, but they smiled and
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would bring the things I asked them to bring. I feel that this is very important to my action
research results as well. Students will do better if they are excited and motivated to learn.
Overall, my action research encourages me as I look to my future in teaching. It has
shown me the difference I can have in students understanding of concepts, even in a short
amount of time. I hope to be able to take the skills I learned here and apply them to my teaching.
I want to be able to make the changes in my teaching that I wish I had made here. Additionally,
there are things I did here, like the file folder organizers, that I would love to incorporate into my
students learning in the future. My action research makes me excited to continue on the road to
becoming a teacher.
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Abstract
This paper examines the importance of including nonfiction texts in the classroom. Nonfiction
encourages questioning, and engages students in their reading. A teacher can have the huge
impact on his/her students comprehension of nonfiction texts. There are many different
strategies that have been found to increase nonfiction reading comprehension. This paper notes
many different strategies that have been found to improve students comprehension of nonfiction
texts.
Keywords: comprehension, nonfiction, teaching, questioning, engaging
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confusing part of the text (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). One strategy is to have the students utilize
sticky notes while reading the text. To help students pinpoint their sports of confusion, the
students should use a sticky note to mark it, and write Huh? on it. Then, when the students
find the answer to their question later in the text, the students move the sticky note to that spot
and write the answer to their question on the bottom of the sticky note (Harvey & Goudvis,
2007). This strategy helps monitor the students thinking. It also helps them understand how
questions can be answered inside the text as they read it. This is an important concept that
students need to learn. Additionally, looking back in the texts for answers is included in the
Common Core Standards. Furthermore, reading nonfiction texts leads to students questioning
the world around them and how things work (Ghiso, 2013). This is why it is imperative that
students continually ask questions before, during, and after their reading, and this strategy
encourages exactly that.
It has also been found that when students make connections to the text, they are engaged
and able to better connect to the material. It is best to start out encouraging students to think
about connections in their everyday lives, and then moving further out and making connections
across the world. One great strategy to help encourage this in the classroom is by the teacher
demonstrating how he/she makes connections to the text. A way to do this is for the teacher to
speak what he/she is thinking as they read the text aloud to the students such as, Wow! I never
knew that this is how birds find their food. Following the statement, it is also important for the
teacher to demonstrating writing down the new information to model the importance of learning
as students read (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). By the teacher modeling learning while reading, the
students are able to see how they can make the most out of what they read.
Another strategy to increase reading comprehension while reading nonfiction is creating
charts and graphic organizers. This is a great way to keep track of new vocabulary (Harvey &
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Goudvis, 2007). It also encourages discussions as students brainstorm together what should be
included on the chart or organizer. Additionally, it would also be beneficial to write down
questions students have before reading, and then go over the questions together at the end to see
if the questions were answered. Once again, this emphasizes the importance of finding answers
to questions within the text. One teacher discussed how a graphic organizer helps her students
understand nonfiction. Together they organized the information they learned as they read, and
after they read as a group, the teacher assigned them a section to read and continue their same
strategies for understanding. Another strategy that could be combined with the big graphic
organizer is, Board Equals Paper. This strategy helps students with notetaking because whatever
the teacher writes down on the board, or in this case, graphic organizer, the students write down
on their own paper as well (Lemov 2010). This helps the students keep their own record of what
they have learned, and it teaches them a strategy they can use when they read for comprehension
on their own.
All of these strategies have been found to increase nonfiction reading comprehension and
should be implemented in the everyday classroom. Research illustrates the need to engage
young students with nonfiction texts, however they must be shown proven techniques and
strategies for comprehending and learning from these texts (Ghiso, 2013). Additionally, the
importance of the teacher modeling these strategies cannot be stressed enough. If the teacher
demonstrates the importance of each of these things, students will have someone to model after,
which will in turn improve their comprehension of nonfiction texts.
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