My search for relevant information to assist my own research has yielded many results. My research topic can really be broken into two equal elements. First, the teaching of textual analysis. Countless researchers have published dense and thorough findings about how to best teach students to analyze a text. They mention successful strategies, as well as disproved approaches. For example, an article by Doreen Saccomano focuses on Close Reading, and addressed the importance of selecting texts that are appropriate for your students. Saccomano explained that teachers should consider what their goal for using a specific text. For example, considering the author’s purpose for writing the piece and if that will suit the needs of your students’ learning goals.
Close Reading requires the teacher and students to both analyze a reading passage and examine it for details, some of which include understanding how the text works, the author’s message, providing text evidence to support thoughts and predictions the reader is developing, and making connections between the reader and the text itself (Frey & Fisher 2013; Shanahan, 2012). The second, core element of my research topic is working with English Language Learners. As and ELD3D teacher, it came to no surprise that there were seemingly even more results on this topic. Fortunately, I was able to narrow down the results to a couple articles that were particularly relevant to my upcoming research. These articles provided me new insight to specific strategies that could benefit my own students. One specific strategy resonated with me was the use of “Think Alouds" According to Oster (2001, p. 54) think-aloud is a method in which “students verbalize their thoughts as they read and thus bring into the open the strategies they are using to understand a text”. When I first drafted my driving question, prior to conducting thorough research, I was initially concerned about the idea of integrating technology into my lessons. This was not due to a dislike for technology, I simply was unsure of how my students could use it effectively for Close Readings and textual analysis. That was until I found an article which addressed that exact idea. Using close reading as our theoretical framework, the reading strategies and web tools presented here provide visual displays of evidence found in the texts that students read. These strategies are helpful for all students and especially for struggling middle school readers as they learn to read closely, think clearly, and construct arguments about evidence found in the texts they read. (Gormley & McDermott; 2015) Discovering this article allowed me to breath a sigh of relief. I intend to look into these strategic web tools further and ideally, find one that is appropriate for my students and the work they will be doing. My work is by no means over. I still have a lot of information to sift through. I have many articles at my disposal, and each of them contain relevant and potentially valuable information that will assist me on my journey. Wish me luck! Driving Question: What is the impact of guided practice of textual analysis with English learners? *Link to my Research Table
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Time Frame:
4/3 Administer pretest & Qualitative Self-assessment
4/3 → 4/7 Spend week teaching textual analysis Strategies:
4/8 → 4/16 Spring Break:
4/17 → 4/18 Resume teaching textual analysis 4/19 Administer post test & Qualitative Self-assessment
CAASPP Testing
Pre/Post Test: students will read and analyze an article. Then answer the questions on the handout. These questions are text dependent and require the students to go back into the text to locate their answers. The text is fairly complex for some of the students (850 lexile) However, it is important they learn to work with complex texts. Pre/post Questionnaire:What skills did you use to answer the questions about the article? Check One:
Formative Figures:
While conducting research around my driving question, I encountered the work of one Kristi Heston. Kristi conducted research on the implementation of the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading System. Guided reading is a teaching approach designed to help individual readers build an effective system for processing a variety of increasingly challenging texts over time. I found this relevant to my driving question as I will be focusing on the impact of guided practice of textual analysis. This will involve developing students reading comprehension along with their critical thinking skills. Heston’s research lead to some promising results. Big Ideas: The purpose of her study was to measure the amount of student growth, after the use of guided reading instruction, in the three specific areas: fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Heston assessed her students prior to guided reading implementation, and again after the implementation. According to her research, “There was an increase in student scores in all three areas, the areas of accuracy and comprehension had the largest number of students show an increase in their scores.” Kristi’s research can help newer teachers such as myself to understand how instruction method is key to student success. Heston determined that guided reading increases student's fluency, accuracy, and comprehension, making clear the benefits of continued guided reading instruction. Another big idea of Heston’s is how fluency, accuracy, and comprehension levels each contribute to student reading success as a whole. However, growth in student reading levels is the only indicator looked at to determine growth in reading. Recognizing growth in the areas of student levels of fluency, accuracy, and comprehension is important to ensure students are making well rounded gains in their reading abilities. I find Heston’s conclusions to be both important and helpful to my own research. As I work with my students to improve their critical reading skills and ability to analyze different texts, I will consider both Heston’s approach as well as her findings. Driving Question (Round 2):
What is the impact of guided practice of textual analysis with 7th grade students? (Objective: RL.7.1 The student will cite textual evidence to support text analysis.) What problems in my classroom might point to my driving question? As you can see, my driving question has changed rather significantly from my last blog entry. Initially, I wanted to focus my research on my students' abilities to interact with the real world at the conclusion of their various projects. However, after further consideration, I have come to the conclusion that while I find that question very intriguing, it is not necessarily a signigicant concern for the time being. Fortunately, I have encountered a "problem" with my students. I am not typically a fan of the word "Problem" as I like to see every problem as an opportunity! Therefore, I have encountered a new opportunity to research an issue that is plaguing a large faction of my students: Textual analysis. What will I “Need to Know” to answer my question?
From my own experience, I know that being able to analyze a text and cite concrete evidence is a highly valuable skill. I know that my students not only need to be able to read the ideas of others, but also to internalize the significance of those ideas, paraphrase them into their own words, identify the underlying message, and draw their own conclusions. I also know that this is a lot to ask of your standard 12 year old student. Fortunately, I also know a lot of great teachers at my site. I know that they have encountered this problem themselves in the past and will be wonderful resources for me to learn from. Possible Driving Question: How can I provide my students more opportunities to apply what they have learned in a real world setting? Currently I teach two courses of 7th grade Accelerated English Language arts, one course of 6th grade AVID (a college prep ellective) and one course of ELD3D (a support class for English Learners). The school where I teach has fully embraced the Project Based Learning model. Many of my students respond well to the PBL model and as a teacher, I too find the process both educationally beneficial and innovative. What I find most appealing about this method of teaching, is how it requires students to solve complex problems through the use of 21st century skills to create a public product. Take for example our current project: "Antisocial" Over the last month, my students have been conducting research on the effects of social media on the development of social skills. A large component of this project is students working to gather strong and relevant evidence they believe will help support their claims. Ultimately, students will need to incorporate their findings in both of their final products: An arugmentative essay and a public service announcement. This is where my driving question comes in. Instead of asking myself, "What did my students learn?" I should be asking myself, "What can my students do with what they have learned?" My driving question focuses on just that. The outcome of any project is to allow students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in the real world. Therefore, I want to pay special attention to the "product" phase of our current, and future projects. More specifically, I want to focus on improving the frequency and quality with which my students apply their new found skills in the real world. What might this look like? Rethinking what students do with their finished products for a start. Too often I have watched my students present amazing speeches and presentations to their classmates and peers and wished for a way to get them out into the real world. Taking students beyond the classroom, to the source of their inquiries. Perhaps inviting more relevant figures into our classroom to share in and inhance our learning experiences. At the very least publishing student work online. I will continue to explore this inquiry further, and as always, apply what I have learned. |
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December 2017
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