Can short readings and post-reading activities enhance 5th graders' reading skills to allow them to reach the required reading levels prescribed in the National Curriculum?
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(2) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 2. Abstract. This study explored an initiative in a school located in Puente Alto. This one centred on the improvement of 5th graders’ reading skills, through the implementation of short readings and a series of post-reading activities. One weekly short reading and post-reading activity was used during a period of three weeks. In addition, students’ self-assessment and English teacher’s interviews were also applied after each reading session. The methodology used for this project was qualitative and three main findings emerged from the analysis of the data a) After a comparison between students’ production and students’ beliefs, data suggested that there was not an important improvement of students’ reading skills. b) Two main aspects for students to improve: reading comprehension and vocabulary as sub-skills. Data suggested that these ones were the main students’ limitations to improve their reading skills. c) Data suggested how effective the implementation of short readings to practice reading skills was..
(3) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 3. INTRODUCTION This classroom research explored an initiative to improve students’ reading skills in “Colegio Mirador”. This is a subsidized, mixed- gender and secular institution located in Puente Alto district. In specific terms, this project is focused on a fifth grade class, in which there were 41 students and who had two and a half hours of English classes per week. These 10 and -11 year-old students had their classes conducted solely in English. Based on my observation, and according to the C.E.F.R.L and students’ performance in classes, an overwhelming majority of students might belong to the A1 level, with students were able to “understand very short, simple texts a single phrase at a time, picking up familiar names, words and basic phrases and reading as required” (2001:10) The focus of this project is to develop and promote reading skills. Based on the 5th grade Bases Curriculares, students should be able to recognize some aspects of English language, such as vocabulary, expressions, language functions and grammatical structures connected to diverse topics and communicative situations. In addition to this, they are also expected to develop reading comprehension skills by identifying main ideas, details and explicit information from texts. The main reason why this was significant within students’ context was because reading skills activities were not developed in most of the English classes. Therefore, students did not have the opportunity to practice this skill. As the Bases Curriculares (2016) state: “These tasks are very important to learn English, since they support the reading strategies [...]. They constitute a model for interaction and production” (Ministerio de Educación: 224). For this reason, the project’s purpose was to understand how effective were this initiative and the intervention plan applied to improve students’ reading skills by using short readings..
(4) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 4 This classroom-based research seeks to address the following question: Can short readings and post-reading activities enhance 5th graders’ reading skills to allow them to reach the required reading levels prescribed in the National Curriculum?. Methodology. The methodology used to base this study was qualitative. This method was chosen because this classroom-based research aimed to understand a social event in a natural setting. In this case, in a classroom. In addition, differing students’ and teacher’s perspectives were needed in order to understand students reading progress during the intervention plan. According to James, Milenkiewicz and Bucknam (2008), “qualitative data are particularly appropriate for PAR (Participatory Action Research) projects because they can help us understand people’s reactions, beliefs, and behaviour more clearly” (2008:69). This was directly related to what data collection tools were expected to demonstrate, since students’ beliefs were a relevant perspective to answer the research question. Additionally, James et.al. (2008) observe that qualitative data is important to respond to questions when it comes to understand processes. This method was useful to better understand if the intervention plan and implementation of it were suitable to achieve the purpose of this investigation. As this project was an initiative to improve students’ reading skills and this was part of their learning process, when the authors claim that qualitative “reporting on either the success or failure of programs in schools calls for understanding both the planning and implementation phases of program development” (James, A., Milenkiewicz, M., & Bucknam, A., 2008:68)..
(5) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 5 Data collection strategy This classroom-based research had three data collection tools. Firstly, artifact analysis based on post-reading activity worksheets designed by the researcher (see Appendix A) were analysed, with the purpose of understanding the research question by understanding tangible students’ production. As a result of limited time, there were three reading sessions. Three different short readings and their post-reading activities were applied. One of the reasons why this tool was implemented was because the word “enhance” was on the research question. Therefore, multiple reading sessions instances were necessary to obtain information and find if students enhanced their reading skills or not during a period of three weeks. Further, students’ production representation was needed to compare and contrast students’ beliefs, which they expressed in the following tool applied.. Secondly, a second artefact analysis based on students’ self-assessment was used in order to understand what students believed about their performance when reading. (see Appendix B). Self-assessments looked for students’ own perspectives and beliefs regarding their reading comprehension. Their responses were useful to find if they thought they enhanced this skill or not. It was important to estimate the similarity or difference between students’ production and students’ beliefs. In addition, this tool was written in Spanish in order for students to understand what was asked and they could respond consciously. The self-assessment tool was one for each student, since they had to assess their own performance individually.. Finally, three interviews were undertaken with the supervising English teacher (see Appendix C). These were conducted after the three reading lessons and they were used with the purpose of having the teacher’s perspective regarding students’ production and.
(6) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 6 enhancement. The teacher was also interviewed about the short readings’ suitability and if they were appropriate to enhance students’ reading skills in order to reach the reading level prescribed in the National Curriculum. Therefore, this tool also sought to understand the teachers’ perspective with the purpose of understanding the research question.. These instruments were chosen with the purpose of giving validity and trustworthiness to the investigation, since they were three different tools to collect and interpret data. It was decided to have these students’ and teacher’s perspectives, because “by using multiple forms of evidence and perspectives, a truer portrait of the student’s [production] can be developed” (Wiggins, 1998:2). Having several perspectives was not only useful to validate this classroom-based research, but also to collect several dimensions of the same situation. Qualitative data collection methods are well known as time consuming when carrying out an investigation. As Namey and Mitchell (2012) state: “at one extreme, we may have a single-word answer in response to an open-ended question on a survey […]. [However], at the other end of the spectrum, a researcher can be dealing with a 50-page narrative of a participant’s life history” (2012:3). Nevertheless, as the intervention plan for this study was implemented in a short period, data collection methods were not time consuming, even when the data analysis was carried out by hand and one by one.. Data analysis strategy After these data collection methods were applied, a series of findings emerged from data analysis processes. Therefore, data suggested classifying the findings into main and secondary themes. The main themes were coded to analyse them in order to double-check if they were relevant for this project. After validating them, data revealed clear patterns within.
(7) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 7 students’ and teacher’s perspective. Therefore, themes emerged from data and they were established as the main findings. This method was useful for this classroom-based research, because analysing data in a qualitative way helped find deeper answers from students and the supervising English teacher. Therefore, their perspectives could expand the findings by expressing new thoughts to better understand the research question. As James, Milenkiewicz and Bucknam (2008) state: “Qualitative evidence extracts depth and adds body to the conclusions […]. Data collection and analysis tools are employed when practitioners need to delve deeply into circumstances and understand the human motivations involved” (2008:66) and this was what this research wanted to find through this method implementation and its process, to extract depth and adds body to findings.. Research Findings After analysing the data in a qualitative way, three findings emerged. The findings are written in order of significance. Students’ production v/s Students’ beliefs It is relevant to mention that post-reading activities and students’ self-assessment were analysed for the purpose of comparing them, as it was mentioned before. As a consequence, the tangible outcomes of students’ production suggested that an overwhelming number of students did not achieve the correct answers where they had to identify the specific information of the text and reading comprehension questions in general. However, in students’ self-assessments, data revealed that most of the students thought those questions were not difficult to respond to suggesting that the text was also easy to read. Moreover, the supervising English teacher, observed that, “the text was appropriate to the level in which our.
(8) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 8 students are. It had known vocabulary that was easy for them to understand and new vocabulary to expand their knowledge” (Interview 1). When analysing data, it was easier to identify a contrast between students’ production and their beliefs, since tangible results were suggesting they did not achieve the expected outcomes of improving their reading skills. Even when most of the students answered in their self-assessments that the text was “Fácil” (student 12, self-assessment 1), their post-reading activities did not match with their beliefs, since reading comprehension questions were not correct. For this analysis, the patterns to find this main theme were the students’ responses from the post-reading activities, since they represented or demonstrated how many students improved their reading skills or not by assessing if they responded correct or not. Data suggested that there was not a significant improvement of this skill. According to the data, most students were not able to achieve the required reading levels prescribed in the National Curriculum. In fact, data revealed that in the last post-reading activity, most students did not achieve the correct answers.. Students’ lack of vocabulary and lack of reading comprehension These reading aspects were the main limitations for improving students’ reading skills. Most were able to identify their weaknesses when reading, since they expressed in their self-assessment what was difficult for them when performing the post-reading activities. Self-assessment contained some opened-questions and data could suggest that students lack vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. One of the question was: “¿Qué es lo que más te cuesta cuando lees en Inglés?”. In the three self-assessments applied, the most repeated students’ responses were: “comprender el texto” (student 18, self-assessment 2), “entender las palabras” (student 2, self-assessment 1), “no puedo entender las palabras que no están en.
(9) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 9 mi vocabulario” (student 36, self-assessment 3). In addition to this, the supervising English teacher also mentioned students’ weaknesses when reading. The teacher was also able to identify students’ limitations when the intervention plan was carried out. To exemplify this, one of the questions in the teacher’s interviews was related to the students’ performance when reading. Consequently, the teacher answered that identifying specific information “was difficult for some of them, but I think that they have the same problem in Spanish” (Supervising English teacher, interview 1). In addition, in response to the following question “Did you notice students’ disposition when reading? Do you think they work consciously?” the Supervising English teacher responded that, “students could work better, but some of them get distracted very easily. However, I think the fact of their lack of vocabulary affects in their reading comprehension. Maybe that is a reason why they don’t work well” (Supervising English teacher, interview 3). From the collected data previously mentioned the students' limitations when reading could be identified during this intervention plan. Students’ self-assessment was an appropriate and helpful tool to understand the cause of students’ low production outcomes. Moreover, the teacher’s comments were also useful to complement students’ data and expand this finding.. Short readings’ suitability The supervising English teacher and the students agreed on the suitability of short readings. The teacher mentioned several times that “the text was appropriate to the level in which our students are” (Supervising English teacher, Interview 1) and also that “the text was much better and appropriate for them” in the second reading session (Supervising English teacher, Interview 2). Additionally, most of the students also chose the option “Fácil” about the text suitability. In fact, 27 students answered that, meaning that more than the half of the.
(10) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 10 class did not have difficulties to work with the short texts. The rest of the students showed an improvement after the three reading sessions applied. Another question included in the teacher’s interviews was “Does this short reading and post-reading activity help students to achieve the required reading levels established by the National Curriculum in students’ level? How?” to which the teacher answered “The students are lower than the average. However, this kind of activities increase their level fast enough to achieve the national level” (Supervising English teacher, Interview 1). This question sought to find a better understanding of the research question. This gave more information to complement the rest of the teacher’ and students’ answers regarding short readings’ suitability.. Research Implications When analysing outcomes, two main implications emerged. These ones were implied within these project findings, and they were compared to other studies.. To explore about more initiatives to enhance reading skills Blickenstaff, Hallquist & Kandi Kopel (2013) helped to understand that “all students learn comprehension at varying rates and need differing amounts of guidance to increase comprehension. Some students need little to no help comprehending while others struggle to attend long enough to accurately restate what they’ve heard or read”. (2013:5). Consequently, they also state that “as teachers, we strive to help individual students increase their reading comprehension” (2013:5). That is why their investigation helped to this project to better understand the research question and to comprehend if different reading strategies helped to improve students’ reading skills, thinking about their low performance when having the reading sessions. In addition, the investigation previously mentioned also states that “students.
(11) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 11 with low literacy skills have less access to the regular curriculum” (2013:6). Therefore, this information was useful to know if short readings and some strategies when reading were helpful for students to improve reading comprehension. This implication was revealed when low students’ production outcomes appeared. It is necessary to be aware of the students’ backward in order to understand the causes of most students reading skills improvement. In addition, it is relevant to understand how effective is to implement different strategies to fulfil the students’ needs, as it was mentioned before. This is helpful to engage students and to contribute to their learning process, since they would be learning according to their personal capabilities. Professional development as an EFL teacher The implications of a study by Moreau (2014), related to being a professional teacher and also to be aware of the students’ learning process, states that “general education middle school teachers must be adequately prepared for the realities of struggling readers (whether designated or not) in their classrooms” (Moreau, 2014:2). Therefore, if students demonstrated low outcomes when reading, it was not only because of their reading skills, but also because their English teacher must to be able to identify the students’ weaknesses and improve them by different strategies, since “teachers should be not only able, but willing, to provide skilful, high-quality instruction for students with diverse literacy needs” (Moreau, 2014:2). This study contributed to this classroom-based research because of the information about the teacher’s role when teaching or implementing reading in classes. It is relevant to highlight that students’ reading skills not only depended on them, but also on the teacher’s competence to know how to help them to improve these. Unfortunately, as this classroom-based research had a short period when implementing its plan, different strategies were not applied in the reading sessions. Therefore, different student’ capabilities were not addressed by applying diverse strategies to fulfil them..
(12) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 12 However, after the intervention plan was implemented, it was a better understanding of this the importance of taking into consideration each student’s needs when having an instance to contribute to the their process. This implication was not only beneficial for students, but also for the EFL teacher development as a professional.. CONCLUSIONS This study allowed valuing the complexity of an educational situation of reading comprehension in the EFL context within a 5th grade. Moreover, students’ beliefs were key to find out the real causes behind the outcomes. This project aimed to know if short readings and post-reading activities were useful to enhance students’ reading skills. However, data expanded the answer, in order to look for understanding when students performed reading sessions, since this investigation was focused on identifying the main idea of the text, specific information and reading questions in general. Moreover, it was also found that “successful reading is also influenced by vocabulary knowledge. Hence, the responsibility of language teachers in EFL contexts it’s to help students expand the number of words they know” (Kaivanpanah, S., & H. Zandi, H., 2009, 704). After carrying out this initiative, vocabulary enrichment was necessary for reading sessions to success and as it was mentioned before, students identified this as it their main limitation to enhance their reading skills. The students’ involvement and considering their reflective process in their self-assessments were needed to understand the reasons behind their performance when developing reading skills and also to know students’ different learning styles in order to improve this skill. Therefore, this situation helped to understand the importance of fulfilling the students’ needs in a classroom, since addressing different learning styles will contribute in a positive way to the students’ learning process and also to improve English teaching..
(13) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 13. References Blickenstaff, J., Hallquist E. & Kopel, K. (2013) The Effects of Reading Strategies in Comprehension for Elementary Age Learners. St. Catherine University. St. Paul, Minnesota. Retrieved on September, 25 2017. Available: http://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=maed. Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge (England): Cambridge University Press.. Guest, G., Namey, E., & Mitchell, M. (2012). Collecting Qualitative Data: A Field Manual for Applied Research.. James, A., Milenkiewicz, M., & Bucknam, A. (2007). Participatory Action Research for Educational Leadership. Retrieved on November, 17 2017. Available: http://epregrado.uahurtado.cl/archivos/_2255/Seminar_Four_Extension_ReadingQualitative_Data_Collection_Mills__Birks.pdf. Ministerio de Educación. (2016). Bases Curriculares Inglés 5to Básico. Retrieved on August, 23 2017. Available: http://www.curriculumenlineamineduc.cl/605/articles21319_programa.pdf. Moreau, L. (2014). Who’s Really Struggling?: Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions of Struggling Readers. Glanford Middle School. Retrieved on November, 18 2017. Available: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1032368.pdf.
(14) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 14. S. Kaivanpanah and H. Zandi, 2009. The Role of Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Reading Comprehension in EFL Contexts. Journal of Applied Sciences, 9: 698-706.. Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative Assessment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.. Appendix Section. Appendix A READING COMPREHENSION LESSON 1 I. Read the following letter.. Dear Camila, I hope you are well. Guess what! I am having a big party next week at my house and I am inviting all my close friends. The theme of the party is going to be Harry Potter,.
(15) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 15 so all must dress accordingly. You would make a great witch! I need to let everyone know by Wednesday since the party is next Saturday. Elizabeth is going to decorate the house and my mother is going to bake a cake and make lots of food. There is going to be music and dancing as well. Gabriel is going to be the DJ. You can stay over at my house. It’s going to be great! I hope to see you then. Love, Daniela.. II. Choose the correct answer. 1. What is the main idea of the text? a) It is about making cake. b) It is about having a costume party. c) It is a dance party. 2. When is the party? a) On Wednesday b) There is going to be music and dancing c) Next Saturday 3. The party is to celebrate… a) Camila’s birthday b) Harry Potter’s party c) Daniela’s party III. Answer the following questions. 1. Who is going to decorate the house? __________________________________________________________________ 2. What is the theme of the party? __________________________________________________________________ 3. Who is going to be the DJ?.
(16) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 16. READING COMPREHENSION LESSON 2 I. Read the following short text.. Our Toy Shop Hi, my name is Claudia. I am twelve years old. We have a toy shop in our neighborhood. My dad says Fridays are the busiest day in our toy shop. So after school, I go to help my dad. That's another reason why I like Fridays. We allow kids to play with the toys when they are in the store. My dad says I am responsible for the toys and that I need to watch and make sure nothing breaks. Many kids from my school come to the shop to look at the new toys. It is always noisy here. Because it’s full of babies and children. Little girls tend to buy dolls, boys buy cars. Some want to play with the toys, some want to buy them. At the end of the day I am very tired, but I like to go to the shop and to help to my dad.. II. Choose the correct answer. 1. What is the main idea of the text? a) Claudia’s experience helping his dad in the toy shop. b) Claudia goes to the school. c) Kids can play with the toys at the store. d) Claudia’s mom works at the toy shop.. 2. Why does Claudia help his dad on Fridays? a) Because it’s the busiest day. b) Because Claudia doesn’t have school on Fridays. c) Because Claudia want to play with the toys. d) Because Claudia doesn’t like Fridays. 3. Which of the following questions you cannot answer?.
(17) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 17 a) Where is the toy shop located?. b) When is the busiest day at the toy shop? c) Why is the toy shop so noisy? d) What is the name of the toy shop? III. Answer the following questions. 1. What is the busiest day at the toy shop? __________________________________________________________________ 2. Why is the toy shop always noisy? __________________________________________________________________ 3. How is Claudia at the end of the day working at the toy shop?. READING COMPREHENSION LESSON 3 I. Read the following short text.. My favorite class. One of the things I like best about school is my art class. We have a great teacher named Mrs. Sol. She is a wonderful artist. I love to watch her draw and paint. She taught us how to mix paint to make colors for our paintings. She plays good music while we draw and paint. We draw and paint almost everyday in class. Some days we look at pictures of other artists. It is interesting to do this. It helps me to think of things that I want to draw or paint. We have an art exhibit on December. We are inviting people from the community. Our parents are invited to go with us. I have three paintings I am working on now. I hope one of them will be chosen to be in the art exhibit..
(18) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 18. II. Choose the correct answer. 1. What is the main idea of the text? a) Give information about the art exposition. b) Talk about the art teacher. c) The girl is explaining why art class is her favorite class. d) To invite all the community to the exhibition.. 2. Why does it help this student to see the works of other artists? a) To learn how to draw and paint. b) To mix paint. c) To think about what she wants to draw and paint. d) None of these. 3. The girl describes her art teacher as a… a) Nice lady.. b) Wonderful artist. c) Sweet person. d) Beautiful person. III. Answer the following questions. 1. The girl is working on… How many paintings? __________________________________________________________________ 2. Who is invited to the art exhibit? __________________________________________________________________ 3. What did Mrs. Sol teach to the students? __________________________________________________________________. Appendix B SELF-ASSESSMENT I. Marca tu respuesta con un check (✔) 1. ¿Cómo encontraste el texto que leíste? Fácil Ni fácil ni difícil Difícil. No pude entender.
(19) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 19 nada. 2. ¿Pudiste reconocer la idea general del texto? Sí, fue fácil Me costó, pero la reconocí. No pude reconocerla. 3. ¿Pudiste reconocer información específica del texto? Sí, fue fácil Me costó, pero la No pude reconocerla reconocí. 4. ¿Te distrajiste mientras leíste? Sí. No. Un poco. Si respondiste “Sí” o “Un poco”… ¿Por qué te distrajiste? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 5. ¿Qué es lo que más te cuesta cuando lees en inglés? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Appendix C Supervising Teacher Interview #1 and #2 1. Do you think the short text was appropriate for students in order to help them to enhance their reading comprehension skills? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2. Do you think students were able to identify main ideas from the text? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3. Do you think students were able to identify specific information from the text? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.
(20) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 20 4. Did you notice students’ disposition when reading? Do you think they work consciously? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 5. Does this short reading and post-reading activity help students to achieve the required reading levels established by the National Curriculum in students’ level? How?. Supervising Teacher Interview #3 1. Do you think the short text was appropriate for students in order to help them to enhance their reading comprehension skills? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2. Do you think students were able to identify main ideas from the text? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3. Do you think students were able to identify specific information from the text? ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4. Did you notice students’ disposition when reading? Do you think they work consciously? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 5. Does this short reading and post-reading activity help students to achieve the required reading levels established by the National Curriculum in students’ level? How? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________.
(21) Short readings and post-reading activities implementation to enhance reading skills 21 6. What do you think about the implementation of this reading initiative and students’ process? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________..
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