Will the Implementation of a Close Reading Literary Instructional Strategy Improve Reading Comprehension & Fluency in Elementary Age

Students? EDF6481 February 10, 2013

Bernadette Harris & Elizabeth Stogner University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee College of Education Graduate School

Abstract: Academic achievement in literacy in American students has historically been, and continues to be, low in a global perspective, with American students still graduating from high school without the literacy skills necessary to make them successful in college and the workplace. The researchers in this study seek to determine if there is a relationship between the explicit reading instructional method known as close reading and proficiency in reading fluency and comprehension in students in kindergarten through fifth grade. In the study, students in two Florida public schools were randomly selected and assigned to either a treatment or control group, within their grade level. The treatment group in each grade level received explicit close reading instruction two days per week, for 45 minutes per day, for twelve weeks. The control group in each grade level received no close reading instruction, and instead received alternate reading instruction. Pre and post assessment data was then analyzed by multiple educators in order to determine whether a relationship exists between the implementation of close reading instruction and students proficiency in reading fluency and comprehension.

I. Introduction (Problem Statement) Literacy education in elementary grades provides the foundation necessary to build strong, effective communications skills in students. These skills are the vital component in what will determine these students future ability to manage the increasing academic demands of progressive years of education, including increased difficulty of subject area content, independent study skills, aptitude in

creating and presenting written theses, proficient oral presentations, and demonstrated comprehension of complex texts, as well as proficiency in literary technology skills. Explicit reading instruction is perhaps the missing component in producing higher reading proficiency. One form of explicit reading instruction that has been prescribed as being very effective is close reading instruction. The question that this study seeks to answer is whether the implementation of explicit close reading instruction will improve reading comprehension and fluency in elementary aged students. The pandemic pattern of academic inferiority in students in the United States when compared to their global counterparts is one that is not newly born. In the words of Sykes (1995), While critics tend to rely on the three-decades long decline of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to document the dumbing down of American education, more alarming is our performance against the students of other industrialized countries. By virtually every measure of achievement, American students lag far behind their counterparts in both Asia and Europe, especially in math and science. Moreover, the evidence suggests that they are falling farther and farther behind. Educational research for decades has pointed to the failing ability of American learning institutions to produce highly functioning, literate members of society. American business owners continue to report that universities are graduating alarming numbers of students with marginal (if not poor) literary and communications skills. This study addresses the need to increase rigor and literacy demands on students, rather than decreasing expectations. In addition to the global academic variance, educational researchers such as Johansen (2011) remind us of the prevalence of an equally alarming achievement

gap even within our own schools in America. The number of students that live in poverty, with little or no educational resources, is staggering. Johansen states that, according to Chase (2010), We have to stop talking about how to close the achievement gap. We have to think about how to prevent the achievement gap. This existing gap has led to the birth of N.C.L.B. law which demands increased accountability for student learning and explicit literacy instruction to insure students are no longer graduating from high school and college without proficient communications skills. In the past several decades, educational reform has taken many approaches in its attempt to close this achievement gap, with standards based education and high stakes testing. Standards as well as standards-based exams have varied from state to state across the nation, leading the emergence of Common Core Standards of education, which will come into full implementation between 2014 and 2015. The foundational premise of Common Core Standards is the prescribed consistency of content as well as complexity level of content to be uniform across all public schools in America. In addition, the proficiency exam will be consistent, as well. This will enable stakeholders in education to assess how well students from each state are performing in comparison with their peers from the other 49 states (assuming that all 50 states adopt Common Core Standards). II. Purpose of Study Despite the fact that there are staggering gaps in literacy and large numbers of public education students, who are performing far below grade level currently, with Common Core Standards comes yet a higher demand for literacy

comprehension. This includes, increased text complexity in grade level reading materials and assessments, and an increased focus on informational text beginning as early as kindergarten place an even higher demand on educators to find effective methods for improving student aptitude and achievement. This study will look at whether implementing the explicit reading instruction method known as close reading instruction is related to student proficiency in reading fluency and comprehension. III. Review of Literature In a qualitative study conducted by Katz & Carlisle (2009), three fourth grade female students participated in a 12-week literacy intervention program which implemented close reading instruction to measure improvement in the students independent reading comprehension. The program stressed both morphological and contextual analysis strategies through guided close reading instruction. A pretest and post-test were used to measure improvement. Although the results of their study were very limited (due to the size and selection of their sample,) the results of the post-test concluded that the implementation of close reading instruction had a positive effect on the samples reading comprehension, and further research is warranted. The students in this study were weak in vocabulary, which affected their reading comprehension and fluency. Close reading instruction targets and teaches explicit reading strategy instruction, which places a higher demand for attention to task and higher order thinking about reading content, on the reader. This is the same type of targeted reading instruction that our current study plans to pursue.

In another study by Homan, Klesius and Hite (1993), 26 sixth grade students who were reading at a fourth grade reading level were selected to participate in a mixed methods reading instruction program, in order to determine the effectiveness of repetitive and non-repetitive reading strategies on improving reading fluency. Methods that were included in the instruction were guided reading, echo reading, unison, timed and error-recording reading, as well as close reading. Preand post-tests were used to measure the effects of the seven week program on the students fluency rates. The findings were that both the repetitive and nonrepetitive reading strategies had an equivalent positive effect on improving reading fluency. This study also implemented the close reading instructional strategy that will be used in our current study. However, I found that perhaps one of the biggest limitations to the study conducted by Homan, Klesius and Hite (1993) is the number of methods used. It seems that it would be more difficult to identify the true effectiveness of any of the methods implemented in the study without isolating each and then assessing for improvement. In a study conducted by Hilden & Pressley (2007), five fifth grade teachers participated in a year long professional development study, during which time they learned and implemented explicit transactional strategy instruction methods for improving reading comprehension and fluency in their students. Transactional strategies include explicit self-regulation reading strategies, such as stopping to make predictions and inferences, note-taking and highlighting text, self-questioning and visualizing story events. This is done through close reading of texts, and

rereading for multiple purposes. Explicit instruction methods were taught first in workshops, modeled in classrooms, and observations and anecdotal records were collected to measure whether the strategies were being effectively implemented. The results indicated that in all five classrooms, the transactional strategy approach was being implemented consistently. This was based also on a Grounded Theory Analysis, including time in professional development, time spent on planning and implementation, teacher challenges with regard to low achieving students, classroom reorganization and instructional reorganization demands, classroom management and assessment methods. The results indicated a positive effect on teacher attitudes toward teaching literacy with the new information and strategy instruction they received. There was also a positive effect on classroom instruction and student engagement, with an observable decrease in teacher-initiated teacher-student interactions and a majority of teacher directed reading and an increase in student-initiated discussion, studentstudent interaction and engagement in reading. Teachers observed a significant positive effect on student interest in reading as well as students actively utilizing the transactional reading strategies. The teachers noted significant growth in their students as independent readers, and their ability to connect with and more fully comprehend texts. The results of this study serve to further endorse the need for further research in the implementation of targeted reading instruction and indicate that close reading strategies are shown to have a positive impact on reading engagement and comprehension.

In a study conducted by Fan (2010), the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) were investigated on 110 Taiwanese University students reading comprehension with reference to specific types of reading comprehension questions. The students, which had low- intermediate to intermediate levels of English, are considered EFL (English as a Foreign Language Learners). The study, which was conducted for one semester, included a pre and post-test as well as a control group. In CSR, four reading strategies were taught including, preview, click and clunk, get the gist, and wrap-up. The purpose of this article was to determine how collaborative strategic reading strategies would impact these EFL/ ELL students and their ability to make gains in comprehension. Although, the measure of the study was insufficient, due to the limited use of only one measure, the findings suggest that implementing comprehension strategy instruction for one semester, may help learners adopt some degree of strategic reading behaviors, particularly in relation to identifying the main idea and finding supporting details, but it takes long-term efforts and practices for EFL/ ELL learners to fully develop their strategic reading abilities. In our study, we will further investigate how explicit reading strategies, will improve reading comprehension in ALL students, regardless of whether they are English Language Learners. In a study by Baker, Chard, Fien, Park and Otterstedt (2013) titled, An Evaluation of an Explicit Read Aloud Intervention Taught in Whole-Classroom Formats in First Grade, which describes an evaluation of a read aloud intervention to improve comprehension and vocabulary of first grade students, twelve teachers

were randomly assigned to an intervention or comparison condition. The study which lasted 19 weeks, focused on the systematic use of narrative and expository texts and dialogic interactions between teachers and students delivered in whole classroom formats. The study was designed to make read- aloud lessons more systematic and explicit, while maintaining the enjoyable experience that teachers and students expect. The rationale behind the study was to integrate two instructional design features (a) lesson content and (b) how lesson content was organized and taught. It was guided by evidence- based principles of vocabulary and text comprehension instruction. The intervention was delivered in whole-classroom formats with all students being in first grade classrooms, and was intended to be particularly effective for students at risk for language or literacy difficulties. Several key principles of explicit instruction were used. Regarding intervention research on teaching comprehension strategies to students, The National Reading Panel (2000) identified seven specific strategies that offered a firm scientific basis for concluding that they improve comprehension. These strategies include monitoring comprehension and summarizing texts, representing texts structurally and graphically, asking generating questions, and working cooperatively with others. Six of the seven approaches were active components in the read aloud intervention. Explicit instruction was the underlying foundation for how the intervention was delivered by teachers (Coyne, Kameenui, &Carnine, 2007). To our knowledge, explicit instruction using these core principles, or others typically associated with

explicit instruction (Archer& Hughes, 2011), have not been used in evaluations of read aloud interventions (Institute of Education Sciences, 2007; NELP, 2008; Swanson et al, 2011). In the past, the explicit reading component had been added either before or after reading the text, or the read aloud used text-focused guidance by the teacher. However, this study has designed the intervention to be teacher driven and highly explicit throughout the read aloud lessons. Four features were relied upon when structuring the read aloud intervention and developing it for explicit instruction. First, selection criteria included the books topic, student interest, length, cost, availability, and representation of diversity, text coherence, and texts alignment with content area standards. Second, narrative and expository texts were integrated systematically throughout the intervention. Third, teachers were provided a set of prescriptive lessons for the intervention. Each lesson included a long form lesson plan and a short form lesson plan. Fourth, dialogic interactions during read aloud lessons occurred between teachers and students, and among students. For example, students learned how to work in dyads on prescribed comprehension tasks, such as summarization. The dialogue objective was that teachers closely monitor student verbalizations about text, to extend student understanding through verbal interactions and to immediately address comprehension breakdowns and misconceptions that occurred when trying to understand complex texts. The read aloud intervention was implemented over 19 weeks. Early lessons emphasized teacher demonstrations of comprehension tasks using think-alouds, explicit demonstrations, and concise explanations. As lessons progressed, students

assumed a greater responsibility for accomplishing comprehension tasks independently with teacher feedback. Each lesson included a before, during, and after read aloud section. Before reading, identifying the book type, established the purpose for reading and preparation. During reading, lesson content centered on story grammar elements for narrative texts and K-W-L components for expository texts. The bulk of explicit instruction focused on higher-order comprehension skills such as inference making and comprehension monitoring. Instruction on new or review vocabulary words also occurred as teachers read and discussed the text. After reading, lesson content focused on summarizing and retelling practice, and vocabulary review. Teachers modeled retelling using standard formats, and students used these formats to practice retelling with a partner. Teachers in the comparison condition engaged in read aloud activities at least 4 days per week during the study. They were asked to use read aloud procedures they normally used, particularly procedures they felt would promote student comprehension. Three specific requests were also made for the purpose of the study (a) comparison teachers selected a narrative or expository text that would serve as the focus of the read aloud for that day, (b) comparison teachers engaged in read aloud activities for approximately 30 minutes per day, and (c) at weeks 7 and 17 comparison teachers used a book we selected for the read aloud on 2 consecutive days. Intervention teachers also used the same book on those days. Although the sample size was relatively small and limited, the results measured the impact of the read aloud intervention on four student outcomes: listening comprehension, narrative retell, expository retell, and vocabulary. They

revealed that overall; the intervention had a statistically significant impact on the narrative retell measure and the vocabulary measure. However, the intervention did not have an impact on the information retell measure or on the listening comprehension measure. One of the reasons given as to why the intervention may have had a stronger impact on the narrative retell measure than on the information retell measure is due to the fact that student knowledge of the information text may not have been captured accurately. This article was chosen because it proves that explicit instruction had a significant impact on academic outcomes such as vocabulary and narrative retelling. This information supports our study that the explicit close read strategy will also increase reading comprehension and fluency in elementary students. The study, Effects of Explicit Teaching and Peer Tutoring on the Reading Achievement of Learning-Disabled and Low-Performing Students in Regular Classrooms by Simmons, Fuchs, Mathes, & Hodge (1995), examines the effects of explicit teaching and peer tutoring on the reading achievement of students with learning disabilities (LD) and non disabled, low performing readers (LP) in academically integrated general education classrooms. The study included 24 general education teachers in grades 2-5, 44 LD students, and 24 LP students participated in the 16week mainstream classroom based study. 16 experimental teachers were randomly assigned to explicit teaching (ET) or explicit teaching plus peer tutoring (EP+PT) conditions: 8 teachers served as controls. Explicit teaching was conducted in teacher-directed group reading instruction, whereas peer tutoring occurred outside of class during independent

reading time. The finding indicated the effectiveness of explicit teaching plus peer tutoring; there was no reliable independent effect for explicit teaching. The LD and LP students in the explicit teaching plus peer tutoring treatment read more fluently, answered more questions correctly, and selected a greater number of maze responses than students in teaching explicit teaching or control classrooms. Educators face increasing pressure to achieve better outcomes for all students. The current emphasis on educating students with mild disabilities in general education classes makes this article relevant. Its findings suggest the difficulty of producing achievement gains for LD and LP students through general education instruction but also suggest that explicit teaching can be implemented effectively and can improve performance among average- and low-achieving readers. More research is needed to determine how much explicit reading strategies will improve reading comprehension and fluency in order to meet the needs of all students. In the study, Effects of Explicit Reading Strategies Instruction and Peer Tutoring on Second and Fifth Graders Reading Comprehension and Self -Efficacy Perceptions ( Van Keer & Verhaeghe, 2005), the authors evaluated the effectiveness of explicit reading comprehension strategies instruction, followed by practice in teacher-led whole-class activities (STRAT), reciprocal same-age (STRAT+ SA) peer tutoring activities, or cross-age peer-tutoring activities (STRAT+ CA) on 2nd and 5th graders reading comprehension and self- efficacy perceptions. The aim in the present intervention study was to evaluate the effectiveness of explicit reading strategies instruction and the surplus value of peer tutoring as tools to enhance second and fifth graders reading

comprehension achievement and self-efficacy judgments. A pretest and posttest retention test was used, including three experimental conditions and a comparable control condition. The experimental groups were typified by explicit instruction in six reading strategies, followed by practice in teacher-led whole- class activities, in student led cross-age peer-tutoring activities, or in reciprocal same-age peer-tutoring activities. In the control condition, a traditional reading comprehension approach characterized by content specific questions, asked by the teacher, was applied. The study took place in the challenging context of intact classes, providing a natural setting for the interventions implementation. In total, 444 second and 454 fifth graders from 44 classes in 25 different schools participated in the study. Except for some small scale iniatives of individual schools, peer tutoring was fairly unfamiliar at the time of the study. The majority of the children were from middle class families and there was approximately an equal gender distribution. Class sizes ranged from 15-28 students and were considered academically heterogeneous. Second and fifth grade teachers had, on average, 11 and 20 years of experience. However, none of the teachers had previous experience in explicit reading strategies instruction or peer tutoring. Standardized tests were used to measure the students reading comprehension achievement and decoding fluency. Questionnaires were administered with respect to reading attitude and preoccupation with attributions and self-efficacy perceptions toward reading. Implementation of the experimental interventions was spread out over the entire school year and was conducted with students during regularly scheduled

reading instruction. A post test was administered 6 months after the end of the school year to determine retention. Second graders comprehension results show that explicit strategies instruction created a significant extra learning gain of approximately one quarter of a standard deviation. It made no difference, however, whether reading strategies were practiced under direct teacher supervision or in a cross-age setting with well prepared fifth graders as tutors. Compared with the control condition, both conditions created the same learning gain. Interestingly, poor readers made as much gains as high achievers. In the long term, 6 months after the end of the intervention, the effect of both the STRAT+CA and STRAT condition disappeared. Apparently, at this age, long- lasting effects can be obtained only by continuing the intervention. Second graders practicing reading strategies in reciprocal same-age peer tutoring dyads did not make extra learning gains compared with the control group. For fifth graders, all experimental conditions appeared to create nearly equally large extra learning gains by the end of the school year, with effect sizes between 0.320.39 standard deviation. The interventions appeared to be as effective for poor as for high achievers. For second graders, no effects on preoccupation with self efficacy related thoughts were found. This does not necessarily mean that supplying reading strategies instruction and peer tutoring does not have any effect on second graders self efficacy perceptions with regard to reading. It is possible that the way of assessing preoccupations might not be appropriate for second graders. Therefore, subsequent

research should study whether extending the intervention succeeds in producing significant effects. For fifth graders self efficacy-related thoughts, the study revealed that by the end of the year, children in the STRAT+CA condition were significantly less occupied with failure attributions and negative self-efficacy related thoughts compared with students in the control and STRAT + SA conditions. There is a significant difference with the control group endured at the retention test. It can be assumed that high scores for thoughts relating to failure attributions and negative self efficacy perceptions indicate the presence of low self esteem with regard to reading ability. The study was able to determine that the negative thoughts decreased as students became more confident in their own reading competence and were less preoccupied with doubts. The study points out that the significant effects on the students comprehension achievement can be attributed to an improvement in their metacognitive skills and application of reading comprehension strategies. The outcomes of the studies corroborate the effectiveness of explicit reading strategies instruction followed by practice in peer tutoring or teacher led activities as a feasible tool to promote regular elementary students reading comprehension achievement. However, further research into the effectiveness of blending explicit reading strategies instruction and peer tutoring is needed. IV. Design: The type of study we have selected for this research is correlational, as the study seeks to establish whether or not there is a relationship between

implementing explicit reading instruction such as CLOSE reading, and student proficiency in reading fluency and comprehension. V. Participants Participants in the study will include 20 kindergarten, 20 first grade, 20 second grade, 20 third grade, 20 fourth grade and 20 fifth grade public school students, randomly selected and assigned at two public elementary schools in Florida. Although the random selection and assignment may include English Language Learners, no provisions such as translation of English language will be made, since the purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between a specific type of explicit reading instruction method and student achievement in reading fluency and comprehension. Translation of text to the students native language, or instruction given in a native language other than English, would require a separate study, due to resource constraints. For all participants who are randomly selected, informed consent will be obtained through a written Informed Consent Agreement, signed by the parent or legal guardian of each participant, as well as assent from each participant in Grades 2 and above. (Children younger than Grade 2 would be considered too young to give informed assent for participation.)

VI. Methodology Pre-Assessment: After random selection of participants is complete and informed consent has been attained, each students DRA reading assessment data from the beginning of

the current school year will be collected in order to provide a baseline of each students proficiency in reading comprehension. In addition, each students FAIR Diagnostic Reading Assessment from Quarter 1 will be collected in order to provide a baseline of each students proficiency in reading fluency. Both of these assessments are research-based and are given to all public school students in the state of Florida at least twice each school year. After all baseline assessment data has been collected, participants will be randomly assigned to two groups per grade level: a treatment group and a control group. The treatment groups for Kindergarten through second grades will receive the following treatment: During the regular 90-minute reading block, on two days per week for a total of 12 weeks, participants will receive 45 minutes of CLOSE reading instruction, using brief, high quality complex texts. The first read will consist of the teacher engaging students by introducing the text, setting a purpose for reading, and reading for meaning, by limiting the amount of times for stopping to discuss. Students will work on making meaning by determining what the author is saying and analyzing unknown words. The teacher models think- alouds to demonstrate annotations (highlighting important parts of the text). The teacher asks text based questions and encourages discussion among students. The second read will consist of delving deeper into the text. The teacher rereads while students listen closely for context clues and word meaning. Students will think, write and talk about what was read using text based evidence to support their ideas and thinking.

On the third read, students reread the text once again and dissect information in the text even further, by comparing and contrasting two versions of the same story, as well as stories on the same topic. Students will determine meaning from illustrations and words, and analyze elements of the text. Students will think, write and talk about what they read, and will be asked to refer to the text any time they are explaining their viewpoint (e.g., In the third paragraph . . .). The next day, the participants will be given the five item assessment to their reading passage, which will be given individually. The control group will receive regular classroom reading instruction using the Imagine It! Houghton-Mifflin reading materials for their grade level. They will not do close reading activities for the 12 weeks of the study. The treatment groups for grades 3-5 will receive the following treatment: During the regular 90-minute reading block, on two days per week for a total of 12 weeks, participants will receive 45 minutes of CLOSE reading instruction, using grade level passages from the FAIR resource manual. When the passages are distributed to the students, they will not initially receive the assessment page. Instead, they will revisit the same passage for three separate reading comprehension purposes, three times. On the first read, they will be asked to read the passage closely and highlight any vocabulary that they are unfamiliar with OR any words that are used in the article more than four times (other than standard conjunctions or transition words.) After identifying this vocabulary, they will then be expected to use surrounding words and context clues in the text to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words, without use of a dictionary or other aid, and to discuss

with a partner and then write a few sentences explaining why they believe any words that were used repeatedly were used so much in the article. They will participate in a class discussion about the use of context clues, and the authors purpose in using a significant word or phrase repeatedly in a passage. On the second read, the student will underline key details and then use these to explain the main idea of the passage. They will then participate in a brief class discussion about how paying attention to the details in a story or passage helps the reader identify the passages main idea. This discussion will include the use of the readers schema and making inferences. On the third read, the student will infer the authors purpose by rereading the passage, as well as their notes about vocabulary and main idea, and using these to determine authors purpose. They will write a paragraph explaining the vocabulary they identified, the main idea they identified, and how those collectively helped them to determine authors purpose. They will participate in a brief class discussion about different types of passages and texts, as well as the different authors purposes for writing, and how using clues as they did in their close reading can help them identify these. The next day, the participants will be given the five item assessment to their reading passage, which they will complete independently. The control group will receive regular classroom reading instruction using the Imagine It! Houghton-Mifflin reading materials for their grade level. They will not do close reading activities for the 12 weeks of the study.

At the conclusion of the study, all participants will be given the alternate DRA assessment, as well as the FAIR Diagnostic Reading Assessment. Using a 6-way ANOVA, the baseline and post-treatment assessment data will be graphed and analyzed, in order to determine if the results indicate a relationship between close reading instruction and participant proficiency in reading comprehension and fluency.

VII. Strengths & Limitations of Study One limitation of this study is the fact that there will only be two groups at each grade level, and that this will take place at two individual public schools. Another limitation is that, although close reading was implemented in each treatment group, the instructional delivery was not identical due to the variation of grade level of the participants. Further research implementing the same close reading instruction and materials to more treatment groups and measuring the results against more groups who did not receive the treatment is necessary to strengthen the reliability of this study. The results will be transferrable to the study of educational and literacy research, in that the data will show whether there is a relationship between reading fluency and comprehension proficiency and the implementation of Close Reading explicit reading instruction. Also, the use of multiple raters in analyzing the data, and the consistency of assessment tools across all participant groups increases the reliability of the results of the study.

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