Action Research Summary

My action research plan was on a student diagnosed with ADHD when he was in kindergarten.  He is now in third grade.  From speaking with his former teachers, this student's behavior has progressively worsened over the years.  The parents do not want him on any type of medication for his ADHD.  I have tried numerous approaches (moving his desk beside my desk, to the front of the room, to the back of the room, and keeping his desk out of a group).  None of these approaches have worked.  The two main behaviors that I am working with Phillip on are his impulsiveness and blurting out answers, constant talking throughout the day, and his not being able to sit at his desk while I am teaching. 

Two weeks ago, I began a self-monitoring check-list for Phillip to keep.  It's taped on his desk, and he receives a star whenever he remembers to raise his hand before talking and another star for staying in his seat for me to teach through one entire subject.  He knows at the end of the lesson, he can get up to get his stars.

I have also implemented a check in/check out system with Phillip.  He checks in with me in the mornings and checks out at the end of the day.  I write a daily note home to his parents in his agenda.

Researching how to handle this behavior, I found that I should have him concentrate on one or two behaviors that most affected my classroom.  I also realized that Phillip is a student that needs a daily reward for positive behavior.  I keep the rewards simple (extra computer time, lunch with a friend).  I plan to conference with him in a few weeks (or sooner if needed) and make any adjustments and add more variety to his reward system.  So far, I am seeing a slight change, and I plan to continue this plan through the rest of the year.

Chapter 14 - Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices

With so many culturally diverse students in our schools today, we must be award of the values, beliefs, and customs that these children bring into our classrooms.  Teachers must take the initiative and learn as much as they can about each of these students for them to be successful.  Speaking from being a third grade teacher for the past eight years, I know that every one of my students wants to feel important.  They all want to tell me about their lives, their toys, their families, and the culturally diverse students I"ve had are no different.  It's up to us, the teachers, to make sure our students feel welcomed and supported in the classroom.  When I had a little girl in my class that hardly spoke any English, I found a story in our basal that had some Spanish words.  During our shared reading time, I began by telling my regular students that we would let Veronica say all the Spanish words when we read the story aloud.  When we got to a word, I just pointed to it, and she would say it.  At the end of the story, I know that Veronica didn't understand what was read, but she did know that she was included in reading the story, and the other students gave her an applause.  Every time we read that same story, I think of her and I don't know of any way we could have read that story without her that year!

What do I do wrong?  My first year at my school, I have five students from five different cultures.  I did not get to learn about each one of them.  Looking back, I realize that I did get close to some of those students.  Now I realize that it was because the parents reached out to me, too.  I did ask the students about their countries, home life, customs, foods, etc., but I wish I had made more of an effort to have shared what I found out with the rest of the class.  It would have been a good idea to have made a bulletin board about their home countries.  This way, I could have made each child feel more important in that we were learning about their customs and backgrounds.  I also learned that African Americans  learn better with music, movement, working cooperatively, and have a harder time with deadlines.     

In the future, I will make more of an effort to find out about the country, customs, beliefs, foods, etc. of my culturally different students.  I have one student now from another country, and I asked him to bring in something from Poland to share with the class.  He did bring me several children's books (written in Polish) to share.  (I wrote about this earlier.)  Since I do not speak the language, we did a picture walk through a few of the books and made up stories.  His mother wants me to have these books, so I'll put them away and share them through the years.  This was just a small way of letting Lucas and his family know that I was interested in learning more about his country/culture.  I do not have any African Americans in my classroom this year, but I learned from my diversity class and from our current textbook that I need to play music and have students work cooperatively when possible.  mI have been playing music for years when my students write.  Now all of my students want the music playing when they write, and we work in groups whenever possible.  I realize that it doesn't matter where you're from, a lot of students like the same things.

Chapter 9 - Mathematics

Boy did I learn a lot in this chapter that I didn't know!  It was interesting to read that poor math achievement may acutally increase as the student progresses through school.  To be a successful math student, children must be able to apply multiple concepts and skills in all content areas of math.  This may be the answer to why I have so many students in third grade that cannot subtract!  Did they just not get the concept in the earlier grades and it continued to snowball?  What do I do right in teaching math?  First, I use manipulatives in almost every math lesson and each time I reteach.  We do not just sit and do math on paper.  When we reteach, we also use other hands-on activities.  I teach rounding by taping index cards with 100, 200, 300, etc. to 1,000 around my room.  Then I give each student an index card with a number on it (236, 475, 921) for them to find the 100 their number is closest to.  There's lots of movement and action.  Last year, I had a student from a self-contained class come to me for math.  He was able to do this activity with no help.  We also use lots of art when teaching multiplication strategies.  First I'll give my students a sheet of white paper and a handful of cereal (Fruit Loops is good.) and ask them to show a multiplication sentence with the cereal.  They draw circles and glue the cereal in place to show the correct answer.  These types of math lessons are good for even the students that have difficulty learning math.  In third grade we also use lots of drill and practice with subtraction and addition reviews and with learning the multiplication facts.  There's lots of guided practice before I have students to sit and drill another student on learning their facts.

What do I do wrong?  I do not think about my students with behavioral problems, the ones that are easily distracted, the ones that are inattentive and impulsive, and the ones that don't listen and follow directions when I am teaching math.  I expect the same from everyone.  I also expect that if a student "gets it" in class to "get it" at home and complete their homework.  I need to remember that there are students that struggle with all areas of math.  I need to be more aware of these students and provide more feedback to their daily math work.

What do I want to do?  I want to start meeting with my four low math students in a small group daily.  I think this might help them if I explain the math content material in a samller setting.  I could take about 10 minutes and go over the day's lesson and clarify any questions they might have.  I want to use the Did I? self-monitoring checklist on page 210 for all of my students.  I will have to change some of the wording around, but this would be a great tool for each student to have and complete in their math journals.

Chapter 13 - Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is a tool to use in the classroom to provide assistance to students in all subject areas.  I currently use assistive technology on a daily basis to help every student in my classroom.  We use powerpoints for teaching, computer games for reviewing math lessons previously taught and for reviewing/reteaching and practicing, researching information for projects, and reading comprehension.  In the past, I had a student where I could not read his handwriting.  He was able to use a computer and type his spelling words in ABC order and type his spelling sentences.  When I had this student, third graders had to take the PACT writing.  He was able to type his writing assignment.  My students are currently using Compass.  This program ties the student to his/her scores on the MAP tests and provides what each student needs to review.  I use this as a station during guided reading time, and the scores are sent to me on the first of each month.  This way, I can monitor each student's progress.   

Many of the math programs in theis chapter provide individualized instruction/review for each student.  I need to check out many of the sites and incorporate them into my students' daily stations.  I have several students that are struggling with rounding, subtracting, and multiplying, and some of these math sites could enhance their review.  My students beg to get on the computers and onto the educational sites they are required to use.  Many of my students also use the pencil grippers daily, and I noticed a site to order them.  Since I teach cursive, having a set of these pencil grips would surely help students that have a hard time making correct cursive letters.  I need to make the time to visit a lot of the sites mentioned in this chapter. 

I don't have a student with special needs that must use assistive technology in my classroom.  After reading about the various technology tools/sites available, I can use all of this information to help with regular ed. students as well as low-performing students.  I do have four students that are struggling in math.  One of these students has failed math the entire year.  I plan to look try more of a variety of math sites to see if this will help him.  This chapter really opened my eyes even more to lots of available technologies that need to be incorporated into our classrooms.  Right now, I am so pressed for time in each lesson I teach.  I want to try to begin rotating my studnets on the computers before we start our day.  Even 10 to 15 minutes may help.  

Chapter 8 - Written Expression

I enjoy writing time in my classroom and wish we had more time for it.  I am a big component of graphic organizers.  Some of my students prefer to use a web, some like to make bulleted lists, and some use the five-box method.  At the beginning of the school year, each student brings in a marble notebook for their Morning Journal.  Some days they must complete their morning work in it (correcting sentences, math examples, etc.).  On Mondays, I have my students write about their weekend.  On Fridays, they must write and tell me about something they learned during the week.  In third grade most of my students are given an assignment for writing, but I do allow them lots of free choice writing also.  I do not grade every piece of writing that my students complete.  Sometimes we just write for fun.  When I give a writing assignment, I always model it first.  I explain exactly what is expected and what I will be looking for in the paper.  If we have learned new grammar skills, I tell my students that I will be looking for examples written correctly (plural nouns, commas in a series, etc.).  I always keep all student writing in a portfolio.  During the year, I have students revisit their writing, and they may add to it or make any changes they'd like to.  At the end of the school year, I put each student's writing in a folder and send it home.  This way, the parents and the students can see how their writing has progressed through the year.

I have a hard time turning control of editing over to the student.  My students use red pens to revise and edit.  I want to hold the red pen and just make the corrections.  When I conference with a student, I no longer use a red pen.  One of my professors told me to just sit on my hands and let the student read their writing to me.  I don't make any marks on their drafts.  When a student reads it to me, they usually notice what doesn't sound right.  I just ask questions to guide them in the right direction.

I like the graphic organizer on p. 193.  I have seen the resoure teacher at my school using this.  I have several students in my class that aren't skilled writers, and I want to use this organizer with them.  I also like how this chapter suggests to provide these less-skilled writers with a list of adjectives, transition words, and any other help needed.  SCOPE and COPS are great strategies for editing and implementing for the entire class.  I look forward to conferencing with my less-skilled writers and seeing if these ideas can help in any way.

Ch. 7 - Reading Comprehension

I remembered from my diversity class that students from disadvantaged backgrounds may struggle in reading.  These students may not have books at home nor the means to get books.  They may not have parents that can/do read to them for various reasons.  I currently have a student that has never been to the county library.  He does not have books at his home.  I have spoken to his mother numerous times, and she tells me how she works nights, sleeps all day, and there is no money for books.  This student loves going to the library at school, so I suggested to her that maybe she could take him to the county library every few weeks.  He gets to go extra times as a reward now in class.  He currently is reading on a DRA level 12 (he's a third grader reading on a kindergarten level).  I require him to read the story that the class is reading, answer the story hunt questions, and take the same basal tests.  He has been tested for any LD, but tests just below the norm.  He doesn't qualify for ANY assisstance.  His MAP score was also just below the norm, so I can't send him for RtI (we have a cut-off score that determines who goes to this).  He is in my below-level reading group.  He is provided vocabulary cards, comprehension questions daily, and the opportunity to read silently and orally each day.  He has failed reading both nine weeks.  I struggle and am frustrated that he can receive no help.  Because of all this, I have to have him read the basal and take the same tests as everyone else.  He receives no accommodations.  In my lower reading group, we do use graphic organizers and concept maps.  I have found that this helps all of my students in retelling or summarizing a story.  In guided reading, we are currently reading a biography on Thomas Jefferson.  I gave each student a sentence strip, and they are making a timeline of Jefferson's life.  When we finish the book, I will have each student use the timeline to write a summary on his life.  In my reading groups, I will write 2 -3  questions on a white board for students to be thinking about while they are reading.  When they finish reading the pages for the day, we will discuss these questions.

I worry about my below-grade-level readers constantly.  How am I supposed to expect a student to comprehend third grade material if he is reading on a kindergarten level?  Not only does he not understand the stories we read from our novel units and basal, but he struggles with words from social studies and science.  He doesn't qualify for any help, so I am to expect him to "get it" like the other students on grade level.  My school does not have any reading programs to help third through fifth graders.  I have had several meetings with administration and our school psychologist about this student.  So far, I am just to continue as we are with him failing every subject.

I am not trained in any kind of reading assistance.  In this chapter, I think the SAIL Program would help my below-level students.  I am going to speak to our resource teacher about it to see if she could give me some assistance on implementing it (or some form of it) in my classroom.  I need to find out more about this program to make sure it would not interfere with guided reading instruction.  I will continue using story maps with all students.  I know that these help all of my students even if I have to help the lower readers complete theirs. 

Ch. 6 - Reading Instruction

I have always enjoyed having CLDE learners in my classroom.  I love the fact that I learn so much from these children.  I was not surprised to read that reading is the primary learning disability (p. 137) of these children.  I think it's important to immerse them in the English language and to have them participate as much as possible in the lessons.  I have only had one student that came to me not speaking any English.  My students loved her, and she knew that she was "accepted".  I remembered a story (Pepita Talks Twice) that had some Spanish words in it.  I thought this would be a great way to have Veronica feel included.  When I came to a Spanish word, I had her pronounce it for the class.  We all eagerly awaited the next word so we could hear it spoken correctly!  The smile on her face let me know that she felt included.  Veronica was a fast learner, and in a matter of a few months, we invited her mother to come in and "speak" to the class, with Veronica translating.  Her mother shared some foods and told us about their life in Mexico.  I just felt it was important for us to share in her culture.  Another thing I did was to collaborate with our Spanish teacher.  He provided me with lots of cards with Spanish words on them to post around the room (bathroom, lights, computer, map, pencil, paper, etc.).  Veronica did learn English that year.  I keep up with her and still tell her that she's a Southern girl now!  Her mother also became fluent in English and began teaching it to her other family members.

I'm sure there's so much I did wrong that year with Veronica in trying to teach her English.  I have never had any kind of training in this field, so I just did the best thing I could at the time.  I made her lots of flash cards with words and pictures.  I do remember her not understanding idioms at all when I taught them.  It was interesting to read about the problems these students have with figurative language.  I wish I had known this when I had this student.

I think that this course has already opened my eyes to the fact that I definitely need to ask for help when/if I get another CLDE student.  I will use every resource available at school and our district office.  It's important to have high expectations for these students and for them to know that you are interested in their culture.  Since we do guided reading in our district, I think I would have a guided reading group just for my CLDE student(s).  This small group/one-on-one reading group would certainly help these students and provide me with the direction I need in helping them read.