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ACTION RESEARCH

Shelby Buscher
Action Research
Fall 2014

ACTION RESEARCH

Initial Meeting With Teacher

This year for action research, it was chosen that Samford Students would
work with high achieving students rather than struggling students. This meant that
we would not be remediating, but rather enriching. The information that follows
comes from my initial meeting with my clinical teacher about the students I was to
be working with.

Student 1: Student 1 was one of the original students put in my group. She was a high
achieving student who loved being right. Often times she could be bossy and talked over
others when she knew they wouldnt get the right answer. She could be bored when the
whole class was being taught, so the teacher believed that it would be great for her to be
pulled out. After week 1, Student 1 transferred schools, so I only got as far as doing the
interest inventory with her.

Student 2: Student 2 is a high achieving student who loves to answer questions in class.
She was one of the original two students put in my action research group. She is at the
highest reading level in the class and loves to read chapter books. Yet according to her
teacher, she reads quickly, can tell you details, but cannot tell you the main idea of the
story. She will retell the entire story rather than a one sentence main idea.

Student 3: Student 3 was not one of my original students. After Student 1 transferred
schools, my clinical teacher put Student 3 in my group. She too needed help with reading

ACTION RESEARCH

comprehension, but was at a bit of a lower level in reading that Student 2. They were not
so far away from each other as to need different lessons, but according to my teacher this
student may take a little more time to grasp the concepts.

The Question
After the original meeting with my cooperating teacher, I did some more research
on reading comprehension. That was so broad though that I emailed the clinical teacher
with some more specific topics under the umbrella of reading comprehension to see
which one would be best to work on with the students I had been given. She responded
back that they really needed help with finding the main idea of the passage. They often
got stuck in the details and needed help being able to tell the main idea in one sentence.
Therefore, my original question had to do with finding the main idea. It was: How
can I best help students find the main idea in order to help improve their reading
comprehension? I worked with that question for a few weeks before I realized it was a bit
broad and that I wanted to narrow it a bit.
After doing the interest inventories with my students, I found that they had
varying interests. Yet the one thing they had in common was that they liked fairy tales.
Because of this data, I decided to narrow my question to finding the main idea within the
context of fairy tales. The new question was: How can I help students better find the main
idea in fairy tales in order to help with reading comprehension?

ACTION RESEARCH

Timeline

ACTION RESEARCH

Student 2
Meeting #

Assessment

Activity

Data Collected

http://www.smekenseduca
tion.com/71b8abbaf5_site
s/www.smekenseducation
Elementary Reading
.com/files/Interest_Invent Attitude Survey- Garfield
ory_K2_IDEA_LIBRARY.pdf

Get to know/ Interest

Inventory

Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey

Loves Judy Moody and

playing video games that Great at academic reading
involve dancing. Enjoys
but does not view
true stories more than
recreational reading as
made up ones and does
positively
not like action stories.

Materials Needed

Pencil, Interest Inventory

Pencil, Survey

Anecdotal Notes

Student is good at
Student was excited to reading, but she views it
work with me.Followed as something done only at
directions well.
school. Enjoys other
activities in her free time

ACTION RESEARCH

Student 2
Meeting #

Assessment

Initial Assessment

Story Map

Activity

The Greedy Crows

reading, initial assessment
of what they know/terms

First Reading of Oni Wan

Soto and
assessment/graphic
organizer

Data Collected

Did not know what

setting was, was unsure of
main idea

Rubric Score-5

Materials Needed

Pencil, The Greedy

Crows, Paper,
Assessment

Pencil, Graphic
Organizer, Oni Wan Soto

Anecdotal Notes

Student took time during

Student was very
the story rather than after interested in the story,
to fill out her sheet.
liked to try and stop to
Would do better if given talk while I was reading it
the chance to read on her
to show off what she
own rather than being
knew about the story
read to .
structure from class.

ACTION RESEARCH

Student 2
Meeting #

Assessment

n/a

Smokey Mountain Rose

Questions

Activity

Main Idea Lesson, Reread

of Oni Wan Soto

Practice Main idea 3

questions- Smoky
mountain rose

Data Collected

n/a

Rubric Score-15

Materials Needed

Oni Wan Soto, Pencil,

Smoky Mountain Rose,
Paper with words to
Paper with 3 questions on
define, PowerPoint with
it
definitions

Anecdotal Notes

Excelled. Got impatient

Student was wonderfully
with Student three when
observant and did a great
she was taking more time.
job in answering the
Didn't want to take turns
questions
giving answers.

ACTION RESEARCH

Student 2
Meeting #

Assessment

n/a

n/a

Activity

Read book aloud (The Boy

Review their practice
Who Cried Wolf) and have
with them, help them find
them find the main idea
a library book to do more
and answer organizer
practice with
questions orally

Data Collected

n/a

n/a

Materials Needed

Prince Cinders SheetDone together

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Anecdotal Notes

Really enjoyed being able

Student was excited to go
to pick out her own book
to the library and had an
and read it. Seemed to be
ephiphany where she
getting the main
realized the main idea is
idea/summarizing thing
like a short retelling
quicker than before.

ACTION RESEARCH

Student 2
Meeting #

Assessment

Story Map Packet

Activity

Read Three Billy Goats

Gruff for final assessment

Data Collected

Rubric Score- 20

Materials Needed

Pencil, Story Asssessment

Packet, Three Billy Goats
Gruff

Anecdotal Notes

Student was extremely

sad that this was our last
meeting. She was excited
that she knew something
new and said that she
would use it when she
read all of her other
books. Her exhuberance
was endearing.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student 3
Meeting #

Assessment

http://www.smekenseduca
tion.com/71b8abbaf5_site
s/www.smekenseducation
Elementary Reading
.com/files/Interest_Invent Attitude Survey- Garfield
ory_K2_IDEA_LIBRARY.pdf

Activity

Get to know/ Interest

Inventory

Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey

Data Collected

Loves Wonder Woman,

made up stories and true
storie, science, and
Disney

Loves both recreational

and academic reading

Materials Needed

Pencil, Interest Inventory

Pencil, Survey

Anecdotal Notes

Student was excited to

work with me.Followed
directions well.

Student was extremely

enthusiastic about how
much she loves to read,
no matter the context

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student 3
Meeting #

Assessment

Initial Assessment

Story Map

Activity

The Greedy Crows

reading, initial assessment
of what they know/terms

First Reading of Oni Wan

Soto and
assessment/graphic
organizer

Data Collected

Had no idea what main

idea was or how to find it

Rubric Score- 5

Materials Needed

Pencil, The Greedy

Crows, Paper,
Assessment

Pencil, Graphic
Organizer, Oni Wan Soto

Anecdotal Notes

Student loved reading the

Student was very
book. Wanted to know
interested when I read the
why things were before I
book. Took a longer time
was given a chance to
filling out the sheet and
explain. Enjoyed the
was self concious about
riduculous aspects of the
being correct
book.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student 3
Meeting #

Assessment

n/a

Smokey Mountain Rose

Questions

Activity

Main Idea Lesson, Reread

of Oni Wan Soto

Practice Main idea 3

questions- Smoky
mountain rose

Data Collected

n/a

Rubric Score-10

Materials Needed

Oni Wan Soto, Pencil,

Smoky Mountain Rose,
Paper with words to
Paper with 3 questions on
define, PowerPoint with
it
definitions

Anecdotal Notes

Student took lots of time

Student was very
writing things down and attentive. Loved making
seemed discouraged when connections in the book
S2 blurted out answers
and loved being able to
without giving S3 a time answer the questions I
to think of her answer.
gave.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student 3
Meeting #

Assessment

n/a

n/a

Activity

Read book aloud (The Boy

Review their assessment
Who Cried Wolf) and have
with them, help them find
them find the main idea
a library book to do more
and answer organizer
practice with
questions orally

Data Collected

n/a

n/a

Materials Needed

Prince Cinders SheetDone together

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Anecdotal Notes

Student loved being given

the opportunity to pick
out her own fairy tale.
Did not have an
ephiphany yet about main
idea.

Was excited that we were

doing something with a
book we picked out
together. Was able to give
main idea with details
after some prompting. I
reviewed the three main
questions happen.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student 3
Meeting #

Assessment

Story Map Packet

Activity

Read Three Billy Goats

Gruff for final assessment

Data Collected

Rubric Score-20

Materials Needed

Pencil, Story Asssessment

Packet, Three Billy Goats
Gruff

Anecdotal Notes

Was sad that this was our

last meeting. Loves to be
"special" by being pulled
out. Was still not
confident that she could
find the main idea, but
was thrilled when I told
her her answer was great
and was the main idea. It
seemed to boost her
confidence in her ability.
Was able to find the main
idea easily.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Main Idea Rubric

Sentence Sentence
does not does not
tell the tell the
Main main idea main idea,
Idea and has not but does
supporting have some
detail from detail from
the story the story

10

15

Sentence
Sentence
tells the
tells the
main idea
main idea,
and uses
but uses no
one detail
detail from
from the
the story
passage

20

Sentence
tells the
main idea
and uses
more than
one
supporting
detail from
the passage

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ACTION RESEARCH

Self-Assessment Chart

Horrible

Not Great

OK

Pretty Good Great!

How did I do?

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

2
2
2
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2
2
2
2
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2
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2
2
2
2
2

3
3
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3
3
3
3
3

4
4
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4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student Example Work

Student 2

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Student 3

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Literature Review/Research
The focus of the action research was reading comprehension, specifically finding
the main idea in fairy tales. Much of what can be found is about the importance of main
idea in reading comprehension, but there were some great strategies for helping students
internalize the concept.
The first strategy found was on Reading Rockets, a website that has best practice
information backed up by peer reviewed research, and it was summarizing to find the
main idea. In the article it stated to askframework questions, to help students find the
main idea (Summarizing). This strategy was also supported by an article on how to help
enhance main idea comprehension in students with special needs (Jitendra). The immense
support and research for this strategy was the reason it became the crux of the action
research plan.
The next strategy found on Reading Rockets was Story Mapping. It provides a
framework for students and also helps them improve their comprehension, which was
the original goal of the action research (Story Maps). There were a lot of free graphic
organizers on the site, which led to a search for even more creative and innovative
organizers to practice story mapping with. Some even had main idea on them, which was
a great way to tie in the question and a best practice.
Something similar to story mapping found that was backed by research was
concept mapping. Concept Mapping is something that ties into reading comprehension
and the main idea. It is something that helps students to make meaningful connections
between the main idea and other information, (Concept Mapping). This strategy did not
end up being used because of the time constraints and because the question narrowed

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specifically from reading comprehension to the main idea and did not include supporting
details as a main focus.
Story Sequencing is another best practice strategy that is research supported.
Largely, as far as main idea is concerned, it helps students to recognize main idea in their
own writing (Story Sequencing). When a child can recognize something in one place,
they find it much easier in another. Both students worked with loved writing stories
during journal time and asking them questions during that time, about story sequencing
helped them to find the main idea of their story. This was not a strategy that was focused
on, but rather it was used to support and to get the students thinking. Story Sequencing is
something that my cooperating classroom teacher had already been working on with
recall, so I did what I could to fit the language of it into my vernacular when interacting
with my action research group.
There were plenty of best practice strategies in the toolbox, supported by research,
but what good are great strategies if the students being taught are entirely unengaged and
disinterested? Choice is a great way to have students take ownership of not only a
concept but also reading itself (Teacher Practices). In order to make what the children are
learning meaningful, you need to give them some choice.
After giving interest inventories to both of the students, the students were given
the responsibility of choice. The students had many differing interests, but both loved
fairy tales. So, within that genre, they were allowed them to pick out books from the
library to practice with in groups. Within the genre that the students chose, the mentor
texts used in lessons were also chosen.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Instructional Changes
I began by focusing on Main Idea, and that morphed in to finding the main idea in
fairy tales. After my initial assessment, I realized that I might need to explicitly teach
what the main idea was. I taught a lesson that did this, but since it was my first lesson that
I taught, it was flawed some in execution. The students were no further in their
understanding in finding the main idea, so something needed to change.
Something else that I had seen in my research suggested having specific questions
to ask to help summarize or find the main idea. I took those questions and made them a
sort of formula for the students. From there on in my assessments I saw improvement, so
my decision to change my instruction was a good one.

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ACTION RESEARCH

Student Progress Summary/Data

Student 2: Student 2 and Student 3 started around the same level as far as being able to
find the main idea goes. After my change in instruction, the mid point assessment I gave
showed that Student 2 was able to find the main idea very quickly. She had a sort of
epiphany and realized that this big thing called main idea was something she could
actually find. By the end she was able to find the main idea easily and use multiple details
from the story. She had confidence in her ability to summarize and was proud that she
knew something brand new.

Student 2
25
20
15
10
5
0
PreAssessment

MidPoint Assessment
Student 2

PostAssessment

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ACTION RESEARCH
Student 3: Student 2 started on the same level as Student 3 in finding the main idea.
They both did not know what the main idea was or how to find it. After my change in

instruction, Student 3 seemed to get a bit better, but it took Student 3 a week or two more
than Student 2 to grasp how to find the main idea. I think the main issue that Student 3
had was her confidence. Student 2 was very loud and outspoken and that made Student 3
doubt her abilities a bit. But after a week or two of giving worth to Student 3s answers,
confidence was built and Student 3 was able to find the main idea easily.

Student 3
25
20
15
10
5
0
PreAssessment

Student 3
MidPoint Assessment

PostAssessment

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ACTION RESEARCH

Reflection
I began my action research project on unsure footing. I had no real prior
knowledge of best practice in reading and literature, and here I was being given the
responsibility of helping students improve in these areas. We were just learning best
practice at the time this all began, so what I needed to do I didnt already know because it
was being taught right along with the planning and implementation of our action research.
This made the planning seem so daunting. It was honestly extremely frightening and
seemed almost a bit too big.
I had an initial meeting with my teacher to help figure out which students I was to
work with and to find out more about those students. I also asked how long I would have
with students. Most days, I found out, I would only have a fifteen to twenty minute
window to work with them, including travel to another room. I had two original students
who needed to work on reading comprehension. That was very broad, so I narrowed that
down a bit to main idea. Yet after the first meeting, one of my students moved away. I
rolled with the punches, and my teacher assigned me another student to replace the one
that left in my group. This meant that I had to decrease my sessions by one in order to
catch up my students.
After multiple classes in which we went over the rubric and instructions, I really
began. I began with a vague question about reading comprehension and ended up, after
three weeks of meetings, narrowing my question and having to rework almost everything.
My question ended up being narrowed to how to best find the main idea in fairy tales in
order to improve reading comprehension. That meant I was soon on a frantic search for
fairy tales in both my teachers library and 2nd and Charles.

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I found books, but the next step was doing research to figure out the best
strategies to use in teaching main idea through this literature. Honestly, this was both
easy and difficult for me. I easily found some great user friendly strategies backed by
research on Reading Rockets, but had a more difficult time finding some more scholarly
articles to read. I kept procrastinating by doing other homework, but once I ran out of
early assessments, I had to buckle down and do some research.
I wrote my first lesson plan ever for my action research project. This was not the
first lesson I had taught, but this was also my first observed lesson. It being my first plan
compounded with the nervousness of the observation meant that it did not go super great.
I did not take into account that the students were first graders, meaning that there were
many missed opportunities for scaffolding. I also could have talked a bit less and had
them talk a bit more.
I then changed what I was doing, because at the end of that lesson, I saw that what
I was doing was just not working. I went back to the summarizing strategy I researched
and made that the crux of my teaching. The students responded so much better and
actually made progress. That was very encouraging to me, for I still felt completely under
qualified. I also added making trips to the library to choose books for practice. The
students loved being given choice and responded by enthusiastically agreeing to practice
more on their own.
In the end, the students learned how to find the main idea, but I think I learned
even more. Action research was something that seemed insurmountable. It was scary and
something that I did not want to do. But I learned that I am capable of helping students. I
learned that I can do things that seem too big, but that it is always good to help. I learned

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that I am not alone in how I felt and that it was normal to feel overwhelmed. That feeling
of being underwater was something the whole block shared and we all supported each
other and helped one another reach the surface. I learned that there are plenty of strategies
out there and that I dont need to reinvent the wheel. I learned that it is ok to mess up
sometimes, but always make sure that you can take something away. That way you can
make your lessons even better the next time. I learned that life happens and we can take
control of the situation in how we respond. The students learned, but this project turned
me from instructor into student.

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ACTION RESEARCH

References
Concept Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_maps
Jitendra, A., Kay Hoppes, M., & Yan Ping Xin. (n.d.). Enhancing Main Idea
Comprehension For Students With Learning Problems: The Role Of A
Summarization Strategy And Self-Monitoring Instruction. The Journal of Special
Education, 127-139. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
Story Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/story_maps
Story Sequence. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/story_sequence
Summarizing. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2014, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/summarizing
Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2014,
from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/teacher-practices-impact-readingmotivation