Ensign 1

Eric Ensign

Ms. Freestone

English 12

23 March 2018

Eric’s Senior Project

My parents feel that active reading leads to a deeper understanding of the world

and its encompassing perspectives. However, their philosophy has not resonated in me

throughout my education. Personally, I have decided that reading has been a passive

experience. I know there is a better way to engage boys in the reading process. I feel that

male students are more active by nature, and therefore, they should have a more active

reading experience.

Topic and Purpose

The purpose of my senior project is to unpack a flaw in a standardized reading

program that is destroying the love of reading for male students. I will compare the

effectiveness of my standard junior high English workbook, Vocabu-Lit, against a

reading passage from NewsEla, chosen by the participants. For my research, I hope to

answer the following questions:

 Does giving male students increased ownership of their reading material

generate comparable learning to that of a standardized curriculum?

 What is the school’s responsibility to provide reading material that boys’

find interesting?

As I conduct my research, I will compare a traditional and non-traditional vocabulary

lessons. I will measure which generates more depth and complexity.

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Research model

In an effort to give structure and credibility to my senior project, I will adopt

Michelle Luhata’s “The Research Process” model. The thrust of this social science matrix

(see appendix A and B) is that “learning informs research and research informs learning”

(The Research Process). This is a “symbiotic” relationship (The Research Process) and

the researcher is constantly moving back and forth within the matrix. The first phase

requires that students identify a problem to investigate (The Research Process). During

this first step, it is necessary to conceptualize a purpose, write learning objectives and

begin to formulate research questions (The Research Process). The second phase is when

investigation of the questions takes place and a preliminary plan is developed (The

Research Process). The third phase requires that solid questions are written and an action

plan is put into place (The Research Process). It is important to organize ideas and

document learning during and this process. And the final is phase focuses on strengths of

the project and improvements that can be made in the future (The Research Process).

In the first phase of my research project, I will identify the potential flaws in a

Vocabu-Lit reading curriculum. To identify these problems I will meet with my mentor

once a week, do research and keep a journal. During the second phase, I will continue to

investigate possible flaws in this standardized reading curriculum and attend weekly

meetings with my mentor. During my third phase, I will write solid questions to answer

in my research project. I will write survey questions for Survey Money and interviews

questions for those who consent to an interview (appendix C).

I will also find a placement for my action research component. I will compile a reading

packet to use with my participants (see appendix D, E, F and G). I will also include a
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body matrix to measure the language of my participants. In the final phase, I will analyze

my data and made recommendations for the future.

Validity and trustworthiness

In an effort to be transparent, I must discuss some of the elements that could

impact the results of this project. As a social science research paper, I changed the names

of all participants and locations to protect their privacy. This is to allow the subjects to

speak freely as I collect data and conduct my analysis. The participants are minorities. A

wider range of subjects would have been preferred. However, given the racial make of

the school, this is not possible. I made the mistake commenting to the participants about

my negative feelings regarding Vocabu-Lit. I should have been more careful to conduct

my research with a neutral tone. I was able to connect and relate to the boys. In a

profession that is dominated by women, I personally believe that the young boys enjoyed

interacting with a male figure. I would like to think that they read better with me because

of this relationship. I was not prepared with the packets for my action research

component. The first mistake I made was that I did not have comparable response sheets

for each text the participants. For example, I should have made two copies of Appendix

E and F for each text read. I was very tired and did not prepare in an appropriate manner.

Research

I made arrangements with Lucy to visit Taylor Middle School located in the Dixie

School District. Lucy found three sixth graders and two seventh grade boys to test. Their

literacy skills all varied. I spent about three hours conducting my research and

approximately twenty minutes with each participant.

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The context of the school community suggested that families need support. A

community center is located directly across from the middle school, along with an

elementary school of the other side. The community center provides homework help for

the students, a long with medical care and adult education.

The location of the community center in-between the two schools suggests that

student population also needs help and encouragement. This notion is reinforced by the

fact that Taylor Middle School had a Title One status. That means that ninety-two percent

of the families fall on the low-income matrix (Great Schools, 2017). The Great Schools

website shows Taylor Middle School as a public school servicing seven hundred,

seventy-one students attending grades sixth through eight. The Hispanic population

makes up sixty-three percent, Pacific Islander is thirteen percent, White is eleven percent,

Asian is five percent, other races are at two-percent and American Indian is at one

percent (Great Schools, 2017). While I conducted my research, the principal made

several school-wide announcements, along with an explanation about earning school

reward tickets verses “stealing” school reward tickets. She used the word “stealing’ three

times with emphasis. All students wear uniforms of white shirts, blue or brown pants and

tennis shoes. The fact that the students wear uniforms could also suggest this population

might be exposed to gang related activities (personal interview with Christena Ensign,

March 12, 2018).

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Analysis of research

Fisher supports the meaningful reading of any student in Visible Learning for

Literary. He wrote, “Learning becomes more meaningful when learners see what they’re

learning as being meaningful to their own lives” (112). The analysis of my data explored

the importance of boys having more of a choice in their reading material.

I prepared reading packets to use with each of my participants. Right up front, I

declared the packets null because I did not include comparable response sheets for each

text (see appendix E and F). As stated previously, I should have made two copies of

Appendix E and F for each text read by the participants. Therefore, the results of my

senior project are not conclusive. I was tired the night before and overlooked this

important need.

I made some personal observations that are worthy of mention. I saw graphic

novels in the desks in a few students. Their choice of reading material made an

impression on me because I do not recall being exposed to graphic novels as worthy

literature at my junior high. In hindsight, I now believe conversations about a wider range

of literature would have helped me be more interested in reading. Probably because these

conversations did not take place, I was left with the impression that graphic novels are

not literature of importance. Additionally, all the students had personal I pads. The

presence of I pads implied that more money is available to this school. The I pads gave

the school and teachers more resources to connect reading with the students. For

example, my participants were able to access NEWS Ela articles of their choice during

my research process. The ability to obtain a wider range of meaningful reading material
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is available to the older students all day throughout the entire year. Their access to

reading has few restritions.

The idea of connecting meaningful reading material with boys is a concept

supported during my interview with Phil Ensign. To paraphrase, he stated reading

relevant literature made him want to read more. The example he cited was that while in

second grade, baseball was a sport he loved. In being allowed choose books about

baseball, Phil believed his reading skills grew significantly (Feb. 7, 2018). Connecting

relevant literature to boys was also discussed in an interview with Kay Spjut. As a retired

English teacher, she recalled one of her students who found the Chronicles of Narnia

book series fascinating. This student read the series, at Ms. Spjut’s encouragement, loved

it and through having been allowed to access meaningful literature, developed a love for

reading (February 14, 2018). During my interview with Mike Ensign, he also talked

about growing as a reader when was able to have a voice in what read. He did not

become an avid reader until be entered college and was able to have more of a choice in

the material he read (February 7, 2018). It is important for boys to read literature that is

meaningful to their lives.

In Survey Monkey, many people felt like the material they studied in junior high

was not helpful in building their reading skills. Even though the data sample was small,

there was a correlation between males and people who did not feel as if the assigned

reading helped them in junior high. Furthermore, forty two percent said they felt like the

reading material was not able to improve their reading skills in the way they would have

hoped. This survey firms up the importance of boys reading books they believe is

relevant to their lives.

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As previously stated, I do not have enough written evidence to conclusively answer

my questions. However, the observations, interviews and survey I conducted all support

that increased ownership does facilitate better literature skills in boys. I believe schools

and districts have an ethical obligation to expose and provide a wide range of literature to

their students. Boys must have more of a voice to choose reading material they find

meaningful. That voice is silenced when standardized reading curriculums are the norm

during the school day.

Conclusion

I was disengaged as a reader in junior high. I believe that a boy connecting with

reading material on a personal level was seriously overlooked during my seventh and

eight grade years. It was painful for me to sit in English class and be forced to complete

my Vocabu-Lit workbook. As an example of “fidelity to the core”, Vocab-ULit is a rigid

standardized curriculum pushed by districts making it impossible for boys to connect

with meaningful reading material. I assert that federal policies that place restrictions on

teaching freedom have perpetuated the literacy problem (Dennis 400). Money from the

federal government, and state, should be given with more teaching freedom. Dixie School

District appears have negotiated for more teaching freedom during the day. Lucy

supported this concept during my interview (March 12, 2018) when she noted the styles

between her current and former school district. She believes her class is more engaged in

reading. Perhaps because the teachers are not required to have such rigid “fidelity to the

core.” Federal and state policy makers have a moral and ethical duty to teach boys in a

manner that they may flourish as human beings and good citizens.
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Works Cited

Dennis, D. “Learning From the Past: What ESSA Has the Chance to Get Right.”

The Reading Teacher. vol.70, no. 4, 2017, pp. 395-400.

Great Schools. https://www.greatschools.org/utah/salt-lake-city/589-Glendale-

Middle-School/

Ensign, Christena. Personal Interview. 12 Mar. 2018

Ensign, Eric. “Survey Monkey” Survey. 9 Feb. – 22 Mar.

Ensign, Mike. Personal Interview. 7 Feb. 2018.

Ensign, Phil. Personal Interview. 28 Jan. 2018.

Fisher, Douglas, Frey, Nancy and Hattie, John. Visible Learning for Literacy.

Corwin Literacy. 2016

Lucy. Personal Interview. 12 Mar. 2018

Spjut, Kay. Personal Interview. 14 Feb. 2018.

Luhtala, Michelle. “The Research Process.” edWeb.net, 14, Jan. 2015,

https://home.edweb.net/.

MLA Handbook 8th ed. Modern Language Association, 2016.

NewsELA. https://newsela.com/

Vocabu-Lit. Building Vocabulary Through Literature Book H. Perfection

Learning. 2002.
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Appendix A: The Research Process

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Appendix B: The Four Phases in The Research Processarch Process

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Appendix C: Interview Questions

Interview questions:

 Do you feel like the literature you read during your education helped you develop
into a life long reader? Why, or why?
 Do you remember periods during your education when you felt reading was
enjoyable? Do you remember times when you were not interested in reading at
school?
 Were you ever allowed to pick out your own books to read in school? Why, or
why not?

Interview questions for Grandma:

 Where you ever able to choose you own books for your class to read?

 Did you feel like the reading material for your students was interesting and
engaging? Why?

Survey Monkey questions:

Do you feel as if during your seventh and eighth grades years, the reading
material was significant in helping you develop into a life long, fluent reader?
Why, or why?

 How old are you?

Between:
55-60 years old
54-50 years old
49-45 years old
44-40 years old
39-35 years old
34-30 years old
29-25 years old
24-20 years old
19-15 years old

 Are you male or female?

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Appendix D: Vocabu-lit
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Appendix E: Vocabulary Tree

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Appendix F: Power Word Boxs

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Appendix G: Body Matrix

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