What challenges did I face?

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The main challenge that I faced was keeping consistent meeting times with my students. It was important to remain on schedule with the group of students so that skills were retained, applied, and remembered throughout the study. In the day of the life of a teacher, schedules get changed constantly. I had to ensure that I was still meeting with my students when needed to keep the study consistent and on schedule as planned. 

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What successes did I experience?

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The biggest success that I experienced with my students was confidence in their reading. This group struggled from the beginning of the year with reading. They did not have the phonemic awareness skills to help them boost their confidence by knowing sounds and patterns within words. By including intentional word study with their guided reading text, they practiced skills before, during, and after reading the text. This exposure helped the phonics content stick, which in turn built confidence in my students and their reading abilities. 

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What new learnings did I find?

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When I began teaching first grade, it intimidated me a bit. I went into this grade not truly understanding what learning levels this age group would be at coming into the school year. I was used to teaching second grade and above, so this age group was all new to me. This study encouraged me to understand the age group and where they were at developmentally. In first grade, students are continuing to learn how to read. Through research on what helps children read, I found that phonics lay the foundation of reading. For a child to read, they must first understand and identify letter sounds and patterns in words. Without building this skill, children will not grow in reading. My action research gave me the chance to understand what my students needed from me as their teacher to help them grow as life long readers and learners. 

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How did this study impact me as an educator?

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The study impacted me as an educator by allowing me to grow and reflect with my students in the study. This process provided me with the opportunity to take a closer look at my teaching and make intentional next steps that best fit the needs of my students. When I looked at the pre test results in the beginning, I had to make an instructional choice as to which skills were shown as a need by my group of students. From there, I had to plan intentional word study mini lessons that could be applicable for my students in their reading as well. When creating these plans, it required me to take the time to find skills that would benefit my students the most. I also had to pre-plan sentences with sight words to allow students to practice in their guided writing. The study exposed me to the benefits of intentional teaching through constant reflection on what would help my students be most successful in reading. 

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How did I collaborate with other stakeholders?

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Throughout the duration of my study, I had the opportunity to work with various stakeholders. Some of the constant stakeholders throughout my study were my instructional coach and principal. These two professionals provided me with the information for a need of intentional instruction in reading. After getting to know my students as individuals and on their academic levels, I soon realized that they were lacking skills in phonics. After this realization, I met with my instructional coach to discuss what word study could look like in the classroom. I also had the chance to meet with a reading recovery coach in my district. These coaches specialize in reading instruction. This is where I gained the idea of providing an assessment on phonics. The reading recovery coach suggested giving a test on phonics in order to provide me with a baseline of what the students know, and what they are ready to learn. My associate, who is an assistant principal at a different building, also provided support and resources throughout the course of the study, which benefitted my students and me greatly. 

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What changes would I make?

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A change I would make would be doing phonics lessons both small group and whole group. I believe the more exposure students get on these lessons, the more they can apply and practice skills to build their toolbox. Right now, I have word study in each guided reading group that lasts 3-5 minutes, and a short word sort one day. I think adding in more phonics mini lessons during whole group reading, guided reading, and even writing can help students gain a deeper understanding of various skills and actually apply them in their everyday learning and life. 

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What will I do moving forward and what do I still wonder?

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During this study, I only did it on a group of four students. In the future, I would definitely incorporate intentional teaching through word study with all of the guided reading groups. Each group will have individualized phonics instruction based on the needs and abilities of the group. By doing so, students will develop a stronger understanding and build their skills on phonemic awareness that can be applied throughout all of their reading. I would also like to take next steps to show reciprocity between reading and writing. The students were able to apply phonic skills in their reading, but it can also be applied in their writing. This was touched on a little bit in this study through their sight words, but it can be expanded into all areas of daily writing. Adding in the reciprocity between the two core areas, students are bound to have more success. 

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Going forward with the research that I've found, I still have remaining questions that I would like to find out in future classes. For example, here are some of my wonders:

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• What would phonics lessons look like with students who are reading above grade level guided reading? 

• What other interventions can be done if students do not show proficient growth over time?

• What impacts can be made by applying the same phonics skills from reading into their own writing?

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With these questions still remaining, I intend to answer these questions as I begin with new guided reading groups next year and expand the range of who is getting explicit instruction on phonics through word work to each student.