I began my action research
project as of the second week of school.
For this action research project I am using the Four Blocks of Literacy
method in my second grade classroom to see how it affects my students with
their independent reading and with their Istation scores (our online reading
program that continuously assesses students’ reading progress) as compared to
the other second grade classes using our typical method for teaching reading. I have already done the necessary research to
begin this project and collected the data I needed during the first two weeks
of school. I have documented my students’
current Istation scores and have given each of them a fluency probe to
determine their beginning levels of reading development. Currently, I am using the new schedule that I
created during the summer for the four blocks method. My current English Language Arts and Reading
schedule is as follows: Phonics instruction for 30-45 minutes, Reading
mini-lesson and practice for 30 minutes, Writing mini-lesson and practice for
30 minutes, Literacy Stations and Small Group for 30-45 minutes, and
Independent Reading Time and Reader’s Conferences for 15-30 minutes. It took practice and determination to get
myself used to this new schedule and new way of teaching, but I feel very
comfortable with it now and am definitely seeing the difference in their independent
reading and hope to see their Istation scores improve once they are assessed
again in the next few weeks. I am
enjoying my action research project and though it has been difficult at times
to keep with the schedule and with the instruction, I am determined to see this
through to the end and know that it will be worth it.
