Using Shared Reading to Improve Reading Skills

Introduction

            Shared reading, which can be described as a format in which a group of kids together with their teacher read through a content that, in turn, helps them transit from the emergent stage of reading to more conformist reading ability; is a part of a balanced early literacy framework. The shared reading experience offers methods which teachers can utilize in engaging texts and authentic literacy experiences to aid children develop the strategies necessary for effective, independent reading. (Button,  & Johnson, 1997)It is also an interactive reading experience that occurs when learners join in or share the reading of a big book or other enlarged text while guided and supported by a teacher or other experienced reader(s). Students observe an expert reading the text with fluency and expression. The text must be large enough for all the learners to see clearly, so they can share in the reading of the text. It is through Shared Reading that the reading process and reading strategies that readers use are demonstrated. This concept involves children participating in reading, learn critical concepts of how print works, get the feel of learning and begin to perceive themselves as readers. (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996).

            According to Holdaway (1997) Shared reading is well supported by research and theory in the area of emergent literacy. He developed big books to emulate lap reading experience of young children and their care givers. Moreover, he noted the benefits of the highly interactive exchanges between care givers and children and found that this same level of interaction could be created through shared reading in the school settings; he further stated that in lap reading the child often reads along with the care giver. Holdaway, described unison activities during shared-book experiences. As the text becomes familiar, children join in the reading of it with their teacher. He further stressed the individual nature of these unison activities; Children participate according to their levels of comprehension and confidence, some with complete proficiency and others with approximations of the actual text. Because the texts utilized are meaningful and engaging, the children actively and enthusiastically choose to participate. According to Button & Johnson (1997), Teachers in New Zealand have used shared reading for many years and studied its effects on emergent readers. A guide published by the New Zealand Department of Education (1985) stated that the primary purpose of shared reading is for children to be introduced to "the riches of book language, and given shared opportunities to develop the strategies of sampling, predicting, confirming, and self-correcting for future independent use" (p. 58).Children from all over the world continuously face this problem, however, it is our primary responsibility as teachers to implement the different strategies in our lessons to assist reading problems that students face in Jamaica.

Background

           During my experience in a grade two classroom, I have noticed that students refuse to read because they do not know certain words or because they are unsure. While there are some students that will say it after other students have. Whether they say the correct word or not, they will unknowingly follow assuming that the students know the word(s). These children are not interested in trying, or motivated to try. Nonetheless, to correct this problem, the strategy was introduced to the learners to motivate and push them to read. I read a story known to every student twice; I then turned the book around for the class to read it. I asked them to read the title of the story in which only a few students did. I then repeated the title while pointing at each word and the students then accurately said the title. Later on, I read the first sentence while pointing at each word; they were then allowed to read it. This process was repeated with each sentence to the end of the book. It was done a second time and then students were instructed to read the story together. I then stopped them to discuss the story. All children were already familiar with the story hence, discussion was short. I then asked three students to read the title of the story in which two out of the three could not after reading and rereading it multiple times and also being familiar with the story. Therefore, this study was conducted to show whether or not this strategy would bring a positive impact on these students or they will remain the same.

Purpose

            The purpose of this study is to delve into how much shared reading influences students’ reading comprehension ability and reading motivation. It also helps with the purpose of characterizing the reading profile and detecting comprehension difficulties among students, it provides struggling readers with necessary support, helps in teaching frequently used vocabulary and it allows students to enjoy materials that they may not be able to read on their own. The importance of shared reading has an in-depth influence on children’s language development, phonics, word reading/writing development, and phonemic awareness.

Statement of the Problem

            Based on the information that was provided above, the following statement problem was developed. The research showed that shared reading is one of the most important way to improve student’s reading ability. It helps students to enjoy various reading materials that they may not be able to read on their own, it also gives them motivation to attempt reading or words to which they are not familiar with. This study is designed to determine how using shared reading can improve students reading skills. Hence several methods will be used to carry out this study; however these methods will utilizes the cooperation of both teacher and students from a grade two class in a primary school in Jamaica.

Significance of the study

Conducting this study is significant because it may help in fleshing the body of information on shared reading that is already available on the topic in a given primary school. What is more, it shall further delve into more pertinent issues that affect the implementation of the Shared reading model to grade two students.

Research Questions:

1. Can shared reading be used as an intervention plan for struggling readers in the classroom?
2. What are some factors that affect students reading?
3. What are the steps in using shared reading in the classroom?

Definition of terms

Reading comprehension- We define reading comprehension as the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language. We use the words extracting and constructing to emphasize both the importance and the insufficiency of the text as a determinant of reading comprehension.(Snow, 2002)

Shared reading- Shared reading is a part of a balanced early literacy framework. The shared reading experience offers a way teachers can use engaging texts and authentic literacy experiences to help children develop the strategies necessary for effective, independent reading. (Button, & Johnson, 1997)

Motivation-Gredler, Broussard and Garrison (2004) broadly define motivation as “the attribute that moves us to do or not to do something” (p. 106).

Chapter Two

Literature Review

What is Shared reading?

            Shared reading is a form of “reading along” (McGill-Franzen, 2006) with children that helps them move from the emergent stage of reading to conventional reading of text.It provides struggling readers with necessary support. Shared reading of predictable text can build sight word knowledge and reading fluency, it allows students to enjoy materials that they may not be able to read on their own, it ensures that all students feel successful by providing support to the entire group. Shared Reading is a collaborative literacy learning activity based on the research of Don Holdaway (Parkes, 2000, p.1). Holdaway (1979) introduced and developed the important activity of shared book experience.  This activity has become known as shared reading in recent years (Smith & Elley, 1994, cited from Campbell, 2001).  Since shared reading is usually done with students who are just getting started with literacy, it is a time when teachers can share the love of reading, plus teach fundamental concepts and strategies that students need to learn if they are going to become readers and writers (Taberski, 2000). Shared reading activities may occur around Big Books, predictable books, and/or books with simple, clear text and pictures (Erickson, &Hanser, 2007).

Shared reading is an activity typically done in a small group with an adult Shared reading with beginning reader, similar to read-aloud.  Yet, the important difference between read-alouds and shared reading is the visibility of the print.  The print used for shared reading is sufficiently large so that it can be “seen, shared and discussed” (Holdaway, 1979, p.64, cited from Campbell, 2001).  Therefore, using big charts is very important in shared reading.There are four steps of shared-book experience; including observing demonstrations, participation, role-playing practice, and performance (Holdaway, 1986).  In the process of shared reading, repeated readings are important and children are actively involved in the reading (Yaden, 1988).  There are two main purposes of shared reading.  One is to provide children with an enjoyable experience, introduce them to a variety of authors, illustrators and types of texts to entice them to become readers.  The other is to teach children the reading process and teach systematically and explicitly how to be readers and writers themselves (Parkes, 2000).  Shared reading in school emulates and builds from the child’s experiences with bedtime or lap stories at home (Holdaway, 1979). The children in a group share the reading of the story with the teacher through the use of enlarged text (Parkes, 2000). According to Mooney, (1990), children learn about reading by seeing and hearing reading in their everyday lives in much the same way they learn to talk.

Shared reading enables teachers to model a form of reading which some, but not all, children experience through bedtime stories with parents or caregivers. Shared reading is a step between reading aloud and children doing their own reading (Parkes, 2000). When teachers encourage these conversations, children will grow and play an increasingly active role as meaning makers. Grand conversation is a term used to describe the extended discussion surrounding text when children investigate the big ideas and reflect on their feelings about the reading (Eeds & Wells, 1989; Peterson & Eeds, 1990). These child centered discussions occur during the rereading of the text while the teacher sometimes guides the children to notice ideas they may not notice themselves during previous story conversations. Researchers have also found that when students work in collaborative groups they encourage each other’s efforts and that this leads to increased interest and effort (Daniels 2002; Chi 2008; Williams 2009).

The use of shared reading in the classroom

Many are the times that adults have notably assumed that literacy emerges only when a child is to begin schooling and as such, it is the sole responsibility of the school to cultivate literacy learning. Consequently, statistics have shown that most children transit even up to grade two with no word knowledge. As such, the employment of shared reading in classroom has been deemed to be of cardinal essence. Based on classroom experiences observed, we see shared reading experiences as an effective classroom tool. Much has been written about the use of shared reading in first and second grade (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996; Taberski, 2000) yet it remains an untapped form of reading experience for pre-K and kindergarten children where read aloud is much more common. Shared reading can be used to assist in literacy growth for children ages three through six as well as those in grade two; as teachers provide reading opportunities that foster the early stages of literacy development.

Shared Reading Process

A shared reading session may be conducted in many ways, depending on the needs of the students and the teaching objectives determined by the teacher. Shared reading with strong teacher support and guided reading with less teacher support are two ways the teacher can give students practice and immediate feedback, as they develop the skills and strategies necessary for successful decoding and comprehension. This section will provide a brief description of how to conduct a shared reading session. The process for shared reading are: Before, During, and After reading.

Before

According to Fisher, & Medvic (2000),In shared reading, the teacher introduces the story, talking about the title, cover, and title page. It is a good time to engage the students in what they see in the cover picture, and what they think it tells them about the story to be read. Do not neglect the back cover of the book, as it often provides an interesting picture clue to what will happen in the story. During the introduction, the teacher conducts a picture walk through the book, briefly pointing out specific characters, actions or events, asking probing questions to engage the students in thinking about the pictures and story, but not telling the story. Teacher will select a more difficult text than one you would use for guided reading but simpler than one you would read during a teacher read-aloud. Choose based on relevant criteria such as print features, patterns in the text, and comprehension opportunities. Allen, J. (2000). Secure a copy of the text for each student because the heart of shared reading involves all students and the teacher looking at the text while reading together. Possible variations are small groups reading a common text or dyad reading (Morgan, Wilcox, & Eldredge, 2000). Pre-read the text, identifying your teaching points. Focus on a comprehension purpose, and direct the experience toward meaning work. Shared reading is highly useful for teaching about print and for illustrating strategies of cross-checking and monitoring. Plan carefully for these teaching moments to identify the lesson’s most important points.

During

The very first reading is generally for enjoyment. The teacher points to each word as it is read. Students are asked to follow along “with their eyes.” Read the text as naturally as possible, phrased and fluent, though you may choose to slow the pace just a little for students to join in. Model realistic reactions to the text and use appropriate voice intonation. Again, the teacher may pause from time to time asking students to predict a word, phrase or to make predictions about what is happening. During the read, the teacher may ask students to confirm their predictions by asking, “Were you right/correct?”

During shared reading you must:

• Make sure everyone has access to the text.
• Support fluent shared reading in which either you or a proficient student reads the text aloud while others read aloud at the same time, with periodic stops to discuss content. This implementation may vary depending on the grade level, the purpose of the lesson, and the difficulty of the text. In kindergarten, shared reading often involves an enlarged text that everyone reads together, while middle school students engage in shared reading with partners or in small groups. Burkins, & Croft (2010)
• Engage in a think-aloud, modeling the strategies that are your instructional focus for the lesson. Support students in concentrating their energies on that focus. For high school students, the lesson can be about understanding Shakespeare’s language, while a third-grade class can practice using context to determine the meanings of words .Burkins, & Croft, (2010)
• Regardless of grade level, shared reading should engage students in a discussion of the text. Support students in thinking deeply about their reading and in discovering things in the text.
• Incorporate the text into other reading experiences, such as students rereading the text independently or finding other texts by the same author.

After

After reading, the teacher can take students back to the point of making predictions, whether at the word or story level, and ask how they knew they were right or how they knew if their prediction wasn’t quite correct. Giving students this chance to talk about their thinking is very powerful and ensures their full participation. The teacher asks open-ended questions and helps students build connections to the text by activating students’ prior knowledge to the theme or main idea of the book. The second and subsequent readings allow for the students to chime in with now familiar words and phrases. In some cases, students and teachers can take turns reading (e.g., the teacher reads the left side and students read the right side). Other ways to extend the Shared Reading experience can be found in the Extending Shared Reading section.

After shared reading you must:

• Revisit the text during other group reading times.
• Provide students with their own copies of the text that they can carry into their independent reading.
• If the text remains difficult for some students, let them practice during guided reading or with more teacher support in a small-group, shared reading experience.

The inadequacies to students reading

Children with language impairment (LI) are highly susceptible to reading difficulties Catts, Fey, Tomblin, & Zhang, (2002). For some children, this susceptibility is evidenced during the preschool years by deficits in early-literacy skills that are causally associated with future reading achievement, such as print knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary skills (Cabell et al., 2010). For instance, one recent report showed that 55% of 3- to 5-year-olds with LI exhibited significant deficits in these early-literacy skills (Justice et al., 2013), and this figure generally corresponds with the number of children with LI who experience RD in the later primary grades (Catts et al., 2002). Identifying effective ways to prevent RD among children with LI is a priority within national research agendas (Lonigan & Shanahan, 2009), with efforts typically focused on improving those early-literacy skills that are causally relevant to future reading achievement. To this end, a number of researchers have studied avenues for improving the early-literacy skills of young children with LI, with many studies finding positive short-term effects (Gillon, 2002).

The prevailing approach to improving early literacy skills, as applied to children with LI and children at risk more generally, involves systematic manipulation of shared-reading routines so as to make early-literacy learning opportunities more salient and intensive for children. For instance, a commonly used intervention approach involves training caregivers and educators to read storybooks with children in a way that promotes the quality and quantity of adult–child oral exchanges during read-alouds, typically termed interactive or dialogic reading (see Mol, Bus, & de Jong, 2009). Several meta-analyses aggregating results from studies featuring variations of interactive reading have provided generally strong support for shared-reading interventions as an avenue for improving children’s early literacy skills (Bus, Van IJzendoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995; Mol et al., 2009). It is interesting, however, that a meta analysis examining of the effects of interactive reading on children’s vocabulary skills, in particular, found attenuated effects for children who were considered at risk due to poverty; that is, compared with children not at risk (d = 0.53), those who were at risk benefited significantly less (d = 0.13) from exposure to interactive reading (Mol, Bus, de Jong, & Smeets, 2008).

According to Justice, Skibbe, McGinty, Piasta, &Petrill, (2011), the decreased effects for the amount of children at risk are because of the numerous ways in which the reader(s) implement the book-reading interventions. However, they stated that it could not be explicitly tested, given that there are no studies that have carefully determined how the interventions are “actually realized” for children who are and are not at risk. They also stated that it is evident that the use of sharedreading interventions by parents/ guardians within the home environment, sometimes fail to reach the requirement in which developers has set. For instance, parents or guardians will use less time to practice with the child than what is recommended and may not remember to record the child’s progress or do the intervention at all. As examples, Justice et al. (2011) reported that nearly one in four caregivers implementing home-based bookreading interventions with their children with LI dropped out of their study, whereas Lonigan and Whitehurst (1998) reported that only 60% of caregivers maintained logs of home reading sessions that were a required part of intervention implementation. They then discussed how the framework was applied to caregiver-implemented shared-reading interventions. The supplement article closes with a description of an ongoing research study in which the application is being explicitly tested to determine whether caregivers’ implementation of a shared-reading intervention can be positively affected.

Theoretical framework

As a patriotic citizen with the interest of my country at heart, I have always been dreaming and working hard to help change the malpractices in the country. The education sector in Jamaica is harmed by social stratification where people from low social strata are rarely consulted in policy making decisions. As such, the practice has affected the education system, with the grassroots levels of public institutions hardly hit. Therefore, the study chooses Critical Discourse Analysis CDA as a theoretical framework upon which the data herein will be analyzed. Luke, (1997) asserts that Critical Discourse Analysis is a model focusing on the study of language and communication in schools. In addition to this, the brief is focused on analyzing implications of the grade 2 language efficiency tests. The same way social sciences examine the relationship between language use and society, the paper also examines the impacts of society both positive and negative associated with the use of Creole and its impact to life of Grade 2 student’s efficiency in shared reading. Notably, the CDA is keen to note that language is not a true assessment of individual behavior as it only expresses apart of the behavior through words. Therefore, to make the study purposive, the analysis also analyzed student’s body gesture whilst learning: language is both spoken and unspoken.

Background to CDA

Critical Discourse Analysis emerged around 1990s as an affiliate to linguistics theory. Moreover, within the realm of time, CDA borrowed a lot from post-structuralism theory: focused on analyzing language use and speech genres in the modern society. The period after 1990s saw a twist in turns of events as language use in children seized being arbitrary, and neither was it viewed as measure of cleverness. Rather, through the works of Luke, (1997), language use relied heavily on a speaker’s form and the social context therein. The CDA model indicates that critical linguistics creates a platform upon which a child-Grade 2 student is presented with the variations in power whilst reading texts. Equally important, the methodological perspectives in CDA propel new forms of language analysis where child utterance, phoneme, and syllable use are checked. Besides, the government in liaison with the Ministry of Education embraced the CDA model in their amendment of the 1965 Education Act (Luke, 1997).

Gee and Fairclough CDA model

Researchers in the education sector heavily rely on CDA models developed by the famous James Paul Gee and Norman Fairclough (Fairclough, (2001): Gee, (2000, p. 99-125). As such, the paper uses a blend of the two CDA models to explain the technicalities, advancement, and offer solutions to he education system in Jamaica: with respect to shared readings in elementary schools. On one hand, Fairclough, a British linguist focused on the influence of class in language acquisition and use (Fairclough, 2001). On the other hand, the American linguist Gee focuses on how language is a medium offering people identity (Gee, 2000, p. 99-125). Fairclough designed his model into three stages namely description, interpretation, and explanation. At the first stage, Fairclough is keen to note language form while analyzing textual structures and the vocabulary therein. In reality, Fairclough asserts that ideas become common sense when social orders impact heavily on the language structure and vocabulary.

As such, Fairclough further notes that the struggles in classes have varying degree as the each social class has different desires. Therefore, the study employs Fairclough’s CDA model to interpret how Grade 2 students use language with respect to textual cues and vocabulary (Fairclough, (2001). Insight into Gee’s model indicates how communication influences an individual’s identity. Gee is of the opinion that discourse is about recognizing the need to communicate and under what circumstances. In this case, through Gee’s model a student reading texts loudly without any errors is perceived a s a “good reader,” whilst a student presenting with difficulties in reading texts is perceived as a “struggling reader.” This conclusions and categorizing of students is arrived at after implementing Gee’s seven building tasks namely significance, relationships, identities, activities, politics, connections, and sign systems and knowledge. When all these attributes are aligned, Gee notes that the discourse gets to be valid: where elements such as linguistics details, agreement, coverage, and convergence are aligned (Gee, 2000, p. 99-125).  

CDA in use

Research indicates that few school use CDA in examining social issues. Notably, the few individual who have adopted a model either use one: Gee’s or Fairclough model. For this study, a blended approach is recommended and used. To start with, the paper makes reference to Gee’s “big” discourse model. The model has several multifaceted approaches that insist on coordinating people with the technology, tools, symbols, and time. As such, the government policies and school shared reading are subject as the model focuses on coordinating activities and how children identities were constructed through literacy test. With Fairclough three-tiered model, the brief is able to materialize how decision are made at level of education sector and societal level. Therefore, at the education level, the model argues that stakeholders therein need to mentor children as well as stakeholders at the society level. At the end, aligning all the efforts will ensure children are at safe haven without destructions (Fairclough, (2001): Gee, (2000, p. 99-125).  

Chapter Three

Methodology

Education system in Jamaica

Jamaica has been a British colony from 1655-1962 after it got independence. Therefore, it is evident that due to the colonial rule, Jamaica is an English-speaking island. The official language is Standard Jamaican English SJE whereas Jamaican Creole JC is the language spoken by majority of the natives herein. The Jamaican Creole is traced from the migration and slavery era where African from West Africa interacted with British rulers and hence the fusion gave birth to the Creole (Fountas, & Pinnell, 1996).

School culture in the island

            In the late 1990s, the Grade Four Literacy Test GDLT was developed. The Ministry of Education in liaison with the Student Assessment Unit initiated the test with the motive of determining the literacy levels of children completing Grade 4: the information gathered was used to streamline the education sector with emphasis placed on the lower Grades characterized by early childhood education and Grade 2. As such, teachers focused in Grade 2 were required to meet the standards and use shared reading to equip students to the task ahead. As of 2008, the Jamaican Ministry of Education passed the based-transition policy to elevate teaching from being confined in classroom to a national assessment level characterized by tests done at the end of the year. Despite the policy attracting mixed reactions from different stakeholders, in one way it helped foster the ideology behind shared reading as the administered test had three sections namely reading comprehension, communication task, and word recognition. In addition to this, the three sections had different timings to test the child’s cognitive skills: the word recognition section spanned for almost six minutes detailed with forty items (Fountas, & Pinnell, 1996).

              The age grade children had thirty-five minutes to address tasks under reading comprehension. Finally, the communication segment comprised of items catalogued to be finished within forty minutes.  What is more is that the results ranked the students whilst enabling teachers to know there areas of weaknesses. For instance, children who failed all the tests were identified as Non-Mastery students, whereas students who passed all the tests were categorized as achieving mastery students. Notably, students who failed either of the sections in the test are perceived as nearly Mastery students. With such information, teachers are encouraged to embrace shared reading model and bridge the gap between Non-Mastery students and achieving mastery students. Reading texts aloud whilst encouraging group and individual presentation is one model that helps student memories what is taught and apply it in their tests. That said, with the changes experienced from the inception of the education system in Jamaica to a level characterized by introduction and amendments in the G4LT, it is possible to discern that  the  research question on Can shared reading be used as an intervention plan for struggling readers in the classroom? is addressed as the education sector in Jamaica has been sensitive to address needs of students who are required to retake the failed tests at their Grades. Further, teachers have been equipped with the necessary guides and tools to first orientate students who are retaking the tests and integrate their learning styles with the new students in the unit. Equally important, in as much as the findings seek to answer all the three research questions, the establishment of the two tiered education system as an AEP model under the Ministry of Education help address some factors that affects students reading (Luke, 1997).

Historical and current perspectives

                The establishment of the 1835 Negro Education Act saw introduction of two types of schools: elite schools and public financed schools. The elite schools were dominated by children of the ruling white class whereas the public financed schools were characterized by students of the common citizens who were mostly individuals with semi-skilled jobs. For more than a century, the status quo has been maintained due t the strongly ingrained fabrics of education. As such, social mobility was hindered as little students from the lower social class could get scholarships and chances to not only interact but as well as learn in the elite schools. Subsequently, literature indicates that promising students from public schools would sit exams before entering college while students from elite schools had an almost sure guarantee of joining college without sitting the tests (Luke, 1997).

               However, despite the scholarships for students from public schools, tuition fee compulsory. Notably, as of 1950s the education system experienced a paradigm shift characterized by equal opportunities for all children as the population of British was declining in Jamaica. The working-class took after their jobs and schools hence reforming the education sector. In 1965, Jamaica drafted an independent postcolonial Education Act which up to date has seen rapid progress in the sector aimed at improving ease of access to quality education to all and sundry. Lately, research notes that the Jamaican education system has improved as compared to the past due to its ability to recognize the culture of the masses during the recruiting stages of children into the early childhood education system. However, a limiting factor to children in Grade 2 as indicated by the Ministry of education is the influence of the Creole where children get socialized at an early stage. Moreover, apart from having an education system that has been sensitive to the culture of the masses, in reality, Jamaica has been able to increase the level of girls attending schools (Luke, 1997).

Overview of the study

            This hands on research will submit an application of constructivist approach to collect data, making out and connecting categories, and formulating theories.

Setting

The school’s setup is such that it is accessible to students from both well to do and poor families; surrounded by shops, residential estates, and some major roads in the neighborhood of time.

Participants

The sample for this study is collected from a grade two class. The class comprises of 37 students, 20 girls and 17 boys. In which students are from both rural and urban communities. About 70% of these students are English Language Learners (ELL).  The class will be divided in two and a random question was asked to the class, the first boy or girl to get the answer correct will participate first in the study. If the correct answer is given by a boy, then all the boys will participate first and vice versa. The study will be done over a period of 8 weeks and results collected will be analyzed.

Instrumentation

Three instruments will be used to collect information in this study. Before the study is carried out, a pre-test will be done, in which each student will read a short passage for me in order to determine the grade level to which each student is reading. These results will be written down for future comparisons. A post-test will also be administrated to the students to see the accuracy in students reading for the 8 weeks that the study will take place. A comprehension exercises with questions based on a specific passage given to the students will be used for this exercise to show if students understand what they are reading. The remaining two instruments that will be used are observation, in which I will observe students reading as a group and also by themselves and multiple choice questions in which students will be required to answer questions to show their progress. I will observe what is taking place while students are reading in order to make the necessary analysis and conclude data. I will oversee each tests to ensure that students are thinking at different levels and working independently (Burkins,  & Croft, 2010).

Sample Selection: Purposive Sample Method

To determine the quality of my research I shall administer purposive sampling methodology because this research has an endless set of strategies all bound by one common purpose; which is to sample population efficiently, to determine how many students will be engaged, to what extent will this research delve into and hence apt preparation is done. More so, I shall be able to familiarize with all techniques necessary during the research period. The research will be started with a survey transiting to purposive sampling based on the survey carried. With the data gathered from the students, I shall be able to do reduction so as to be able to determine the quality of the employment of Shared Reading to students of grade two. Embedded in this concept is the fundamentality of and individuals’ know-how and surrounding made important as opposed to other modalities where such are viewed as interchangeable (Burkins,  & Croft, 2010).

Procedures

The comprehension exercise will be administered to the selected students to complete. Researcher will record the relevant information from the pre-test. The duration of this study is eight weeks; therefore, boys are selected to do the first four weeks and girls the remaining 4 weeks.  Students will select a story of their choice from four options to which I have selected. Students will take notes of what they are reading and discussing for further discussions.  Each Friday for an hour students will be given a comprehension exercise to complete with the selected story and engage in discussion with each other. Throughout the course of the eightweeks both groups will be expected to have completed their stories each, and must be able to explain and discuss with each other the contents after their multiple choice questions. It is expected that at the end of the eight weeks, each student is expected to be able to read the story to the researcher and be able to answer questions. The type of design that will be used in this research is a qualitative study and data collected will be analyzed using a rubric that the researcher will design.

Shared Reading

I shall conduct shared reading once every week for the eight week period of my research. I shall select one book which I shall read one story at least three times within one week, thus by the end of the week students will have been familiarized with it. Books with large text and short comprehensions are more suitable for this kind of an activity. By the end of the week students are expected to be able to read and even follow through the story and become participant. The purpose of administering the shared reading mechanism in my class is to make reading for the students more fun and engaging as opposed to them viewing it as a boring and a forced compulsory activity in school. Furthermore, it shall improve their ability to grasp concepts and even be in a position to explain it to their peers and teacher.

Data Collection and Analysis

             On the onset of week one of my research period, I will asses and record my students individual abilities by having a one on one sitting in which individual student will be subjected to a get-to-know interrogation. I will make sure that the set of questions I have come up with are consistent with all the students so as to have a strong foundation of the problem. This activity will be marked with check mark for correctness of an answer and an X where a student was unable to give a correct answer. I shall then add the students score and compile a table graph which constitutes the concepts students know and don’t know. I shall then be able to clearly know which aspects and skills do the students need to foremost learn and by design identify that which a bulk of the students had no knowledge and inculcate in my lesson plan.

At the end of every lesson, I shall methodically do a review of my teaching skills by noting down reactions and comments made by my students, and as well as taking note of how students are progressing for that very day.

               At the end of the eight week; the last lesson, I shall do a thorough evaluation to ascertain whether were acquired any shared reading skills and compile their overall scores. I will compile an illustrious data on the observations I will have made in each lesson propounded for the eight week period, and further deduce such findings to have a discernible conclusion on the effectiveness of employing Shared Reading for Grade two students. As I would have done grouping of boys and girls separately, I will do an individual analysis of individual groups and compare the outcome to discern which group is receptive to the Shared reading model.

Limitation of purposive sampling

The study all through has sought to not only identify the hiccups in shared reading in elementary school, but also offer solutions to the problems. Therefore, through purposive sampling, the study intends to have like-minded individuals act as reference points. Being a non-probability sampling method characterized by focus group, purposive sampling also has limitations. Notably, the limitations therein depend on the specific type of purposive sampling element used. In that, apart from being a facet of non-probability sampling, purposive sampling is further catalogued into six namely deviant case, typical case, homogenous and heterogeneous sampling, theoretical, and finally critical purposive sampling. However, it should be noted that the differences in the six types is little as they are all purposive with respect to the situation and discipline involved. For instance, theoretical purposive sampling focuses on inductive theories that are grounded to solicit information from the participants.

What is more is that this type of study is characterized by children of Grade 2 in an internal setting together with their teacher, and on the external setting, parents and/or guardians will be consulted. As such, the specifics are confined on homogeneous and heterogeneous purposive samplings: heterogeneous sampling is where the researcher decides to have parents, teachers, and students as participants. On the other hand, homogeneous sampling is information taken from the classroom setting dominated by students and a teacher as their guide. To that extent, the limitations associated with the use of purposive sampling in this study include low reliability levels and increased levels of bias: since participants are selected as per the researcher’s judgment which is final. Furthermore, due to the judgment, the findings therein are susceptible to errors as the information comes from a pool of participants lacking diverse knowledge of shared readings habits.

Chapter Four

Presentation of Data

Analysis and Presentation

                Having completed the research and gathered meaningful data, the next cardinal chore in my research will be to re-present the data in a form of a paper or lecture as it were. The raw data I will have gathered needs to be synthesized to understandable concepts that readers will be comprehend and relate with. To achieve this I shall be mandated with the need to have my presentation conform to but not limited to, treating the data I have collected as a star, employ openness, juxtaposition and even have Data Presentation Strategies. As is, Qualitative presentation is a public activity, which means my presentation will constitute simple charts to help in making conclusive assumptions by improvising and modifying existing presentation methods. It is through openness that trust is cultivated between the researcher and the reader/listener. As such I shall have a keen interest in assuring a high quality of the collected data to create trustworthiness between my work and the cluster of readers and critics that will be examining my work. To maintain this kind of a rapport, I shall put in consideration all other processes and methods researched before and make then a priority. This will allow readers and critics to judge, validate and critique my efforts. I believe that the main focus of qualitative research is in the data itself; its opulence and profundity. The quality of my research will be based on how well have I done in collecting my data. As such, I will make it available both on paper and in my oral presentation. I shall have my analyzed data displayed and with an ample follow talks to have my readers make sense of my findings. In this way everyone will have a better perspective to judge the merits and demerits of my claims regarding my data. More so, my readers will have a good view of my proceedings and have them interact with my data first hand.

                 To make my presentation more intriguing, I will have to juxtapose my data excerpts with talks about the data; by annotating the data by citing previous relevant studies done, contrasting the data I have collected with what have been previously presented by other researchers. My emphasis shall be on restricting myself with the confines of my data for the true art of presenting convincingly is to be restrained by the data I have collected.

Being natural is key in shaping the presentation to resemble the observable fact being studied. As my data has been collected within the context of education, shared reading in grade two students in Jamaica, then my presentation shall have a sequential flow that is synonymous with the education system in question. I shall begin doing my presentation picking up from the simplest concepts to the most complex concepts. Starting with simpler examples that I have come across to the complexity of the concept I am explaining; beginning with familiar examples that my readers relate to as I transit to advanced examples that may not be in my readers’ know-how. This will increase the chances of my readers to follow my presentation. I shall have my data be theory-guided and have the narrative-like flow to systematically explore my findings (Broussard, & Garrison, 2004).

Discussions

                After the collection of my data I shall be mandated with the role of explaining the importance of my findings to my readers. I shall have to relate the findings of my study and those that have been found by other researchers before thus strengthening the significance of my research. As much as I will have to remain objective and restrained by my study course, there will be need for me to consider alternative explanations of my findings for it is important to consider all possible accounts for my data, rather than sticking to my rationale. My discussion will make suggestions for further research and all the same inflating the importance of my findings by giving valuable message deduced form my findings. By this, I shall be in a position to provide a clear understanding of what my research elucidates; presenting a consistent and well structured account of my findings, and linking the evidence obtained in my research with the existing knowledge, thus giving my readers an opportunity to deeply interact my research findings. In this section I shall outline ways of using the data I have found in the contemporary system and in that faith improve the already existing knowledge in my area of research.

Interpretation and Answer to the questions.

              It is beyond any reasonable doubt that numbers do not speak for themselves. For instance, there is need for the researcher to elaborate what it means by 25% of the students in Grade Two were slow to understanding concepts or one in every three students were able to understand better concepts when shared reading was used as a method of teaching. Therefore, interpretation can be defined as the art of giving meaning to the raw data that has been collected which calls for a just and vigilant judgments. Many are the times that the same data can be interpreted differently hence I know the importance of taking time interpreting the same and even involve others in interpreting my data. I shall put to consideration that there will be other alternate explanations seeking to explain the data collected where there is lack of significance in the preliminary findings. I shall watch for, and resolve inconsistencies as at times it may be difficult to determine which information is to be deemed accurate.  As such I shall try to resolve the discrepancies in my data. In turn, I will be able to effectively answer the research questions that were earlier highlighted in this paper.

Answering the research Questions

                 After carefully examining my questions which will be a guiding principle in my research, I will gather information relating to the questions through research. I will note down all relevant findings and be sure to find information for both sides. This will help me identify a side I will be able to defend my paper. I will have to know what exactly the question is asking, then choose a side and defend it with findings I have from my research. I will formulate my opinion based on the facts I have found giving much emphasis on the relevance of my findings in my area of study to the knowledge that has already been presented by other researchers. I shall be crystal clear and detailed in laying down facts that respond to the questions asked before. In light of being convincing it is important for me to provide cited reference and other materials to validate my answers. It goes without mentioning that by providing answers to the questions of my research that news questions will arise and will in turn provoke the need to delve into a new kind of research. As such provision of the answers that are as factual as my findings from my research will be of cardinal essence.

Major Findings

                 I will state my findings which will either conform or not be in tandem with the hypothesis as used in my research. In this section I will have to make my readers understand my data by breaking it down into fine details and have it analyzed from various perspectives; by being concise, and even with the use of figures, graphs and tables to present my findings even more effectively. By using these illustrators, my readers will have an insight of my findings as I would have processed the raw data I have collected during my research period. To be clear in provision of my findings, I will have to re-read my background so as to ensure that I have stuck myself within the course of my research and that my readers have sufficient context to help them understand my findings (Broussard, & Garrison, 2004).

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Chapter Five

Summary, Implications, and Recommendations

Summary

               To this extent, it is possible to discern that the solutions and ideas proposed herein are far from being realized in the Jamaican Education sector. What is needed is the equal efforts from all stakeholders ranging from parents to teachers and the government involved to continue streamlining the sector by adopting measures that will ensure inclusivity whilst reducing the gaps in shared readings and Grade 2 Language Test in public schools: the private education sector on the other hand, indicates positive results in children language, vocabulary, and syllable use in reading. The underlying factor alludes to the ability of private sector having constant supply of funds which acts as incentive to teachers and students and in purchasing equipment necessary in fostering child language use.

Implications

                 The implications of the study will heavily rely on the major findings herein. For that reason, analysis of the previous information in the education system and using the information to extrapolate ideas on how to combat the solution is a step towards implementing the findings. Notably, the section is also concerned with answering the three research questions where the paper seeks to bridge the gaps between the education model in private and public financed schools. Therefore, adopting the shared reading in public schools where teachers will be required to understand the potential of each students at Grade 2 will not only help get results but also improve the student’s cognitive ability.

Recommendations

Based on the literature herein and evidence the paper relies on, I would recommend the establishment of shared reading to construct print concepts in education system. Since the use of shared readings in countries such as New Zealand has proved significant with students presenting with increased concepts of learning and shared behaviors, as a concerned citizen I would recommend Grade 2 teachers to assess their students first then after gaining the results which categorize students based on their reading ability, they should focus on knowing which concept of print works and emphasis on helping the child gain insight. Further, apart from helping the students, this information will be of significant value when teachers will be in to design lesson timetables as it emphasize on the need to use time effectively.

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