South Bosque Elementary
The Impact of Daily Incremental Movement on Student Math Performance
Primary Researchers
Rachael Bennett, Intern, Baylor University
Kathryn Owens, BS of Interdisciplinary Studies, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, Professor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
During my first semester as a student teacher, I noticed that my students were receiving the bare minimum amount of recess per day (about 15 minutes), and the rest of the day were required to sit and work diligently. I noticed how their performance slowly diminished throughout the day as they became increasingly distracted, tired, and frustrated due to the caliber of schoolwork expected of them. Students especially lost focus during math time because they had been sitting all day. I decided to implement movement throughout the day for different periods of time to see how well student focus and performance increased.
Question/Wondering
Does incremental movement throughout the day improve student math performance?
Methodology/Results
Since the start of the year, I noticed that my students have had difficulty focusing during the latter hours of the day. I observed how they would become quite tired and distracted about an hour after lunch and lose the focus and stamina they had throughout the morning. Essentially, the lack of focus and stamina interfered with students' math performance, which is the second block of the day. After much reflection, I wondered if this sudden decrease in performance anything had to do with students' lack of movement at school. I decided to put my question to the test in hopes that overall student performance would increase.
Throughout three weeks, I planned various lengths of "brain break" type activities throughout a school day. Usually, students would participate in a quick dance, or “shake down” exercise. At first sight, I planned to do brain breaks every day with a ten-question assessment each day. However, I quickly realized there was insufficient time to give students another recess in a school day. So, I decided to plan small brain breaks throughout the school day that accumulated to a specific time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. For example, during the first week, there were five minutes of brain breaks. During the second week, students accomplished an accumulation of ten minutes of brain breaks per day. During the third week, students completed an accumulation of fifteen minutes of brain breaks per day. After students completed the brain break, they completed a two-question math assessment. The math assessment consisted of two multi-step addition and subtraction word problems. Each day, the baseline of the word problems remained the same. However, I changed the numbers so students would not memorize the problems. Additionally, I decided to assign two questions instead of ten questions because it is a much more consistent assessment over three weeks for second graders. Although I could quickly get a quantitative assessment from all 19 students, I knew I could not record all 19 qualitative behaviors. Therefore, I chose 5 students of various personalities to record behaviors. This gave me an accurate overview of all behaviors in the class, with or without daily movement.
In order to get an accurate display of data, I began my study by having students take the two-question math assessment without taking any brain breaks throughout the day. After recording a baseline assessment one time, I recorded all the other scores shown three times and took the average data to get a more accurate result. Without any daily movement, of 19 students, 52% students scored a 0%, 31% of students scored a 50%, and 15% of students scored a 100%. I noted that all five students were distracted during math stations and significantly lacked engagement. I began feeling more curious to see how my students would perform with incremental movement throughout the day. After students participated in five minutes of movement throughout the day, the average data shows that 47% students scored 0%, 26% students scored 50%, and 27% students scored 100%. Students A, C, and D were on task and engaged throughout the math lesson and stations. However, Students B and E were distracted, distracting students around them. During the second week, students participated in 10 minutes of brain breaks throughout the day. After recording the data three times, the results are as shown: 35% of students scored a 0%, 29% of student scored a 50%, and 36% scored a 100%. While the quantitative results were not what I expected, Students A, B, C, and D were all engaged throughout the math lesson, organized, and not distracting peers around them. However, Student E was still quite off task throughout the entirety of the math lesson. In the final week of data collection, students participated in 15 minutes of incremental movement throughout the day. After recording data and averaging the scores, the results are as shown: 15% of students scored 0%, 24% of students scored 50%, and 61% of students scored 100%. Additionally, Students A, B, C, and D were on task and engaged in their learning throughout the math lesson and stations.
Implications/Recommendations
Although it is scientifically proven that movement increases blood flow to the brain, I was unaware of how much movement could positively impact academic performance. Throughout the past three weeks, I noticed significant improvements in student math performance, engagement, and energy levels while implementing brain breaks throughout the day. Therefore, I plan to make brain breaks a daily part of my future teaching. Reflecting on my action research experience, I noticed that I could have recorded data differently. I wonder if the trend of my data would have been higher if I saved all brain breaks for after lunch and then had students take the math assessment around 1 or 2 PM. This way, the lunch break could not affect data trends. Additionally, I could have made the assessment three questions. This would have provided me with more data from my students to see how much movement impacts their overall math performance. In the future, I plan to add more questions to my data to study a greater depth of movement on student performance. I also am aware that some of the questions would have been more difficult some days than others because I changed the numeric value of the word problems each day. However, my research data collection method was constantly engaging for students. Not only did they enjoy participating in brain breaks, but they also loved continually challenging themselves on multi-step math word problems. I also saw a huge benefit in having all my students partake in the study, even though I only collected data from five students. This way, all students felt included and part of the classroom family environment.
Reference(s)
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/movement-and-learning/
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/making-movement-part-your-classroom-culture
Birth Order on Kindergarten Initiative
Primary Researchers
Grace Cox, Intern, Baylor University
Michael Haskett, BS, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, Ed.D, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
In my kindergarten classroom my mentor teacher noticed she had been prompting our students in their actions more than in comparison to other years. We noticed that sixteen of our twenty students are the youngest in their family. I began to wonder if there was a correlation between the students' birth order and this little student initiative. In a study done by Adams and Phillips (1972), first borns show higher levels of academic achievement than last borns. Therefore, I have decided to observe the actions of my students as they interact within our ELAR learning block to determine any patterns between birth order and the students who initiate participation.
Question/Wondering
How does being the youngest sibling in a family impact a student's level of initiative and classroom participation in a ELAR lesson who are new to their kindergarten year?
Methodology/Results
My mentor teacher said at the beginning of the year that this was the most she ever had to prompt a class in her ten years of teaching. We found ourselves prompting students to complete tasks such as transitions to their next activity, beginning to work, answering questions, and finishing assignments. During a conversation we had about birth order in our classroom we realized fifteen of our twenty students, ranging in ages five to six years old, were the younger siblings. I began to wonder if there was a correlation between the number of times, we had to prompt our students and their specific birth order. Of the youngest fifteen students, eight of the students were girls and seven of the students were boys. Along with these students I have four students who are the middle and one student that is the oldest. When collecting data, I also took into consideration the number of siblings that my students had in their families. Three of which are the only child, seven of which are the youngest of two, five of which are the youngest of three, three of which are the middle of three, one that is the middle of four, and one student that is the oldest of two.
I collected observational data for three weeks over my students' participation and initiative during our ELAR learning blocks. I began my data collection by using observational techniques and watching student participation through interactive read alouds. I would document when a student would willingly provide an answer to a question and what birth order that student held. Data was also collected in this scenario when a student would be prompted to answer a question without their independent actions. I then carried this data over into their independent readers response time. I wanted to validate this by eliminating the action of prompting and seeing what students could complete if they were not told to carry out their work. By this process of validation, I changed my approach of my research to students who are new to their kindergarten year. This allowed me to collect accurate data by putting students who had been to kindergarten once before at a higher standard than those who had no experience in the school setting. After two weeks of collecting data, I began to compare the initiative of a small group of students who were all on the same reading level, level D. This small group consisted of two younger siblings who had already been to kindergarten, an older sibling, and a middle child. I chose to use this small group data to be able to eliminate a learning boundary between a student who is on a level A in comparison to a student who is a level D. For each student in this group, I timed them to see how long it took them to complete their readers' response on their own initiative.
Once collecting the data, I analyzed the outcome of what I had observed. After the interactive read aloud the percentage of students who needed to be prompted to answer a question was 62%. Of that percentage 54% of students were the youngest siblings. When looking at the interactive read alouds readers' responses data I had 55% of students who did not complete their readers' responses without any form of prompting. Of these 55% students who did not finish, 73% of them were the younger siblings. When analyzing the data for the small group of my higher-level students I had 3 of the 5 students finish with 8 of their 15 minutes left in the timer. Of the 3 students finishing efficiently their birth order is an older sibling, middle sibling, and a younger sibling who had been to kindergarten before. While the other 2 students finished with less than a minute to go were both younger siblings.
Implications/Recommendations
Through this research I was able to learn the effects that the birth order of being the youngest sibling can have on a kindergartener’s initiative. My data supports that students within this classroom are more likely to initiate any act of participation if they are not the youngest in their family as well as new to kindergarten.
This study is helpful in showing that students who are the youngest in their family can be differentiated when learning social-emotional concepts. It provides an educator with the chance to create learning techniques that will build towards these student’s growth. A weakness of my study is that it was a limited sample size constraining my results to only my classroom. This will take away from the validity of the results because I am not researching data on other students that could show different patterns between younger siblings' initiative. To address this weakness, I would change the population of which I collect my data. I would collect data from other kindergarten classes in my hall to make the sample size bigger instead of keeping it to one group.
I do believe that being the youngest sibling in a family has a role in a student's lack of initiative when they are new to kindergarten. From my research I can conclude that there are a few students who can be considered an outlier when it comes to their birth order. Since there are a couple students who do not fall in the data trends, this research did pose the question whether pre-kindergarten has an effect on the number of times the younger sibling should be prompted. What would the initiative of a youngest sibling student look like had they been to pre-kindergarten prior to kindergarten.
Reference(s)
Adams, R. L., & Phillips, B. N. (1972). Motivational and achievement differences among children of various ordinal birth positions. Child Development, 43(1), 155-164. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127879
Automaticity of Math Facts
Primary Researchers
Ziyana Keshavjee, Intern, Baylor University
Alexa Van Hal, BS Ed, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, MAT, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Research has shown computational fluency and success in higher level math skills go hand and hand (Riccomini et al., 2017). Research also suggests practicing math fact families has a direct impact on the student’s ability to recall math facts (Stocker et al., 2021). In my fifth-grade math class, I noticed a handful of students struggling to recall their math facts hindering their ability to keep up with the rigorous computations during various math concepts. During my spring semester, I intervened with four students in a small group. We met every day for four weeks to build their automaticity of math facts. We practiced math facts using flashcards and fact family relationships. I collected data through pre and post math fact assessments, timed assessments, and qualitative data. Findings suggest using flashcards and fact families is an effective practice to build automaticity of math facts.
Question/Wondering
How does working in a small group for 10/15 minutes a day for 4 weeks influence the students’ automaticity of math facts and affect their success in a rigorous 5th grade math class?
Methodology/Results
The research group consisted of 4 White students, 2 girls and 2 boys, around 10 and 11 years old. These students were selected based on the pre assessment data and qualitative data like conversations and observations during math class. Every year the district requires the students to take a fact fluency test at the beginning, middle and end of the year. The students are given a worksheet consisting of 49 multiplication and division problems and given 2 minutes to complete as many of these problems as possible. They are not allowed to skip a question, so the students must answer the previous question before moving on. The fluency test is scored out of 80 points where each digit of the answer is counted as a point. In fifth grade, the students should be scoring around a 50. After analyzing the data of my 23 students, I chose 4 students who scored between a 25 and a 38 to be a part of my small group. These 4 students were chosen specifically due to my qualitative observations and ability for exponential growth. Student 1 scored 26, Student 2 scored 32. Student 3 scored, 33 and Student 4 scored 37.
Before meeting with my small group, I collaborated with my mentor and we created a plan to split up the six most challenging math facts groups over the four weeks. In the first week we focused on our 4s and 6s. In the second week we focused on our 7s and 8s. In the third week we practiced fact families and focused on division facts. In the fourth week we focused on 9s and 12s. I worked with my small group every day for 10-15 minutes. On Monday during our small group instructional time, the students took a 12 question multiplication assessment. I timed the students and recorded how long it took them to complete these 12 questions. Throughout the week, the students would practice building their automaticity using flashcards. On Thursday, the students took the same 12 question multiplication assessment and I recorded how long it took the students to complete the 12 questions.
Student 1 is a male student. On the 4s pre assessment, Student 1 took 1 minute. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 24 seconds. On the 6s pre assessment, Student 1 took 45 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 37 seconds. On the 7s pre assessment, Student 1 took 1 minute. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 33 seconds. On the 8s pre assessment, Student 1 took 1 minute and 12 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 1 minute and 15 seconds. I allowed Student 1 another chance to perform faster and, on the second attempt, Student 1 took 38 seconds. On the 9s pre assessment, Student 1 took 34 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 30 seconds. On the 12s pre assessment, Student 1 took 1 minute and 35 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 1 took 37 seconds. Overall, Student 1 demonstrated the most growth on 4s, 7s and 12s. I taught Student 1 a few tricks to figure out the more challenging math facts. For example, if the fact is 8x6, I taught Student 1 that we know that 8 x 5 = 40, then we could add 8 more to get the answer to 8x6. I noticed Student 1 using this strategy a handful of times to solve different math problems.
Student 2 is a female student. On the 4s pre assessment, Student 2 took 37 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 16 seconds. On the 6s pre assessment, Student 2 took 21 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 17 seconds. On the 7s pre assessment, Student 2 took 22 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 19 seconds. On the 8s pre assessment, Student 2 took 34 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 23 seconds. On the 9s pre assessment, Student 2 took 30 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 29 seconds. On the 12s pre assessment, Student 2 took 1 minute and 11 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 2 took 21 seconds. Overall Student 2 demonstrated the most growth on 4s and 12s.
Student 3 is a female student. On the 4s pre assessment, Student 3 took 49 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 24 seconds. On the 6s pre assessment, Student 3 took 39 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 21 seconds. On the 7s pre assessment, Student 3 took 29 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 1 minute and 8 seconds. I allowed Student 3 another chance to perform faster and, on the second attempt, Student 3 took 24 seconds. On the 8s pre assessment, Student 3 took 48 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 26 seconds. On the 9s pre assessment, Student 3 took 45 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 24 seconds. On the 12s pre assessment, Student 3 took 2 minutes and 14 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 3 took 57 seconds. Overall, Student 3 demonstrated the most growth on 4s, 7s and 12s.
Student 4 is a male student. On the 4s pre assessment, Student 4 took 33 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 18 seconds. On the 6s pre assessment, Student 4 took 52 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 23 seconds. On the 7s pre assessment, Student 4 took 33 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 27 seconds. On the 8s pre assessment, Student 4 took 48 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 34 seconds. On the 9s pre assessment, Student 4 took 35 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 27 seconds. On the 12s pre assessment, Student 4 took 50 seconds. On the post assessment, Student 4 took 44 seconds. Overall, Student 4 demonstrated the most growth on 4s and 6s.
On the final fact fluency test Student 1 scored a 29 increasing their score by 3 points. Student 1 was able to complete more math facts, while getting less incorrect. Student 2 scored a 65 increasing their score by 33 points. Student 3 scored 55 increasing their score by 22 points. Student 4 scored a 58 increasing their score by 21 points. Student 2, 3, and 4 post scores are all on grade level for fifth grade students.
Implications/Recommendations
This study is important to the classroom because it provides valuable data on strategies and practices to help students build automaticity of math facts. The students were practicing speed and accuracy in a stress-free environment. This study provides data showing the impacts of students' automaticity by practicing flashcards for just 10 minutes a day. The instruction could be better if the pre and post 12 question multiplication assessments had a greater range of math facts 1-12 in the specific number range. Upon analyzing the data, the students were not being tested over number facts. There were a few facts that repeated among the 12 questions. Furthermore, since the initial assessment included both multiplication and division, the students would have been more successful on the final assessment if we practiced more division problems. It would be interesting to see a study that focuses on the students in the 0 – 20 point range evaluating the effectiveness of the same strategies with more scaffolded instruction. A study similar could also focus on the striving students in the 50 - 80 range evaluating the effectiveness of practicing the fact groups they struggled with the most to build further automaticity.
Reference(s)
Riccomini, P., Stocker, J. and Morano, S.
Riccomini, P. J., Stocker, J. D., & Morano, S. (2017). TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(5), 318–327. doi:10.1177/0040059916685053
Stocker, J., Hughes, E., Wiesner, A., Woika, S., Parker, M., Cozad, L. and Morris, J.
Stocker, J. D., Hughes, E. M., Wiesner, A., Woika, S., Parker, M., Cozad, L., & Morris, J. (2021). Journal of Behavioral Education, 31(4), 635–656. doi:10.1007/s10864-020-09422-1
Impacts of Varied Small Group Supplementation on Mathematics Fluency in Fourth Grade
Primary Researchers
Hannah Kim (Card) Intern, Baylor University
Lindsey Hess, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
While in whole group instruction, students who tested lower in standardized assessments showed a lower level of fluency and engagement in the subject of challenge. I observed an improvement in both areas as well as an increase in confidence of their comprehension while in a small group/individual setting. Would students show a statistically significant impact from more consistent small group supplementation in areas of struggle?
Question/Wondering
How does the implementation of small group supplementation twice a week for thirty minute intervals impact mathematical fluency in fourth grade students?
Methodology/Results
I did my research on a small group of students, with an age range of nine to ten years old fourth grade students, consisting of two girls and two boys of caucasian ethnicity, and varied socioeconomic backgrounds that all tested in the lower half of the class average in math. I was able to determine my target students for this study by assessing LION data with my mentor and discussing the individual needs of these students and how they could be benefited from this intervention. To collect data on changes in fluency, I will be using exit tickets as formative assessments at the end of each meeting, and the summative assessment of an individually completed comprehensive worksheet towards the end of intervention to gauge growth. The small group will be supplemented with varied activities and instruction models at each meeting with consistently implemented assessments. This is to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing multiple instruction models as a method of improving comprehension and fluency in challenging concepts.
Implications/Recommendations
The research implies that there is no significant difference from previous forms of scaffolding used in the classroom, namely collaborative work on the iPad. I believed that engaging students in a more private and focused environment might increase comprehension, but the data suggests that this isn't the case. In future implementation, the small group setting may be tried again but with a more frequent study time utilizing one medium at a time. The students may have focused better or shown more improvement with a daily small group schedule consisting of a slower paced concentration on specific skills.
Reference(s)
Folk, B. (2021, December). Effects of small group math interventions for ... Effects of Small Group Math Interventions for Math Achievement. https://red.mnstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1625&context=thesis
Good, T. L. (1990, January). Using work-groups in mathematics instruction - researchgate. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas-Good-2/publication/234707843_Using_Work-Groups_in_Mathematics_Instruction/links/554284430cf23ff716835f31/Using-Work-Groups-in-Mathematics-Instruction.pdf
Grayson, K., & Betancourt , V. (2008, August 7). The “fourth-grade slump” and math achievement . https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505921.pdf. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505921.pdf
Overall Math Improvement due to Open-Ended Tasks
Primary Researchers
Domonique Rendon, Intern, Baylor University
Jessica Hogg, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
The purpose of incorporating open ended math tasks into a traditional classroom setting will allow students to use higher order thinking skills and meaningful math discourse to solve tasks in different ways. The first grade students will also gain an understanding of different reasonings while also increasing overall student engagement and performance of math content.
Question/Wondering
How do open ended math tasks improve the overall math performance and engagement in a first grade classroom?
Methodology/Results
During math instruction, I incorporated at least one open ended task pertaining to the TEKS alignment with a goal of increasing student engagement and overall understanding of math content. To begin, I chose two first grade students, 1 male and 1 female student to observe and document their overall interactions in a whole group and partner work setting. I chose to collect quantitative data by recording the amount of time these students are fully engaged/participating in mathematical discourse and percentage of growth over two six weeks.
This research looks closely at how a change in the traditional classroom content delivery can result in a change in engagement and understanding of different mathematical contents. I focused first on what my students were understanding by analyzing their Math LION scores in the 2nd six weeks. With this information, I decided to incorporate at least 1 open-ended task a week with the goal of increasing overall Math LION scores. These tasks varied in content including addition, subtraction, multi-step word problems, and money. Students were able to use and increase critical thinking skills in all areas of math, resulting in a 14% overall growth from the 2nd six weeks to the 4th six weeks.
During each open-ended task, I focused on the engagement of 2 first grade students by recording the amount of time they spent fully engaged with the task and using mathematical discourse. Through observing interactions, I found that during a 20-30 minute math task, these two students would spend 15-18 minutes fully engaged including use of mathematical discourse. To understand how engagement truly improved, I observed these two students during closed-task partner interactions. Following the same process, I found that during a 20-30 minute task, these two students spent 7-10 minutes partially engaged with minimal mathematical discourse.
Implications/Recommendations
After carefully analyzing my data results, I found a number of benefits gained by providing open-ended math tasks to a traditional first grade classroom. The overall engagement including mathematical discourse and use of critical thinking skills improved as students spent more time discussing multiple strategies and understanding peer thought processes. The biggest change and benefit I noticed in the classroom was the overall confidence in all of the first graders. These students were not only excited at the opportunity to engage in these types of tasks but in learning and displaying their understanding of math content. Ultimately, I would choose to incorporate open-ended tasks in any traditional classroom as there are so many educational benefits but more importantly, I found the confidence of learning in my students to bring a more positive learning environment.
Reference(s)
The Impact of Open-Ended Tasks. (2014). Teaching Children Mathematics, 20(5), 277–280. https://doi.org/10.5951/teacchilmath.20.5.0277
Hope A. Walter. (2018). Beyond Turn and Talk: Creating Discourse. Teaching Children Mathematics, 25(3), 180–185. https://doi.org/10.5951/teacchilmath.25.3.0180
Hancock, C. L. (1995). Enhancing Mathematics Learning with Open-Ended Questions. The Mathematics Teacher, 88(6), 496–499. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27969418
Extending 5th Grade Science through Children’s Literature
Primary Researchers
Genesis Santos, Intern, Baylor University
Nancy Patel, BA, MBA, NBCT, Mentor Teacher, South Bosque Elementary, Midway ISD
Andrea Martinez, MAT, Intern Supervisor, Baylor University
Rationale/Introduction
Past research has shown that integrating children’s literature into science can connect with students in a narrative way and enhance understanding (Abell, 2008; Ansberry & Morgan, 2010). Various forms of data have revealed that several students are high achieving in science but can benefit from further extension instruction to be challenged. I intervened with four students in the spring 2024 semester to further extend their learning. I integrated three different books related to current science units through group read alouds and weekly extension activities. I collected data through observations, grades, engagement forms, and assignment rubrics. Findings suggest that science engagement and understanding further increased among the small group.
Question/Wondering
How will integrating children’s literature in science increase engagement and extend science understanding within a small group of high-achieving fifth grade students?
Methodology/Results
The research group consisted of 3 White students and 1 Hispanic student, 2 boys and 2 girls, who are around the ages of 10 and 11 years old. These students were chosen based on quantitative data, such as report grades, and qualitative data, including observations. These forms of data indicated to me that the four students are capable of understanding the science content quickly and accurately. Still, they would benefit from further extension activities to use their knowledge in different ways to increase engagement and heighten their interests.
For four weeks, I met with my small group for 15 to 20 minutes a day. During these sessions, we read a different children’s book focused on a specific science concept each week and completed a related, weekly activity, which was then graded using detailed rubrics. I brought copies of the books and organized our extension schedule through Schoology, the school district’s learning management system. The extension instruction occurred during part of the students’ Panther Time, a 1-hour block designated for supplemental instruction. Additionally, every week, I filled out two 10-minute engagement forms, resulting in a total of 80 interactions among the four students. Every 30 seconds, I observed my students and wrote a plus symbol (+) if they were on task or a minus symbol (-) if they were off task. I calculated the averages of the two forms for each week.
For week one, we focused on sedimentary rock and landforms with the book What Shapes the Land? by Bobbie Kalman. After taking turns reading the story aloud, the students participated in a virtual field trip and wrote a letter describing a specific landform and how it was formed. Three students scored at least 94% or above, while one student scored 82%. All four students accurately described how the landform was created with specific science vocabulary, like using the word “sediment,” and showed enthusiasm in their narrative writing. Almost all students correctly included the features of a letter such as a greeting, body, and a signature. However, points were taken away due to missing structural details and grammar. Out of two days during week one, the average percentage of on-task behavior was 89%. The students were excited to use their imagination to visualize themselves in their selected landform and connect their writing back to science.
For week two, we focused on interdependency and environments with the book The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. First, the students read the book together. Then, they created a comic strip showing how human interactions can affect the environment and organisms. Three out of four students completed the comic strip for this second week. Out of these three, one student earned 82%, another student earned 95%, and the last student earned 100%. All three students showed their creativity by attaching unique clip art and writing down a paragraph explaining their comic strip. The three students successfully demonstrated different human perspectives on the environment and the interdependence of living and nonliving things. The average percentage of on-task behavior was 87%. The small group was invested in determining the appearance of their comic strip to meet all activity requirements.
For weeks three and four, we focused on food chains with the book Pass the Energy, Please! by Barbara McKinney. After the read aloud, the students completed their ecosystem project through Google Slides where they had to pick an ecosystem, design a unique animal, include the animal into their ecosystem, and write a short response explaining their project choices. Overall, all of the students earned at least 86% on the ecosystem project. Each of the four students had a different ecosystem, ranging from taiga to ocean. 100% of students accurately integrated their new animal into a food chain and food web that could survive in their specific ecosystem. Points were taken away due to incorrect grammar or not completing the entire task. The average percentage of on-task behavior between two days during week three was 82%. During week four, the average percentage of on-task behavior was 80%. The students did have various questions about the structure of the project, but they put in much effort in their Google Slides.
Implications/Recommendations
This study provides valuable insights into how children’s literature can successfully be integrated into the science classroom. Not only were students utilizing science in various ways, but they were also using their reading, writing, and comprehension skills to be successful during read alouds and extension activities.
This instruction could have been more meaningful if there were more than 4 students in the research study. There were about 2 to 3 other students who also have high average grades on their district checkpoints and report cards that would have benefited from this extension instruction. Furthermore, due to technology, there were some limitations on the students’ iPads to complete extension activities more effectively, leading to distractions.
It would be significant to conduct a study focusing on students’ noticing of cross-curriculum connections while working with children’s literature books in science, especially in STAAR-tested grades where these two subjects go hand in hand. A study similar to that and that could occur throughout an entire school year could demonstrate important findings about how teachers can best bridge the gap between these areas to make students more prepared for the following grades.
Reference(s)
Abell, S. K. (2008). Children’s literature and the science classroom. Science and Children, 46(3), 54.
Ansberry, K., & Morgan, E. (2010). Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Expanded 2nd Edition: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Press.