Decoding Strategies
Purpose Statement
The purpose of my study was to determine if decoding strategies such as Elkonin boxes, letter tiles, and explicit phonics instruction, will increase word decoding accuracy.
Rationale
History
I am a Kindergarten teacher who served at a school that had a little over 300 students in the building. At the beginning of the year, my district was on an A/B schedule due to Covid. I saw 50% of my students one day and the other 50% the next day. The students who are not at school were doing at home learning activities and assignments on Seesaw. Seesaw is a technology based platform our district subscribed to engage students in their learning at their level. It allows them to be creative and expressive. Teachers were allowed to give feedback on student’s activities and see the growth their students were making.
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There were 19 students in my class. Two students experienced trauma caused by adverse childhood experiences. I notice was affecting their academics and behaviors. I observed them with delays in social skills, learning and memory, and brain development. Because of this trauma, I also observed, these two students reduce their ability to focus during instruction. These students were constantly out of their seat and distracted by others around them. I had one student who lived in a spanish-speaking home. I noticed there was a language barrier during daily instruction. I noticed he lacked the motivation to complete work and experienced common obstacles in vocabulary that most students at this age would understand. I had one student on a 504 plan because of his ADHD. I noticed this student was constantly running around my room and making noises. This plan was developed to ensure that a child who has a disability receives accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to learning. Although this student’s academics were above grade level the entire year, his behavior negatively impacted his work in school.
Need
My capstone project was centered around my entire class. The data I collected indicated that my students would benefit from more focused instruction and interventions in the area of word decoding. In order to receive proficient in phonemic blending and segmentation for Common Kindergarten District Wide Assessment, students had to score a 12/15. I had 17 students score less than proficient out of 19. 10 of the 17 students were often disengaged during the phonics lessons. These students were out of their seats during whole group instruction and trying to talk to other students in the class. Five students were consistently not getting enough sleep at home, causing their disengagement during instruction. Two other students were experiencing at-home trauma. These students weren’t completing their at-home learning assignments when they weren’t in school. Throughout the beginning weeks of school, I had 5 students exposed to Covid-19, who therefore, had to be quarantined for 3 weeks. This caused them to miss important phonics instruction. These students often got frustrated with themselves and gave-up when it was time to complete individual reading work. I was frequently reteaching the same lesson to these students and catching them up from their at-home learning assignments. This showed me that these students needed more one on one attention during reading. The Fall and Winter 2020 Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) data also indicated that my students who scored below average, were the same students who needed extra instructional practice. The sections these students scored below average in were reading words and sentences. On the MAP tests, students would answer reading questions such as letter sounds, blending sounds together to make a word, and being able to decode words. Students were also tested quarterly on district assessments. In the Fall of 2020, I had 17 of my students score less than proficient. In Winter of 2020, I had 10 students score less than proficient. When the same students showed the need for extra support in word decoding, I knew the whole class could benefit from it.
Importance
The information gained from this study is important because it allows me to know students on an individual level and their reading skills. It informed my instruction and helped me meet the wide spectrum of needs. This study helped me to meet each student where they are and challenge them to reach their full potential through differentiation and individualized instruction. My students gained a growth mindset with reading and have the confidence to take risks and challenge their reading every year, because of the strategies that were taught to them. I have access to many resources to help my students through this process by providing maunplitatives and having students attend reading centers that will enhance their knowledge and to prepare them for the next grade level. Decoding is important because it is the foundation on which all other reading instruction builds. When students learn to decode words, reading fluency increases, and their overall reading comprehension will be better. I wanted to ensure my students had the necessary decoding skills necessary for them to be able to read and comprehend text.