Graduate Action Research Project

Emory & Henry College

Fall 2013
Hannah Hietala
Introduction / Rationale

Research Topic

Introduction / Rationale

Reading is one of the most essential

foundational skills in a childs
education. In fact, as students move
through school, reading difficulties
can cause problems in all subject
areas (McLeskey, 2013, p.60).
Approximately one in three students
with reading difficulties fail other
content-area courses. It is important
to address reading difficulties early
on and to develop strategies that can
help students combat these
struggles.
This study will examine the impact of
the shared reading strategy on
elementary students reading
comprehension. The shared reading
strategy allows the teacher and
students to complete the reading
process as an interactive group. The
purpose of this study is to examine
the relationship between the shared
reading strategy and reading
comprehension in order to discover
how this relationship might be used
to improve an essential reading skill
for all students.

Literature Review

At its core, shared reading

involves reading a book through
from beginning to end, briefly
stopping to comment on pictures
and to answer any questions.
(Callaghan, 2012, p. 19)

The shared reading strategy can

be used by teachers as an
opportunity to focus on a variety
of skills.
(Fisher, 2008)

To begin the process, the teacher will read a story aloud to an elementary level
class. After hearing the story, without any other kind of interaction to enhance their
understanding, the students will be given a comprehension test consisting of 10
questions. Questions will focus on basic story comprehension, logical reasoning,
and vocabulary.

Research indicates that

comprehension is the most
commonly addressed skill during
shared reading sessions.
(Fisher, 2008)

Next, the class will engage in a shared reading session using a second story that
requires comparable background knowledge to the first. The shared reading session
will require the teacher to conduct a dialogic reading of the story that addresses
visualization, an important comprehension strategy for elementary students.

Dialogic reading is a form of

shared reading that is used to
explicitly model a specific skill,
like comprehension.
(Callaghan, 2012)

Shared reading is commonly

used with emergent readers.
Research suggests that the
strategy can also be useful with
older readers who may be
struggling because it allows
students to work within their
zone of proximal development.
(Stahl, 2012)

Does the shared reading strategy

have a positive impact on elementary
students reading comprehension?
Research Design

Following the shared reading session, students will be given a second

comprehension test. Like the first, this test will consist of 10 questions that focus on
basic story comprehension, logical reasoning, and vocabulary.
The teacher will grade both comprehension tests and record the scores in a table
that reflects the results. The data will be examined to determine which
comprehension test resulted in the best scores for the most students.
The study will be repeated several times in multiple classrooms in order to ensure
the validity and reliability of the results.