RH:LITERARYIMMERSIONEXPERIENCEBerg1

AdrienneBerg
NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
TheLiteraryImmersionExperience:Aninvestmentinreading


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TheLiteraryImmersionExperience:Aninvestmentinreading
Englishteachersfaceanincreasinglylonglistofinstructionalgoals:composition,
comprehension,criticalthinking,literaryanalysis,vocabularyacquisition,technology,creative
expression,publicspeaking,andmore.CurrentinstructionalpracticesinNorthCarolinaalign
withCommonCoreStandards(2014),whichoutlineacademicstandardsinMathematicsand
EnglishLanguageArts/Literacybygradelevel.Oftwentystandardstiedtoreading,allrequire
studentstoactivelyreadorhavepreviouslyreadtext,literaryorinformational.("English
LanguageArtsStandards",2014)Comprehensionundergirdstextualanalysis.Readingitselfis
animpliedprerequisite.TheCoreStandardsrequiresignificanttimespentreading,thoughthey
failtomakethatexplicitandessentialpoint.
Inorderforateachertoimplementresearchbasedpedagogiesinthestudyofliterature,
studentsmusthavethoroughtextualunderstanding.TeachingEnglishIIinahighlyregarded
charterschoolinNorthCarolina,Iencountereddailychallengesinholdingmeaningfulclass
discussionorengagingstudentsintextrelatedactivityduetothegenerallackofpreparedness.
Myinitialstrategiesforremedyingthisincludeddidyoureadit?quizzesandliterary
summary,eitherbyastudentorteacher.Whilethesetechniquespromptedsomereading(recall
quizzes)andhelpedstudentsfollowliteraryunits(summary),theydidnotengagestudentsin
authenticreading,andbecame,infact,barrierstoconsiderationoftextualcomplexitiesand
implications.Reading,then,mustprecedetheeducationalstandards.Whilethismightsound
obvious,highschoolEnglishteachersreportdramaticallyinsufficientactualreadingtakingplace
(Broz,2011Habeeb,2011Lee,2011Wozniak,2011).


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Instudyingthesuccessesandweaknessinmyclassroominstruction,Iidentifiedlackof
studentreadingasasignificantimpedimenttoachievement.AtWoodsCharterSchool,theK12
schoolcultureseekstofosterlifelongreaders,andelementaryandmiddlegradesstudentscarrya
bookforeverydayreading.Thehighschoolfocusesonacademicrigorandcollegepreparation
throughtraditionalmethods,andreading,formanystudents,becomesthelowestpriorityitemin
theirplanners.Afterall,its
just

reading
.
Whilethereadingworkshopmodelandvariousotherindependentreadingprogramsare
wellestablishedinmiddlegradeslanguageartsinstruction,Lee(2011)postulatesthatsimilar
structurescouldencouragereadinginhighschoolEnglishclassroomsaswell.Sheconducted
actionresearchinherclassroomtoexaminetheimpactofSustainedSilentReadingonstudent
readingengagement.Usingresearchvalidatedparameters,sheimplementedweeklySSR
sessionsandcollecteddatafromstudentreflectionandreadingrecords.Findingssupported
continuedSSR,butLeeidentifieseffectivetrainingandplanningaskeyfactorsforsuccess.The
roleofteacherasmentorhadsignificantimpact.
Leesinformalstudentteacherreadingconversationstaketheplaceofformal
conferencing,andprovideaflexiblestructurethatwillsuittheneedsofeachstudent,the
instructor,andthegoalsoftheproject.
MorganandWagner(2013)documentaradicalshiftinreadingpedagogyinahigh
schoolEnglishclassroom.Frustratedwithhisstudentslackofengagementwithassigned
reading,Wagnerdesignedanactionresearchprojecttoinvestigatestudentresponsetochoice
andresponsibilityintheirreading.Hisobservationsandotherqualitativedatareflectenhanced,
reinvigoratedreadinghabitsinhishighschoolstudents.Withlittleresearchdataintheliterature,


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Wagneradaptedtostudentneedsastheyaroseandadjustedhismethodstosupportstudentsin
immersivereading.Whileitisdifficulttoassesstheimpactofchoiceandpracticeinreadingon
standardizedtestscores,actionresearchindicatesthatclassroomsthatprovidetimeandsupport
forreadingincreasestudenttextualinvolvement,whichotherstudies,suchasthe2007National
EndowmentfortheArtsstudy,havefoundindicativeofacademic,economic,andsocial
strength.
Wagnersexperiencewithadolescentdisengagementreflectsacommonsocialtrend,
andhisrealtimeresponsesandadjustmentsexemplifycriticalreflectioninteachingpracticethat
leadstoimprovedlearningoutcomes.Thescenariothatinspiredhispedagogicalshiftmirrorsthe
generalacademicclimateintheprojectclassroom,andWagnersgoalsandchallengesclosely
paralleltheconditionsandcontextofthecurrentstudy.
MorganandWagner(2013)alsoidentifysuperficialreadinginresponsetoassigned
textsasasignificantprobleminsecondaryEnglisheducation.Aseducatorsandlifelongreaders
themselves,theysoughttoinvestigatechoiceasapositive,drivingforceforengagementwith
adolescentreaders.TheirreviewofliteratureonthesubjectandWagnersinclassaction
researchindicatethattimeandchoicefiguresignificantlyinsuccessfulclassroomreading
programs,evenatthesecondarylevel.Otherresearchersconfirmthecentralityofstudentchoice
inengagementandcommitmenttoreading(Gilmore,2011Hall,Hedrick&Williams,2014
Morgan&Wagner,2013)
The2007studybytheNationalEndowmentfortheArtsillustratesanegativetrendin
thereadinghabitsofAmericans,whichdropsharplyatthebrinkofadolescence.Thedeclinein
readingcorrelateswithadeclineintheamountofmoneyspentonreadingmaterials,reading


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comprehensionlevelsinthegeneralpublic,andresultsofstandardizedtestscores.High
academicachievementinreadingparallelsstrongwritingskills,earningspotential,andthe
culturalenrichmentofsociety.Whilenotcausal,thecomparisonissuggestiveofmyriadbenefits
ofregularreading.
Walker(2013)identifiessustainedsilentreadingasacriticalcomponentinCommon
Corelanguagestandards,andadvocatesforanonnegotiableliteracypolicyinschools.The
modelsheoutlinesoffersstructuredscaffoldingforstudentsintheclassroom,andpedagogical
scaffoldingforteachersthroughprofessionaldevelopment.ImprovingontheideaofSSR
programsofpreviousiterations,Walkerassertsthateffectiveleadershipanddeliberate
implementationofScSR(ScaffoldedSilentReading)willenhancestudentengagementand
achievementinreading.
Walker,amongothers(Broz,2011Lee,2011,Pruzinsky,2014RushLevine,2011),
supportsincreasedtimeandregardfortheactofreadingwithinschoolwalls.Herapproach
includestheparticipationofallstakeholders,whichwillrequireadministratorstosupportand
encourage
justreading
duringtheschooldayaswellasprofessionaldevelopmentandteacher
buyin.Thisargument,inconjunctionwithotherresearchfavoringstudentchoiceandimmersive
reading,reinforcesthegoalsandobjectivesofthepresentstudyandwillhelpfocusandrefine
thedesignandimplementationoftheactionresearch.
Method
Toaddresstheneedforstudentreadingasaprecursortocurricularprogress,Iconducted
actionresearchinmyownclassroomwithtwogroupsoftwentyfourmixedability(standardand
honorscurricula)students.MyEnglishIIcourseatacollegeprepcharterschoolaffords


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flexibilityandteacherautonomy.Responsibilityforcurriculumdesignrestsontheindividual
teacher,soIuseaconstructivistparadigmtoaligninstructiontostudentneedsandinterests,The
studypopulationhasahistoryofcompetencyinmeetingreadingstandardsthemostrecent
availabledataonachievementofthisparticulargroupofstudentsindicatesatleast95%reading
atorabovegradelevelpriortoenteringhighschool(ReportsofDisaggregatedState,School
System(LEA)andSchoolPerformanceDatafor20102012).Becausethesestudentsexhibit
masteryofreadingskills,theaimofmyresearchwasnottoimprovereadingoranalyticalskills.
Instead,Idecidedtoadapttheresearchbasedreadingworkshopmethodpopularin
middleschools,whichincludetimetoreadinclassonaregularbasis.Atthebeginningofthe
201415year,Iestablishedaninclassreadingroutinewhichspecified49minuteFridayclass
periodsforliteraryimmersion.Whenthestructurewasinplaceandstudentswerefamiliar
withtheexpectations,procedures,andlibrary,Icollecteddataoverasixweekperiodtoevaluate
theeffectivenessoftheprogram.
Studentschoosebooksfromourclasslibrary,orcheckedwithmeforapprovalofother
texts.Isuggestbooksforstudentswhowantedguidance,usingmyknowledgeoftheclassroom
collection,theirreadingabilities,andtheirpreferencestomakeappropriatesuggestions.TheAP
Literatureexambasedreadinglist
TitlesfromOpenResponseQuestions(Wilkerson,2012)
alsoinformsreadingselection.
EveryFridayduringthestudyperiodfollowedthesamepattern.Asstudentsenterthe
classroom,theygettheirbooksandsettlecomfortablyinaselfchosenspotintheclassroomor
rightoutsidethedoorinthehallway.Studentsmaysitonthefloor,undertables,orwherever
theylike.Withoutdirectinstruction,theycommencetoreadindependentlyfortheentireclass


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period.Fiveminutesbeforetheendofthesession,abellsignalsstudentstoclosetheirbooks,
updatetheirreadingrecordsifneeded,shelveorsignoutbooks,andpreparetodepart.Upon
completionofonebook,studentsselectanotheraccordingtotheguidelinesabove.
TheindividualizedandsubjectivenatureoftheLiteraryImmersionExperience(LIE)
Observationcallsforqualitativeassessment,sotocollectrelevantandaccurateresultsIselected
threemethodsofdatacollection.Triangulationofthesemethodsresultsinamorerepresentative
dataset,andallowsassessmentoftheinstructionaldesignasawhole,Idesignedachecklistof
behaviorsforobservationduringLIEdays,invitedstudentreflectionontheexperience,and
collectedbackgroundinformationwithasurveyofstudenthabitsandperceptions.Inaddition,I
recordedmyoverallimpressionsoftheLIEperiods.
Iobservedstudentsduringthreeoftheweeklyclassperiods,usingthechecklisttorecord
observedbehaviorsatarandompointduringeachperiod.Checklistitemsincludedapparent
activeengagementinabook,offtaskactivity,andavoidantbehavior.SeeTable1forchecklist
andobservationresults.
UsingtheLikertmodel,Iconstructedaninequestionsurveytogatherdataaboutstudent
perceptionoftheefficacyofweeklyLIEperiods,includetheirownengagement,understanding
ofpurpose,andoverallevaluationofworth.Surveyquestionsandrepresentativedatacanbe
foundinTable2.Thesurveywaspostedonlinemidwaythroughthestudyperiod.Students
respondedanonymously.
Inordertocaptureinformal,authenticstudentperspectives,Iposedasetofopenended
questionsontheclassroomwhiteboardforwrittenresponsemidwaythroughthestudy.Students
respondedinatenminuteperiodatthebeginningofclass.Thequestionsetincluded
HowisLIE


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workingoutforyou?,WhatdoyouthinkofreadinginclassonFridays?,andDoesLIEseem
worthourtime?
Studentswroteto1pageresponsesexcerptsbelow.
Results
Observationdatashowthat,onaverage,approximately81%ofstudentsappeared
engagedinreadingthebookstheyselected.10%engagedintaskrelatedactivitysuchasbook
selectingordiscussion.,and9%divergedfromthereadingexpectationatthetimeof
observation.
TheLikertscaleresponsestothesurveyrangedfrom1(Verytrueforme)to5(Notatall
trueforme),andcorrespondedtopositivestatementssuchasChoosingmyownbooksis
importanttomeandReadingduringclassisveryproductive.SeeTable2.
Studentsgenerated34writtenresponsestoopenendedquestionsaboutstudent
perceptionsofLIEdays.Broadcodingidentifiedresponsesaseitherfullysupportiveofweekly
literaryimmersion,orlessthanfullysupportive.Thirtyoneoftheresponsesusedstrongly
positivelanguagesuchasenjoyorproductiveregardinginclassindependentreading.Two
studentsvoicedreservationsconnectedtothelengthofthereadingsessions.Onestudentasserted
thathedidnotliketoread,sohedidnotlikeLIE.
Representativecommentsincludephrasessuchas
LIEdayhasencouragedmetoread
more,becauseIrememberhowmuchIloveit,Idonthavemuchtimetoreadoutsideof
school,Iliketopickoutmyownbooks,...readwithoutworrying,
and
...LIEisvery
productive
Observationatarandompointinthreeofthetheactivereadingsessionsindicatethat
about90%engagedintheactivitytoamarkedextent.Somestudentstookbreaksfromreading


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orweredistractedbyclassmates,butthesignificantmajorityappearedtousethetimefor
focusedreading.
Tothestatement...Ireadthewholetime,89%ofstudentsrespondedthatthestatement
wasvery(53%)orsomewhat(36%)trueofthem,whichseemstosupporttheinclusionof
timeforreadingduringtheschooldayasaproductiveuseoftime.Sixtysixpercentof
respondeesagreethattheyreadmoresincebeginningtheregularLiteraryImmersion
Experiences,and86%reportthattheyenjoyLIEdays.Eightyninepercentunderstandthe
purposeofthispedagogicalchoice,whichsuggeststhattheyparticipatedeliberatelyandwith
academicintent.Eachofthesurveyquestionsgarneredpositiveresponses,indicatingthat
studentsviewreadingasaproductiveactivityduringtheschoolday.Studentreadingoutsideof
classincreasedwiththeimplementationofLIE,with64%ofthepopulationstatingthattheyread
morenowthantheydidbefore.
Studentreflectionsalsoportrayagroupofactiveandengagedreaderswhothinkabout
theirliterarychoices,thematicandcriticalelements,andintrinsicmotivation.Allbutoneofthe
studentreflectionssharedpositivecommentsaboutthevalueandeffectivenessoftheLiterary
ImmersionExperience.TheoutlierqualifieshisdislikeofLIEbyexplainingthathedoesntlike
toreadingeneral.
ThiscollectionofdataindicatesthatweeklyLiteraryImmersionExperiencessupport
studentreading,which,asweknow,isfoundationalinpracticeandacquisitionofhigherlevel
skillsinEnglishLanguageArtsInstruction.


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Discussion
Thestudyperiodhasalsobeenstuddedwithspontaneousconversationsaboutbooks,
differentiatedtextualcomplexitiesbasedonindividualgoals,andawideassortmentoftitlesin
circulation.Studentsexpresswillingnesstotrynewgenresorauthorsanddiscussconnections
theydrawbetweentheirreadingandothercontentareas.Evenmoreimportantly,studentsshare
theirgratitudefortheopportunitytoread,andlookforwardtoFridayswhentheyknowtheywill
beabletoimmersethemselvesinbooks.
Educatorsknow,andprovethroughpractice,thataffordinginstructionaltimeforreading
isaninvestmentthatgeneratessignificantreturn(Broz,2011Gilmore,2011Hall,Hedrick&
Williams,2014Lee,2011Morgan&Wagner,2013Pruzinsky,2014RushLevine,2011
Walker,2013Wozniak,2011).
Iplantocontinuetoencourageandsupportreadingwithdedicatedinstructionaltimefor
independentstudy.Thisapproachallowsindividualprogressandfostersthepracticeofreading,
whichcorrelateswithlearning,continuededucation,andimprovedjobskillsaswellasthe
developmentof,asRushLevine(2011)putsit,literatebeings.Thepositivestudentresponse
makesitevenmoreappealingasapedagogicaltool.ThemostcherishedideaoftheEnglish
teacher,thatofinstillingtheloveofreading,isbolsteredbythedataandthestudentsthemselves.
Arobustreadingcommunitycanthenengageinthecomplexitiesofanalysisandapplication
requiredbyeducationalstandards,andbepreparedtotacklechallengingideas,texts,and
problems.Reading
is
fundamental,andtheLiteraryImmersionExperienceprovidesasolid
foundationforcontinuedlearningatthehighschoollevelinthisscenario.


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References

Broz,W.J.(2011).NotReading:The800PoundMockingbirdintheClassroom.English
Journal,100(5),1520.
EnglishLanguageArtsStandards.(2014).RetrievedNovember11,2014,from
http://www.corestandards.org/ELALiteracy/
Gilmore,B.(2011).WorthyTexts:Whodecides?
EducationalLeadership,
4650.
Habeeb,GabrielleA(2011)."AnOpenLettertoLanguageArtsTeachers".
Voicesfromthe
middle

(10744762)
,18(3),p.34
Hall,K.W.,Hedrick,W.B.,&Williams,L.M.(2014).EVERYDAYWE'RESHUFFLIN':
Empoweringstudentsduringinschoolindependentreading.
ChildhoodEducation,
90
(2),9198.Retrievedfrom
http://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php?url=/docview/1512383595?accountid=12725
Lee,V.(2011).BecomingtheReadingMentorsOurAdolescentsDeserve:Developinga
SuccessfulSustainedSilentReadingProgram.JournalOfAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,
55(3),209218.


RH:LITERARYIMMERSIONEXPERIENCEBerg12

Morgan,D.N.,&Wagner,C.W.(2013).'What'stheCatch?':ProvidingReadingChoiceina
HighSchoolClassroom.JournalOfAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,56(8),659667.
doi:10.1002/JAAL.193
Pruzinsky,T.(2014).Readbooks.Everyday.Mostlyforpleasure.
EnglishJournal,

103.4
,
2530.
ReportsofDisaggregatedState,SchoolSystem(LEA)andSchoolPerformanceDatafor2010
2012.(n.d.).RetrievedNovember20,2014,from
http://accrpt.ncpublicschools.org/app/2012/disag/
RushLevine,ChristyL(2011)."GrowingLiterateBeings".
Voicesfromthemiddle
(10744762)
,18(3),p.33.Sanden,S.(2014).OutoftheshadowofSSR:Realteachers'
classroomindependentreadingpractices.
LanguageArts,91
(3),161175.Retrieved
from
http://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php?url=/docview/1469908354?accountid=12725
TitlesfromOpenResponseQuestions.UpdatedfromanoriginallistbyNormaJ.Wilkerson.
Retrievedfrom
http://mseffie.com/AP/APtitles.html
November16,2014.
ToReadorNotToRead:Aquestionofnationalimportance.Researchreport#47.(2007,
November1).RetrievedSeptember17,2014.
Vagias,WadeM.(2006).Likerttypescaleresponseanchors.ClemsonInternationalInstitute
forTourism&ResearchDevelopment,DepartmentofParks,RecreationandTourism
Management.ClemsonUniversity.
Walker,K.P.(2013).Scaffoldedsilentreading(ScSR).
JournalofAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,
57
(3),185188.doi:10.1002/JAAL.235


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Wozniak,C.(2011).ReadingandTalkingaboutBooks:Acriticalfoundationforintervention.
VoicesfromtheMiddle,

19
(2),1721.

Table1.
Checklistofbehavioralobservations
.

LIEBehavior

students
exhibiting
behavior
10/24/2014

students
exhibiting
behavior
10/31/2014

students
exhibiting
behavior
11/7/2014

apparentlyreading

32

36

35

selectingabook

seekingteacher
help

wandering
classroom

outoftheroom

offtask,fidgeting

readingaloudwith
peer(s)

discussingreading
withpeer(s)

chatting(offtask)

spacingout

#ofstudents
present

38

44

46


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Table2.
SummaryofSurveyResponses:Frequency

Survey:LiteraryImmersion
ExperienceQuestions

Very
true

Somewhat
true

Neither
trueor
untrue

Somewhat
untrue

Very
untrue

Iconsidermyselfa"lifelongreader".

11

10

Inpastyears,Ihavealwaysdonethe
assignedreadingforEnglish.

10

10

Choosingmyownbooksisimportant
tome.

12

15

DuringtheweeklyLiteraryImmersion
ExperienceinEnglish,Ireadthe
wholetime.

19

13

Readingduringclassisvery
productive.

13

14

IunderstandthepointofLIE.

20

12

IenjoyLIEdays.

25

IreadmorenowbecauseofLIEdays.

15

Readingindependentlyinclassmakes
meabetterreader.

13

IthinkIwillprobablyreadatleastsix
booksthisyear.

16

11