West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Reading AchievementWest Liberty High School Library
Improving reading achievement is the first
long range goal of WLCSD’s comprehensive
school improvement
plan.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
• Mississippi Bend AEA awarded an Action Research Grant
• to establish a small collection of professional materials on the teaching of reading for faculty
• to provide sustained silent reading groups with immediately accessible, high interest books
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Professional Development
• For three years
• Faculty divided into groups to study:– instructional strategies for middle and high
school students to improve learning– instructional strategies for high school students
to improve reading– differentiated education
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Professional Development
During each inservice teachers studied a different instructional strategy and wrote a lesson plan utilizing the strategy. Within a month, the lesson was implemented and peer coached. Observations were turned into the library media specialist who led the inservices and to administrators. At the next inservice, the previous strategy was reflected upon in small group discussion.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Professional Collection
• Books and videos on:– Instructional strategies – Differentiated instruction– Building ESL collections
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Sustained Silent Reading
• Students are required to read 20 minutes per day during advisement period. They may read newspapers, magazines, or books, even textbooks.
• The high school receives over 100 newspapers per day for 382 students.
• A class-sized set of Time is delivered weekly.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Sustained Silent Reading
• The Action Research Grant enabled the library to purchase over 500 paperback books to distribute to the advisement rooms
• Students are invited to the library to select the books for their room’s basket.
• Baskets of easily accessible, high interest books are available.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Students select SSR paperbacks
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
SSR, cont.
• Books may be rotated at any time.• Students are encouraged to read the
paperbacks in or out of school.• Teachers model reading• SSR groups are encouraged to talk about
books.• Read aloud groups meet in the library media
center.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
SSR & ESL
• A specialized collection of SSR paperbacks was purchased for the ESL room.
• In English and Spanish
• High interest, low English reading skills• “The fastest way to get anyone to learn English is
to have them read a lot in English”…Krashen, The Power of Reading,1993.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Results: Reading Proficiency ITED scores
• Percentage of students reading at intermediate or high levels
0102030405060708090
100
1999 2000 2001 2002
Line 1
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
Results: teaching strategies
• Over the last three years, teachers have been utilizing early dismissal time to study research based instructional strategies. As a direct result over 914 new lessons have been incorporated into classroom practices.
West Liberty High School LibraryAction Research Grant
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