Fall 2015 Action

Research
Kindergarten

Lindsay Donahoo

Research QUESTION
What strategies can I
use that will be the most
effective in helping
students who are
struggling with lettersound correspondence ?

INNICIAL MEETING
WITH MRS. bURTON
We discussed which students would
benefit most from this extra help
She provided me with four names
that know their letters for the most
part, but struggle with letter-sound
correspondence (borderline and
need an extra push).
We also discussed that using CVC
and sight words for assessments

Research
Mastering alphabetic principle seems
to be a common struggle for
kindergarteners. (Rosenberg, 2006).
First they learn the letter names, then
the shapes and lastly the letter
sounds (Alphabetic, 2002).
Letter-sound correspondence and
recognition is the best predictor of a
childs future reading and spelling
abilities (Piasta, 2010).

strategies
The three main ways to assess the
alphabetic principle in kindergarten:
Decoding- CVC words
Sight-word reading- sentence strips
Letter-sound recognition- initial,
midpoint and final assessment
(Alphabetic, 2011).

DATA
120%

100%

80%

Initial Assessment

60%

Midpoint Assessment
Final Assessment

40%

20%

0%
Student A

Student B

Student C

Student D

ASSESSMENTS
Initial, midpoint and final assessment were all
the same
Letter-Sound Recognition
All four students really seemed to grasp the
letter-sound correspondence
Until the letters were blended together to
make words
They struggled with decoding
But there was huge improvement in all four
students

GROWTH
Each student showed growth, but some things
cannot be put into a chart, such as confidence
As a whole they struggled with confusing the
sounds of J and G, and also U, Y and W.
We used flashcards and whiteboards so they
could see the different letters visually.
They automatically knew the correct sounds
after seeing them side by side
By the final assessment they flew through all of
their letters and their sounds with flying colors.

reflect
This really was a great
experience to see their
individual growths
Mastering the alphabetic
principle is not something that
happens overnight
Although I did see results and
vast improvement

Where do we go from
here?
I think that all 4 students
are ready for more of a
challenge
Does anyone have any
suggestions on what could
be done next?

Works cited
Alphabetic Principle (2011). In University of Oregon Education.
Retrieved from
<http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/au/au_what.php>.
"Alphabetic Principle." Reading Rockets. Texas Education Agency ,
2002. Web.
11 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.readingrockets.org/article/alphabeticprinciple>.
Piasta, Shayne B., and Richard K. Wagner. "Developing Early
Literacy Skills:A Meta- Analysis of Alphabet Learning and
Instruction." NCBI. N.p., 28 July 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
<http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2910925/>.
Rosenberg, M. (2006, March). Sound & Letter Time. In Scholastic.
Retrieved from
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/soundandlettertime/pdf/sou
nd_letter_fin
_single.pdf