Collaborative Action Research Project

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Collaborative Action Research Project

• OUTLINE
• Kathryn S. Morrison

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Improving Spelling Errors of Second Grade
Students When Adding Suffixes to Root Words
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Chapter I. Introduction

• Problem Statement
• Purpose of Study
• Description of Community
• Description of Work Setting
• Writers Role in Work Setting

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Second grade students are failing to use proper
  spelling when adding suffixes to words.

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PURPOSE of STUDY

• determine some causes for this problem
• develop a strategy for improving the situation

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DESCRIPTION of COMMUNITY

• Public school system in urban Southeastern US
• District comprised of
• 31 Elementary
• 5 Middle Schools
• 5 High Schools

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Description of Community(continued)

• Enrollment of 25,000 in a community of 250,000
• A large portion of affluent and middle class
  students attend area private schools
• leaving predominately lower socio- economic
  children in public system

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DESCRIPTION ofWORK SETTING

• At-Risk Elementary School
• 95 students qualify for free lunch
• 25 qualify for special education
• 12 retention in same grade

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Work Setting (continued)

• Total student population 380
• 99 African American
• 1 Anglo American
• Awarded State School of Excellence
• High degree of reciprocal community involvement

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WRITERS ROLE

• Writer is School Music Specialist
• Teaching responsibilities
• general music - all students grades 1-3
• playing of instruments - all students grade 4
• choir - auditioned students grades 4-6

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Chapter II. Study of the Problem
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Chapter II. Study of the Problem

• Problem Description
• Problem Documentation
• Literature Review
• Causative Analysis

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PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

• Second grade students are failing to use proper
  spelling when adding suffixes to words
• Students do not know rules for adding suffixes
• Students cannot apply rules when they are given
• Students lack motivation to improve

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PROBLEM DOCUMENTATION

• Second grade teachers report student spelling
  errors when adding suffixes to words
• 13 of 17 students make 4 or more errors on
  spelling test when adding suffixes
• 15 of 17 students make multiple errors on
  suffixes in journal writing
• Only 1 of 17 students verbalize rules accurately

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LITERATURE REVIEW

• English spelling has traditionally been difficult
  for those who teach it as well as those who must
  learn it (Johnston, 2000 )

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Literature Review (continued)

• Students who have been unable to intuitively
  grasp rules of English structure benefit from
  introduction to and more structured work with
  generalizations (Abbott, M. 2000)

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Literature Review (continued)

• School-age students identify the meanings of
  familiar suffixes with fairly high levels of
  accuracy but their ability to produce these same
  suffixes falls well short of their receptive
  abilities (Windsor, J. and Whang, M., 1999).

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CAUSATIVE ANALYSIS

• Second grade students lack
• a tool for memorization of general rules
• the ability to apply generalized rules
• motivation to improve

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Chapter III. Outcomes and Evaluations
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Chapter III. Outcomes and Evaluations

• Goals and Expectations
• Expected Outcomes
• Measurement of Outcomes
• Analysis of Results

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GOALS and EXPECTATIONS

• Second grade students will use proper spelling
  when adding suffixes to words

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EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Three specific outcomes will be achieved
• 10 of 17 students will make less than 4 errors on
  post intervention spelling test

Pre Intervention
Post Intervention
Number of Participants
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EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Three specific outcomes will be achieved
• 10 of 17 students will make 1 or less errors per
  paragraph on journal entries

Pre Intervention
Post Intervention
Number of Participants
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EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Three specific outcomes will be achieved
• 15 of 17 students will accurately verbalize
  generalized spelling rules for the addition of
  suffixes

Pre Intervention
Post Intervention
Number of Participants
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MEASUREMENT of OUTCOMES

• Four types of quantitative evaluations
• Pre and post implementation spelling tests scores
• Pre and post implementation journal assignments
  scores
• Oral recitation of generalized rules scores
• Comparison of study group to control group both
  pre and post implementation

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ANALYSIS of RESULTS

• Analysis will be shown in bar graph form
• A t-test at the .05 level of significance will be
  employed

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Chapter IV. Solution Strategy
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Chapter IV. Solution Strategy

• Statement of Problem
• Discussion
• Description of Selected Solutions

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STATEMENT of PROBLEM

• One of the major spelling difficulties
  experienced by second grade students is in
  attempting to add suffixes to root words,
  particularly when the root spelling changes with
  the addition of the suffix.

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DISCUSSION

• Several factors to consider through which the
  writer can effect change
• Flexibility based on student development is key
  (Abbott, 2000)
• Music shares brain processes with language
  (Hodges, 2000)

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Discussion (Continued)

• Musical activities build neural bridges used for
  spatial reasoning (Rayl, 1995)
• Music aids recall (Murphey, 2001)

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DESCRIPTION of SELECTED SOLUTIONS

• Steps in intervention
• Music Specialist will teach rules set to music
• Classroom teacher will play recording of rules
  set to music
• Remedial students will be given a copy of the
  recording to use at home

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CONCLUSION

• The use of music to teach general rules in
  spelling
• adds flexibility to traditional approaches
• aids memorization
• stimulates language skills
• strengthens spatial reasoning
• motivates improvement

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MUSIC MOVES US!