Pre & Post "Test":

The data from my pre and post "test" showed that student engagement during independent reading time increased for all four of my focus students. This data suggested that the different strategies I implemented had a positive effect on students' motivation and engagement during that time. 

Vocabulary Scores:

Before implementing guided notebooks for vocabulary, these four students did not perform well on weekly vocabulary quizzes. Student One refused to take them, Student Four answered two questions and turned it in, and Student Two and Three wrote one word answers most of the time. After I implemented the guided notebooks and did check ins with students to make sure they were completed, I noticed a drastic increase in vocabulary scores. The data showed that all students scored much higher on their weekly quizzes after implementation meaning student achievement increased. 

Accountability Tasks:

Regarding accountability tasks during independent reading time data showed that this strategy worked for some of my four students, but not all. Three of my four students were motivated to engage with the accountability task and work for the tangible reward, but Student One still was not motivated. For Student One, I created an alternative accountability task to maintain engagement and foster motivation with a more preferable task. I had Student One research a topic that was particularly interesting to which they felt connected. For this student, it was baseball, hockey, and hunting. I had Student One create a powerpoint slideshow that taught me all of the basics of that topic. Once Student One had completed the "expert" slideshow, I went into the slideshow and left questions or comments which prompted Student One to do further research and communicate with me about the information that was found. This doubled as relationship building for us as well. 

Affective Assessment:

Data from the affective assessment showed me that three of my four students' confidence levels in reading increased from December to February. The affective assessment allowed me to get a more genuine feel for my students' attitudes toward reading. Since data increased for three out of my four students, I believe that the strategies used for implementation were successful in increasing student motivation and engagement. 

Celebration - MAPS Scores:

This data was not included in my action research since it was outside the window of my data collection timeline, however I implemented some strategies during this time and wanted to acknowledge the growth of my students. From Fall to Winter, Student One, Student Two, and Student Three all increased their Reading scores by 13, 23, and 14 points respectively. For MAPS tests, an increase of about 5 points is considered adequate progress. 

Celebration - Goal Setting:​

​Student One met his/her goal of sticking with the same book for an extended period of time, something this student had never done. Student One successfully read the same book for two months and hit both benchmark goals set throughout reading. 

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Student Two increased his/her ability to transfer reading to writing so that it appeared more fluent. This increase was noticed on Student Two's vocabulary quizzes, where spelling and overall grammar improved.

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Students Three and Four met their goals of increasing their reading stamina (being able to read for a certain amount of time without distractions) by at least 5 minutes.