Think Sheet Dec 2013

1.     What is the focus of your inquiry and why is this important to you?

The focus of my inquiry is on how my students’ oral language skills develop through the collaborative Story Play process, particularly as they act out, discuss, and collectively revise their stories. We know that oral language skills are the foundation for later success in reading and writing. In Transitional Kindergarten, we have the opportunity to frontload these early literacy skills and potentially prevent students from needing reading and writing intervention later.

2.     At the end of the year what is the learning goal that you would like your focal students to reach?

I want my students to have strong oral language skills and a strong ability to communicate orally. I need to look more closely at data from my ‘proficient’ students in order to determine what this looks like specifically.  

3.     What classroom data are you planning to use for your routine data source to see how students are (or are not) progressing towards this goal?

I started off thinking I would use video and notes of the discussions after Story Plays were acted out, because I was interested in what was happening at this time and how it was helping my students develop oral language skills. I am wondering if this may not be the best data source. While the discussion part of the Story Play process is routine, it does not necessarily give me routine data about focal students each time, as I cannot always count on the focal students speaking up in every discussion, especially what I am asking “Who has a question or a comment?” Also, I am wondering if I need to rethink my focal students? Charlotte and Armani were my original thoughts (a high and a low, paired together) but Armani is unpredictable and inconsistent.

4.     Take some time to look at the routine data source for 1-2 focal students.  What would indicate if a student was successful? What were you hoping to see?

Write 3-4 indicators of success to meet the learning goal. 

-       Describes objects and events (measurable during partner work, but not acting discussion)

-       Retells events in a logical sequence (measurable during partner work, but not acting discussion)

-       Asks and answers questions that move a story forward or indicate success in above indicators (measurable during acting discussion but might not give the information I am looking for)

After talking with your small group, what are you thinking now about what success would look like for your students on your routine data source? What specific indicators of success have you decided on? What are your next steps in your inquiry?

I have reconciled the conflict between wanting to look at simple retelling of events in a logical sequence and also wanting to know how the acting out/revision discussion contributes to oral language. I have refined my Story Play process a bit after learning what is not working.

My data thus far has shown that asking kids to ask a question or make a comment is not helpful in eliciting talk.
Modeling questions and guiding revisions makes stories better but does not necessarily develop oral language skills. I am going to try something new: after each story play is acted out, always asking the same question: What happened in the story? What did you see and hear? Working in the partnership is the “writing” of the Story Plays, then acting out is the “reading” part of the process. So talking about what they saw and heard is like talking about what you have just read. I am hoping that this change in my practice will help elicit more talk and give me data about what types of oral language skills my students are and are not exhibiting.

I have also decided to shift my focus from the student whose behavior is really getting in the way of me being able to track her language. I am re-focusing on two students who are likely to slip between the cracks because they are well-behaved, but have low skills. I need to get some baseline information about what specifically makes me say they have “low skills” and then see how their skills evolve over the course of this new procedure.