Current Staus as of March 29, 2013

My action research project examines how effectively implementing a variety of critical writing experiences in all fourth grade subject areas will increase student writing achievement. Even though our campus was a “Recognized” campus, our writing success was low. I began by conferencing with my grade level team about the different writing experiences they could incorporate into their math, science, and social studies classes. I also implemented a “Sacred Writing Time” in my classroom where students read a quote, received a prompt based on a well-known fact, and were exposed to a vocabulary word they were expected to use in their writing. This “Sacred Writing Time” was in addition to the writer’s workshop format we were already following. I also provided materials and time for students to create a writing portfolio to store their writing. They thoroughly enjoyed this component, as they felt invested in their writing.  Once we had our first six weeks’ common assessment, our grade level met again to disaggregate data and brainstorm for further writing experiences. I used the data to pin point low skills, and proceded to meet with small groups on these skills. I continued to conference individually with students about their compositions, and implemented a “Share Time” every day for students to share their writing of choice with no criticism. I immediately observed an increase in student initiative to write. I even had students ask if they could write at home, and bring those pieces for share time. Additionally, our weekly writing homework was composed of an increased amount composition writing coupled with revising and editing questions. Fortunately, our benchmark data showed an increase since the last common assessment.  To further increase student writing achievement, I created a “STAAR Idol” game where students were selected to be “celebrity judges” that would use a rubric to score anonymous samples. The rest of the students served as the audience. We would read the compositions, then “America” got a chance to vote via our Smart Clickers as to what score the composition deserved. We also discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each piece, and why the composition deserved the score it received. The latest implementation I have made is a Spencer Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategy called “Student Teams Achievement Divisions”. This is a strategy that focuses on student improvement through cooperative learning. Just this last week, our grade level collectively improved 99 points. I posted our statistics for all to see, and after our series of quizzes, we will have a reward party for the individuals, teams, and classes that scored the highest in improvement points. The students were so excited to see their improvement, and it has helped increase effort and team work in addition to increasing writing skills. I will continue all of the above mentioned strategies and implementations throughout the duration of the school year. I look forward to reviewing the data at the end of the year to see if the strategies and implementations prove successful.

Action Research Plan

GOAL: During the 2012-2013 school year, a variety of critical writing experiences in all fourth grade subject areas will be implemented and evaluated to increase student achievement in composition writing. Subjects will include: reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Intervention strategies will also be applied and monitored for effectiveness.

Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Conference with participating teachers about writing experiences they can incorporate in their classrooms. Discuss implementation of a writing log for students to complete each six weeks.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: October 30, 2012 End: November 2, 2012	-Lesson plans -CSCOPE curriculum (District-adopted) -Pens -Textbooks	-Lesson plans and lists of writing experiences -Writing Log
Score writing pieces using CSCOPE, STAAR,  and teacher-created rubrics.	-Elizabeth Haviland	Start: August 27, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-STAAR written composition rubrics -CSCOPE rubrics -Teacher-created rubrics -Student writing pieces	-Rubrics with students’ scores and anecdotal notes
Conference with participating teachers about the baseline writing data. Discuss strategies for incorporating more writing experiences.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: October 30, 2012 End: November 2, 2012	-Student writing pieces -Anecdotal notes for each student targeting weak areas -STAAR,CSCOPE, and teacher-created rubrics -Lesson plans -CSCOPE curriculum -Textbooks	-Students’ scores and anecdotal notes -Lesson plans
Conduct writing conferences with individual students to discuss areas for improvement.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: October 31, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Student writing pieces -Student writing conference logs -Anecdotal notes	-Student writing pieces -Student rubrics -Anecdotal notes -Student writing conference logs
Inform parents and students of our vision for improving student achievement in composition writing.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: November 5, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Informational note to parents -Computer	-Signed and returned informational letter
Implement a writing log that includes cross-curricular writing activities for students to complete each six weeks.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: November 12, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Writing Log with activities -Pencils -Paper	-Parent-signed writing log -Completed writing assignments
Hold an “Author Appreciation” luncheon each six weeks for students who completed the writing log.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers -Principal and Assistant Principal	Start: November 12, 2013 End: May 30, 2013	-Students who completed the writing log -Rewards	-Completed logs -Completed writing assignments
Engage students in a variety of writing experiences.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: August 27, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Paper -Pencils	-Rubric-scored pieces -Writing assignments -Lesson plans
Administer District Common Assessments	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: September 26, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Writing prompts -Pencils -Paper	-Scored writing compositions -Assessment Data from all subjects
Administer District Benchmarks	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers	Start: September 26, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-Writing prompts -Pencils -Paper	-Scored writing compositions -Assessment data from all subjects
Analyze data from District Common Assessments and Benchmarks.	-Elizabeth Haviland -Participating fourth grade teachers -Principal and Assistant Principal	Start: September 26, 2012 End: May 30, 2013	-STAAR written composition rubrics -CSCOPE rubrics -Teacher-created rubrics -Student writing pieces	-Scored writing compositions -Assessment data from all subjects