“Probably…Maybe…About…”: Creating

Reachable Reading Goals

Ms. Buseth’s 4th Grade Class

Concord Elementary

By Onna Phillips

What causes students to achieve and surpass

their reading goals by a large margin?

Most students exceed their reading goals.

Students answered interview questions. Interviews were videotaped for later reflection.

Additional data came from the running records that are required every week as part of Daily 5 work.

Collecting Data Round 1: Individual Interviews

What are student’s goals based on?

The majority of students do not think about their goals while reading and make unrealistic reading goals.

I focused my study by choosing 6 students who had a variety of answers to my original questions.

Asked the students specific questions about how they make their goals. I recorded their answers by hand.

Collecting Data Round 2: Narrowing My Focus

Mini lesson focused on 5 individual factors involved in making a reading goal.

After lesson, 4 of the same small group of 6 students made new week-long goals.

Collecting Data: Round 3Mini Lesson

Mahoney, D. (2010, October 5).  Helping Students Set Their Reading Goals.  Scholastic. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2010/10/helping-students-set-their-reading-goals.The Teaching Channel. (Rick Kleine). (2011).  Rick's Reading Workshop: Amori's Reading Goals, Grade 5, Reading, Student Voice [digital video]. Available from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/reading-workshop-goals.

Professional Sources

Students:Even though students are making goals, that does not mean that they use them to guide their work.

Conferences:Conversations with students about their goals and the work they need to do, helps to enhance the teacher’s understanding of the student’s process and encourages students to use their goals in a meaningful ways.

Mini Lesson:Rehearsing goal making and verbalizing the process of making goals helps students to focus their attention on making and using goals

Conclusions:

The Albion College Education ProgramDr. Kyle ShantonMy wonderful parentsMy mentor teacher, Trischa BusethAnd my very eager and helpful students

A Big Thanks Goes To…