At long last, my rough draft of the final research project is ready!  I would very much appreciate any feedback that peers have to offer!  Click to see the paper.  :)

At last, data collection is complete.  Initially, I wanted to research the effectiveness of The Daily Five.  After teaching the children how to use each component of the program, I used the three weeks of data collection to get a snapshot of how things were going.  I wanted to see how effectively the program solved my problem of keeping independent learning going while I am involved with individual children or in reading groups.  I wanted to find out if, by using the program:

1.    Children would stay “on task” while working independently. Teacher would be free of major disruptions so that small group instruction would be effective.

2.    Children would continue to gain literacy skills during implementation.

3.    The program would be fun and motivating to the students.

To find out if the program met this criterion, I first used observation.  I set a timer and every ten minutes I counted the amount of children that were on task.  The tested sessions went between forty minutes and an hour.  As I analyze the data I will compare the numbers and come up with a percentage of children on task for each given day.  I’m interested in looking for more information on normal “on task” behavior for average classrooms.  Comparing that with my data will tell me if The Daily Five has been effective in keeping students on task.

To check on literacy skills, I decided to use pre and post fluency testing.  Although there are many ways to test this, I felt that fluency testing would be the most effective assessment for a three-week period of time.  The data will show the changes in reading fluency over that time. I can also use the testing to compare with grade level expectations.

My final data was designed to assess the “fun” quotient.  I wanted to see how well the children enjoyed it and how motivational it was for them.  I used six interview questions and recorded their verbal responses.  I will use this data to find out if there are common threads in the children’s answers.

I'm ready to put it all together and write it up.   I will be interested in seeing the final papers of others as well.   There is a busy weekend ahead.