Instructional Practices in Title I Schools with High Performance in Third-Grade Reading

With the recent adoption of the Alabama Literacy Act (2019), effective reading instruction in K-3 is crucial with third-grade retention being a consequence for deficient reading skills. Considering the lower reading achievement for students of poverty, it is necessary to determine what type of instruction may contribute to reading success for these students. The purpose of this study was to describe the high-quality reading instructional practices in Title I schools with high performance in third-grade reading. The researchers surveyed 42 teachers in grades K-3 in six high-performing Title I schools across Alabama. Participants reported how much time they spent daily teaching each of the five essential areas of reading, the strategies they used most, and other instructional factors. The following conclusions drawn from the results of the study may help explain why the participating schools have made gains toward overcoming the effects of poverty in their students' reading achievement: teachers (a) dedicated ample time daily to developmentally appropriate areas of reading; (b) allocated more than two-thirds of their reading instructional time to working with students in small groups; (c) utilized supportive instructional strategies such as multisensory activities, scaffolding techniques, repetition, and teacher modeling; and (d) implemented a systematic phonics progression in K-2 to avoid gaps in students' knowledge of phonics skills. Implications include use of the findings for districts to develop a framework for how time should be spent in a literacy block and a guide for teachers to plan and reflect on their use of effective instructional practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]