The document summarizes an action research project investigating whether explicit small group phonics instruction helps special education students improve their phonological skills. The researcher will use DIBELS and PASI/PSI assessments to determine students' skill levels and place them in small intervention groups targeting their needs. Students will receive 30 minutes of explicit instruction daily for 2 weeks on their target skill. Progress will be monitored every 2 weeks and students will move groups as skills are mastered. Pre- and post-testing with DIBELS will evaluate whether the small group instruction improved students' phonological skills.

1. My Action Research Project Will explicit instruction in a small group setting help my special education students receive the phonological skills that they need to move on?

2. My Introduction: As students move through elementary school, the primary grades are critical to their educational performance. It is in the primary grades that the students build a strong foundation for their knowledge to grow. If these students do not retain the skills taught in the primary grades, then they become lost as they move to the next grade due to the fact that each year different skills are taught that builds upon the skills already taught. It is the goal of each teacher to make sure that the students are learning these specific skills (in this specific case phonics skills) to help them move on to the next level of their education.

3. Introduction Continued: In this study I am hoping to find out if explicit instruction in a small group setting will help my special education students receive the phonological skills that they need to move on? These skills will include a wide range of skills due to the fact that I have K-3 students. The skills will include words in a sentence, syllables, categorization, segmentation, addition, deletion, substitution, blending vowel consonant/consonant vowel consonant words, digraphs, and identifying nonsense words that blends words using CVCe.

4. Introduction Continued: I will start by using a quantitative approach. I am going to DIBEL all of my students so I can see their BOY (beginning of the year) scores. By analyzing these scores I can see if they have made benchmark, need strategic intervention, or intensive intervention. Then, I will administer the PASI to see what specific skill that they need to work on. I will analyze the results and break my students down into groups and place them with what skill they need to work on. Then, during the next couple of weeks I will observe each student individually and as a whole group to make quick notes about their progress. I will also keep an intervention log as well as complete progress monitoring activities.

5. Introduction Continued During the explicit instruction in our small groups we will be working on the skill that they fall under on the PASI. We will use drill and practice as well as trial and error. After our time in that group, the students will be PASIed to see if they have passed the skill and can move on. Then, when we do our MOY (middle of year) DIBELS, I can see if these small groups have helped my students to make benchmark or at least some improvements.

6. What does DIBELS stand for? Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

7. What is DIBELS? The DIBELS measures assess the 5 Big Ideas in early literacy identified by the National Reading Panel: Phonemic Awareness Alphabetic Principle Accuracy and Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension (https://dibels.uoregon.edu/)

8. How often is a student DIBELED? The benchmark assessment for DIBELS takes place three times a year. They are the Beginning of the Year/BOY, Middle of the Year/MOY, and the End of the Year/EOY. According to their test score, they fall under benchmark, strategic, and intensive. Then, according to their scores, they can be progressed monitored up to 2-3 times a month depending on their level.

9. What happens after DIBELS testing? After the students have been DIBELED, they are then administered the PASI to see what specific skill they need to work on to improve their DIBELS scores. This process is called RTI.

10. RTI “WHAT IS RTI Response To Intervention (RTI) was formed as a result of 2004’s Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandate, that required school districts nationwide to reduce the number of special education placements. RTI was designed to help solve the issue of the overrepresentation of minority students under the classification of Mild Mental Retardation and/or Behaviorally Emotionally Handicapped. Based on the successful medical model of public health the RTI Model has three Tiers of Intervention ranging from less intensive (Tier I) to most intensive (Tier III).” (http://www.failurefreeonlinetest.com/rti/what_isRTI.htm)

11. Methods Fifteen special education students from ___________________ School will participate in this study. They range from Kindergarten to Third Grade. Eleven of these students are diagnosed as MMI, two of the students are diagnosed as having a learning disability in reading, one is OHI, and one is autistic. I will look at their DIBEL scores from the BOY as well as test them on the PSI and PASI. I will place them under the skill that they need to work on under the PSI or PASI. We will also be working daily on fluency activities.

12. Methods Continued By placing the students in these small groups according to the results of the PSI or PASI will help them work on the target skills that they need to become better readers. These skills on the PSI and PASI are skills that they need to help them improve their scores on DIBELS.

13. Materials Daily, each student will receive thirty minutes a day of explicit strategic interventions. Each child’s placement will be based on their results of the Phonological Awareness Screener for Intervention (PASI) or the Phonics Screener for Intervention (PSI). A school wide “Walk to Intervention” will be put into place. Our ‘Walk to Intervention” model will be utilized using two special education teachers, as well as one special education aide. Each group will have 3-5 students based on their specific needs. We will be using material that the school purchased from the 95% group. We will monitor each student’s progress by looking at their DIBELS Scores, Intervention-Logs, Quick Notes, Intervention Checklists on PSI and PASI Skills, and Progress Monitoring. The students will be tested every two weeks using a progress monitoring system and placed in a different group if they have mastered that skill.

14. Procedure Daily the interventionist will use an Intervention Log to record absences, times, lessons, student scores, and behaviors. The interventionist will work on a specified skill for thirty minutes a day at a period of two weeks with their group according to their groups PASI or PSI skills. The interventionist will use scripted and explicit forms of lesson plans.

15. Procedure Continued Daily, each interventionist will take quick notes to confirm that progress is being made, or to see if there is a problem. If there is a problem then that needs to be looked at to see what can be done to help make progress. Progress monitoring will be done every two weeks to allow time for explicit instruction on a specific skill to see if the students have made progress. Once the assessments are given, then each student’s name will be moved to their next skill on the grouping mat. This grouping mat is located in the Title 1 Room as a Master List for all teachers. Then, in the middle of the year, each student will be administered the DIBELS activities to see if these target skills are helping them improve their DIBELS scores.

16. Student Data (Names Altered) This info will be available soon.

17. Schedule of Testing Days and Activities This info will be available soon.

18. Schedule of Testing Days and Activities Continued: This info will be available soon.

19. Results The results will be available in December

20. Results This info will be available in December