Eastern+Lebanon+County+SD+Team+2

ELCO Team - 2

Our team is made up of the following people:

Laurabeth Krpata - K-5 Literacy Coach Dennie Boltz, Librarian Gretchen Miller, 5th Grade Lindsey Hibshman, 5th Grade Laurie Bowersox, Principal  Twitter: lbowersoxie (lbowersox was taken)

The Eastern Lebanon County School District (ELCO) resides in a rural community servicing approximately 2500 students in grades K-12. New to the district this year are two K-2 centers and a new Intermediate school for grades 3-5. For the PLP initiative, our school district will have teachers from the Intermediate school participate.

Over the past several years, grades 3-5 have had access to wireless labs for classroom projects, a cluster of three-to-four computers in each classroom and teacher laptops with a projector for incorporating websites in large group instruction. Last year several teachers at this level took advantage of an internal wiki and blog server to begin using web 2.0 tools for collaborative classroom projects with their students.

**Action Research Project - Template**
//We want to be able to share and post your Action Research Projects on the PLP website so that others may learn from you. We want to brag on you! We will be making web pages from these projects, so to make the projects a little more uniform and easier to flip through we are asking that you fill out this form. Don't worry - it's not nearly as daunting as it looks. This is meant to be a snapshot of your project with artifacts and links should a reader wish to dig deeper into your research.//

//For your convenience we have copied and pasted this information into your school's team page. Please delete the directions that are *in asterisks* once you are finished.//

**Abstract**
//In an effort to bring consistency and comfort to the teaching of reading in our Intermediate School, our PLP group created a reading wiki designed to house information for all teachers. Our wiki provides links that display various teachers using successful methods for teaching reading. The site also offers leveling information as well as links that will help all teachers determine DRA levels for all students. Our wiki will eventually be set up to allow collaboration within our school and with other schools and educators. Our goal is to bring as much information to our teachers concerning powerful teaching practices in the area of reading. Hopefully, as a result of our wiki, all teachers in our building and district will benefit and feel more comfortable teaching and assessing all students as they guide students to be the best readers possible.//

**Problem, Issue, or Possibility**
//We combined four separate elementary schools into one Intermediate building, which created a need for collaboration in the teaching of reading. With the adoption of the Developmental Reading Assessment to level students, there was a need for professional development in guided reading.// In order to provide tools and resources for our teachers, we created a reading community, which is a warehouse of information that includes a book room inventory, teaching resources, video tutorials, professional development presentations, grade level data goals, and blog discussions.

**Objectives and Assessment**
//Teachers will be able to collaboratively level students based on information gathered through the DRA.//  //Assessment: Teachers will submit students groups/levels to the principal in the fall, winter, and spring.// //Teachers will used the information gathered through the DRA to differentiate reading instruction for each child.//  //Assessment: Teachers will be observed teaching small groups and completing progress monitoring probes.// //Teachers will select appropriate text for their leveled groups.//  //Assessment: Teachers will sign out books from the book room and use the Book Wizard widget to check book levels.//  //Teachers will participate in the reading community on the wiki.//  //Assessment: This will be measured through conversations taking place on the wiki.//

**Implementation Plan** //September 2010 - discovered the need for professional development in guided reading// //October 2010 - initial survey and informal staff assessment of guided reading practices and knowledge// //November 2010 - data meetings where goals were set// //December 2010 - Action Research Project refinement// //January 2011 - DRA data compiled// //February 2011 - in-service presentation where wiki was introduced to the staff// //March through April 2011 - 11 DRA training sessions// //May 2011 - final DRA assessments and wiki usage survey results compiled//

**Evaluation and Results**
//We learned that initially we bit off me than we could chew. We streamlined our project to make it more pertinent for our building's needs. This is a project that is going to continue to evolve with the staff's comfort level and professional development needs. According to our post-survey results, we will be able to determine the success of the project. Ultimately, the improvement of student reading ability will be a reflection of teacher effectiveness and ability to teach guided reading.//

//ELCO Intermediate School Reading Wiki Link: ELCO IS Reading Wiki//
//Username: ELCOIS_guest Password: reading//

Reading Needs Survey Results:

//Reading Wiki User Survey Link: [|Reading Wiki User Survey]//