Abstract
Statement of Problem
A comprehensive statewide literacy plan was developed in 2021 by the California Department of Education. “At the center of California’s Comprehensive and Integrated Literacy Model is best first instruction” (CDE, p. 12). In this tiered model of support, teachers are tasked with giving all students high-quality, standards-based instruction. This instruction should result in “no less than 80 percent of students achieving grade level expectations” (CDE, p. 12). Through professional development that fosters best first practices, this research provides an opportunity to see how a text study among primary teachers may improve word identification skills, an essential building block for fluency and comprehension.
Sources of Data
To answer the research questions, three elementary school teachers were invited to participate in a text study that included five texts concentrated on word identification strategies, specifically high frequency words. The study included discussion meetings, a pre and post survey, and collection of teacher created artifacts that provided evidence of strategies used suggested by the text study.
Conclusions Reached
Findings reveal that teachers learned of new research as it related to sight word learning because of the information provided through the text study. Secondly, teachers were able to incorporate their learnings into current practices and develop new strategies. And last, teachers felt that by participating in a text study for professional growth that allowed for discussion of research and student outcomes, they were likely to use the methods and knowledge to create better literacy practices in grades kindergarten, first, and second.