Effects of Guided Reading on First-Grade Students' Reading Abilities

This action research project examines the effects that a guided reading program had on first-grade students' reading abilities in a rural southwestern Minnesota primary-level school during the fall of 2010. Six students were part of the selected guided reading group. This group was purposively chosen to study the growth of an average group of first-grade students. Analysis of the data consists of figures illustrating the differences between the students' pretest and posttest scores. It also contains a figure illustrating the students' running record scores that were collected throughout the action research study The findings of this study reveal that students' scores on the Developmental Reading Assessment, including fluency and comprehension scores, increase after they have participated in a guided reading program. The study also reveals that students' running record scores will be above 90% which means they will be reading texts at their instructional level. Results of this study will provide relevant information for educators interested in guided reading.