Woodbury 1

MEMO
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:

Sis. Sarah Orme

Dana Woodbury
10 October 2015
Research Proposal What are successful methods to increase secondary school
students reading skills?

PURPOSE
I hope to determine that allowing secondary school students independent choice for some
required reading assignments is beneficial to promote an enjoyment of reading and increased
reading test scores. The questions I will be answering are:

What are societal consequences of poor reading skills? (Fitzhugh; Paul)

How does reading affect the brain and improve neurological processes? (Burke; Cuevas;
Paul; Roth)
What are the best methods of reading intervention for secondary school students? (Arkanoff;
Cuevas; Pennington; Retelsdorf)
How does independent reading increase test scores and life-long habits in secondary school
students? (Smith; U.S. Department of Education)

BACKGROUND
My daughter is currently a high school senior. After returning home at the beginning of the
school year to announce with a big smile and exclamation point emphasis that her English
teacher would be letting them pick their own outside reading books this year, I was pleasantly
surprised. As I learned more about what the teacher was requiring and the reasoning behind this
decision, I was even more impressed. This teacher had determined through trial and error what
generated a student to love reading and also to increase reading test scores (Smith). Combining
class assigned literature reading and independent choice reading will help expand students
understanding and knowledge.
Studies have shown that much of the adult population do not read out of choice (Read Faster).
Reading can benefit our society to make them more compassionate and open to new ideas (Paul).
When secondary school teachers successfully encourage a love of reading, this can continue
throughout a students life, which will enrich our society. Finding the correct teaching methods
to encourage this is important (Arkanoff, Smith).
SIGNIFICANCE
The importance of this topic is shown in two different ways. First, instilling a love and habit of
reading in our youth will benefit them socially and emotionally, as reading gives an increased
ability to empathize with others (Paul). Second, independent choice reading in secondary

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education students is proving capable of raising reading test scores (Smith). I hope to learn
about successful practices in a secondary classroom setting, so the information can influence
more educators. If teachers recognize independent reading as being a key to increasing literacy,
more creative methods may be explored for the classroom. This will only benefit teachers,
schools and districts that use student testing scores for ratings.
DESCRIPTION
I will use both primary and secondary sources for this assignment. I plan to use a first-hand
primary experience of a high school English teacher, which includes her testing results from the
past several years (Smith). For secondary resources, I will use books, an article from the New
York Times, and the search databases of Ebsco and ProQuest for scholarly articles.
OUTLINE
Working Thesis: Assigned independent reading for secondary education students is beneficial
for adult literacy, and social/emotional health.
What are societal consequences of poor reading skills? (Fitzhugh; Paul)
How does reading affect the brain and improve neurological processes? (Burke; Cuevas;
Paul; Roth)
What are the best methods of reading intervention for secondary school students? (Arkanoff;
Cuevas; Pennington; Retelsdorf)
How does independent reading increase test scores and life-long habits in secondary school
students? (Smith; U.S. Department of Education)

Conclusion
Reaffirm
thesis
statement.
Return to
personal
application
and hoped
outcome.

Response
Opposing View My Position
Introduction
Finding the
Silent,
Independent
Personal
right teaching
sustained
reading choice
background to
method is key.
reading int he
benefits
topic
classroom
students

Overall
does not work

Reading
societal need
Some reading
positively
for increased
interventions
affects brain
literacy
do not work.

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METHODOLOGY
I plan to gather primary information from current students and teachers in Gilbert, Arizona, by
interviews and email requests. Secondary data will be included by identifying and reading
selected newspaper articles, literary publications, books, surveys, and magazine articles.
PROBLEMS
People that I hope to interview may be unwilling or unable to participate. Internet or computer
problems may prohibit completion in a timely manner. Selected resources may not properly fit
paper focus and new resources will need to be found.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arkanoff, R.A. Improving Reading For Secondary Students Through a Focused Program
Emphasizing Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension: An Action Research
Study. Order No. 3623260. Capella University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2014.
Web. 10 October 2015. Dissertation discussing reading intervention and lack of results.
Burke, Mack D., et al. "Reading Interventions For Middle And Secondary Students With
Emotional And Behavioral Disorders: A Quantitative Review Of Single-Case Studies."
Behavior Modification 39.1 (2015): 43-68. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Oct.
2015. Paper discusses single case studies of students with EBS and how reading
intervention helped them.
Cullinan, Bernice E. Independent Reading and School Achievement. Ala.org. Volume 3,
2000, School Media Research. November 2000. Web. 6 October 2015. This paper is a
review of research literature about the positive effects of independent reading.
Cuevas, Joshua A. Applied Cognition in Reading: An Analysis of Reading Comprehension in
Secondary School Students. Order No. 3447899 Georgia State University, 2010. Ann
Arbor: Proquest. Web. 9 October 2015. Dissertation discussing neurological processes
involved with reading and posits that independent silent reading combined with other
techniques may prove to be an effective method to increase reading comprehension.

Fitzhugh, Will. "High School Flight From Reading And Writing." Academic Questions 24.4
(2011): 412-418. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. Discusses the authors
opinion that college dropout rate can be attributed to poor reading skills and lack of
knowledge.
Paul, Annie Murphy. Your Brain on Fiction. NYTimes.com. 17 March 2012. New York
Times. Web. 7 October 2015. Article discussing how reading affects the brain,

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influences a persons capacity for empathy, and increases socialization skills.
Pennington, Mark. Why Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) Doesnt Work.
PenningtonPublishing.com. 25 June 2011. Pennington Publishing. Web. 10 October
2015. Article of a reading specialist discussing why SSR does not work and ways it
could be improved for better results.
Read Faster, Reading Stats. Reading Statistics. Statisticbrain.com. 14 July 2014. Web. 10
October 2015. Statistics showing numbers of adults with reading disability, number of
adults who cannot read at an 8th grade level, and number of adults that do not read after
finishing school.
Retelsdorf, Jan, Olaf Kller, and Jens Mller. "On The Effects Of Motivation On Reading
Performance Growth In Secondary School." Learning & Instruction 21.4 (2011): 550-559.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. Study of reading motivation, reading selfconcept, and cognitive testing in secondary school students.
Roth, Mark. Learning, Adaptation Can Change Brain Connections, CMU Researchers Say.
Post-Gazette.com. 10 December 2009. Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Web. 10 October 2015.
Discusses studies proving reading can create physical changes in the brain.
Smith, Dayna. Miss Daynas Blog. Blogspot. 2014. Web. 8 October 2015. A high school
English teachers experience using different methods of instruction and results from
testing.
U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Literacy. Illiteracy Statistics.
Statisticbrain.com. 15 April 2015. Web. 10 October 2015. Statistics of Illiteracy and
reading level of U.S. adults.
TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE
Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday

Oct. 12-17
Post 500 Words of Draft and Respond To Others
Oct. 21
Draft Due

REQUEST FOR APPROVAL

Friday

Saturday
Oct. 10
Research
Proposal
Due

Oct 23
Peer
Review
Due

Oct 24
Final Draft
Due

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I would like to complete this research project to learn more about the correct methods used to
increase secondary school literacy that can translate to a lifetime of reading and learning. This
will bring personal benefits to readers and to society as a whole. I respectfully request approval
of my research proposal.