Incorporating Instruction for Multiple Reading Strategies Within One Class of Emergent Readers

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if multiple methods of reading instruction could be used successfully within one class of emergent readers. The setting was a Montessori classroom within a larger charter school located in an urban setting. The class held both first and second grade students although the work and abilities of only three first grade students were analyzed for this study. The participants attended reading lessons based on three different teaching methods. These methods were phonetic instruction, syllable instruction and whole reading. The students all had different learning styles and each chose different work within the classroom. By the end of this study the participants used all the skills and strategies that were taught as they read independently and in a group setting. Every participant used every strategy when reading which displays the usefulness of each and the value of including all three within the class.