ReadWorks Action Research Guide

​​Growing reading comprehension and word recognition through a FREE knowledge-building Decodables routine.
What Is Action Research?
​In action research, teachers identify challenges in their classrooms, try out new strategies to address them, and analyze the results to improve teaching and learning. It’s a hands-on, reflective problem-solving approach that helps educators make data-driven decisions tailored to their students’ needs. 
Purpose of This Guide
​This action research guide provides free resources for K-2 instructors to complete an action research intervention focused on building early reading skills.

​Using this guide, teachers will adapt ReadWorks’ free Article-A-Day + Decodables resource to address their own specific questions and/or problems of practice in their classrooms relating to decoding instruction and student learning.

Through this action research, teachers will also contribute to broader research knowledge about effective ways to integrate decodables into instruction and the best kinds of decodables to use, informing future ReadWorks product development to support millions of teachers and students.
Student Data Privacy
​Only the teacher leading this action research will have access to student data. ReadWorks will not ask for or collect any student data. Teacher researchers should check with their school/district to follow any required action research permissions before proceeding.

​Our full privacy policy can be found here.

What Can I Expect?
Thank you for your interest in growing the research base on early literacy. There are three phases in this six-week intervention. Click below to learn more!
Phase 1: Planning
Before you get started: Complete this 5-minute pre-research survey (optional, but encouraged).

​Learn about ReadWorks Article-A-Day + Decodables routine:
​Review lesson planning resources:
Reflect on our planning questions and record your responses.
Phase 2: Implementation / Data Collection
  • Use this checklist to track the research activities you complete each week.
  • ​Complete the weekly logs at the end of each week.
Phase 3: ​Post-intervention Reflection, Sharing, and Next Step
  • Use this checklist to assess your results and refine instruction. 
  • When you complete all of your weekly logs, complete this 10 minute post-research survey (optional, but encouraged). 
  • To share additional thoughts about your survey experience, email ​[email protected]. 

References/Resources (Optional)

Decodable texts are an important and impactful element of comprehensive reading instruction for early readers: ​
  • ​Beverly, B. L., Giles, R. M., & Buck, K. L. (2009). First-grade reading gains following enrichment: Phonics plus decodable texts compared to authentic literature read aloud. Reading Improvement, 46(4), 191-206.
  • Blevins, W. (2021). Choosing and using decodable texts: Practical tips and strategies for enhancing phonics instruction. Scholastic, Inc.
  • Mesmer, H. A. E. (2005). Text decodability and the first-grade reader. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 21, 61-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573560590523667
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and U.S. Department of Education (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read. 
To achieve reading proficiency, students can and should engage in language comprehension work while developing foundational skills: ​
  • ​Duke, N. K., Ward, A. E., & Pearson, P. D. (2021a). The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 74(6), 663–672. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1993
  • Helping students access complex, Knowledge-Rich texts. (2023, February 2). ASCD. https://ascd.org/blogs/helping-students-access-complex-knowledge-rich-texts
  • Sanabria, A., Kyoung Hwang, J., Zargar, E., Lowe Vandell, D., & Connor, C. M. (2024). A multi-site study of student experiences with code- and meaning-focused literacy in preschool-third grade classrooms. Scientific Studies of Reading, 28(6), 656–684. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2024.2388558
  • Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97–110). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Building background knowledge is critical for reading success: ​
ReadWorks | K12 Reading Instruction that Works