Action Research Project

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
Action Research Project

Carly Coyne
Initial Meeting with Teacher
Students Chosen:
Students A and B- These students were both chosen for the same reason. They were
both ELL students that had no knowledge of letters or numbers. The teacher explained to
me that these students came into the classroom the first day not understanding any
English. Mrs. Deer made it clear how important it is for these students to begin
recognizing letters to progress in all subjects. I chose these students for the fact that they
were both on the same learning level and needed additional communication and
understanding to advance adequately.
Initial Question
To increase the students ability to recognize letters, I want to determine whether or not
phonological awareness will progress the students ability to identify the letters of the alphabet.
This content lead me to ask the question: Does phonological awareness improve the efficiency
of letter recognition for the ELL students?
Revised Question
After my first meeting with my students I realized that my initial question was too strenuous for
the short amount of time that I worked with students A and B. Because my focus is letter
recognition, I revised my question to: What strategies and best practice work most efficiently
to improve letter recognition for the ELL students?
Timeline
Pre-Session
Opening meeting with Mrs. Deer

o Which students require the most help
o Teacher presents research question
Letter Recognition Assessments/Materials:

Matching game, Flash cards, Letter Bingo
Session 1
Matching Game
Students A & B will use color cards and letters to match them correctly. The students
will identify in groups such as the pink card with letters A through E, green card
with letters F through J, orange card with letters K through O etc. (letter
recognition)
Session 2
Flash cards
Students A & B will identify the correct letter as I use flash cards in no particular order.
They will learn to not only identify the letter but say the letter correctly with the flash
card (letter recognition)
Session 3
Letter Bingo
Students A & B will play Letter Bingo as a strategy to review what they have been taught
in previous sessions. By this session the students should have enough knowledge to
shout identify the name of the letter to the letter on their board. (letter recognition)
Session 4 (Final Assessment)

Review
During this session, students A & B will be assessed on previous assessments:
Identifying each color card
Speaking and identifying each letter flash card
Playing a full game of Letter Bingo

Letter
Student A
Sound
Letter
response
Student B
Sound
response
I *SAYS C
C*SAYS E
Assessment Reflection
Student A: The first initial assessment was administered after a total of three 25 minute
meetings. During the first meeting, we played Pop and Win letter bingo. This student really
enjoyed this game. I believe this was a good starter game for the level that this student was on.
When a letter was chosen, the student was able to match the letters but not say the letter or
sound. Instead of moving on to the next letter, I would have Student A repeat the letter and sound
after me. Although the student liked this game, she excelled faster matching. This is when I
introduced the matching game. The student was given a color card with 5 letters on it, when all
letters were matched, she moved on to the next card until she reached the letter Y. Also, I
introduced the flash cards. This student had a hard time focusing on this strategy. The next two

meetings I repeated the same strategies to monitor her progress. The assessment I gave was very
informal. Instead of focusing on all 26 letters, I chose 13 (letters A-M). I would have the student
find the letter and sound the letter out. Student A completed 8/13 letters and 12/13 sounds. The
results from the assessments indicated that the student can recognize letter best with sound.
However, speaking the letter needs further instruction. The next meeting with student A, I
applied the same strategies but added the alphabet song that I knew the student was somewhat
familiar with. Using this strategy helped this student exceed with identifying letters as she could
rely on the song for initial help. When given the midpoint assessment, student A had a complete
100% sound and letter recognition for the letters A-M. On the session before this assessment was
given, she had already progressed passed the letter M.
Student B: The first initial assessment was administered after a total of three 25 minute sessions.
I found that this student understood less than student A and moved at a slower pace. He worked
faster matching the letters in Bingo but more progress was shown through the matching color
card game. The flash cards also didnt go over well with this student and that strategy was
removed. These two strategies were implemented all sessions prior to the assessment. When
given the same assessment as student A, this student scored an 8/13 on his letters and 7/13 on
sounds. This was a huge growth from day one. I found that this student began recognizing some
letters better by sound, and some by the letter name. Another strategy needed to be applied to the
teaching. During the next session, I added the alphabet song. The student seemed familiar with
the song but used gestures instead of speaking or sounding out the letter (example: for the letter
C he would shiver like he was cold). The student was able to become familiar with the song
and sound and letter names when recognizing new letters. When the midpoint assessment was

given, Student B showed a huge increase in the difference between the letter and sound and had
100% accuracy letter recognition for letters A-M.
Final Assessment Reflection

According to the data that is included, both students A and B reached their goal of 100%
accuracy letter recognition for upper case letters A-Z after twelve 25 minute sessions and one 10
minute session. The assessment given was the same assessment as the first initial test and
midpoint test. This assessment covered both A and B students ability to recognize upper case
letters as I pointed to them and additionally give the letters sound. Student A and B was able to
progress from letter M to letter Z from the midpoint assessment to the final assessment. The
confidence level between both students increased and it showed throughout learning in other
assessments given by the teacher. I observed less confusion for these students in the classroom.

Date/ Amount
of Time Spent
Anecdotal
Observation
9/23
Student A
seemed a bit
nervous but
cooperated
well.
Student B was
very eager to
start working
Student A was
still shy this
morning but
would smile
when we played
Bingo.
Student B had a
great attitude
when learning
new letters
Student A
didnt speak
much today
Student B was
excited to see
himself
improve
Student A was
very thrilled
today.
Student B
seemed very
distracted
Bingo
Both students A
and B stayed
very focused
which showed
improvement
Alphabet song
Alphabet Song
25 min
Students A and
B were excited
to choose which
game they
wanted to play.
10/22
Student A was
Matching game
25 min
9/30
25 min
10/7
25 min
10/15
25 min
10/16
25 min
10/17
Strategy
Implemented
Matching game
Flash cards
Assessment
Data
Reflection
Students A and
B were able to
match letters AE on the color
card.
Students both
had a difficult
time with the
games. Were
familiar from
previous
assessments
with Mrs. Deer.
The students
were more
comfortable
adding sound to
the letters rather
than saying the
letter.
Practice word
and sound.
No speaking
Bingo
Matching game
Students
successfully
played Bingo
game and
matched letters.
Matched color
card letters A-J
adding sound
Bingo
Matching game
Find A-J
Matching game
(adding three
more letters)
Assessment
Matching game
Matching Game
Student A: able
to find most
letters. I and J
Student B:
completed A-E
Adding new
letter became
more difficult.
Began focusing
on saying the
word and sound
Student A: 8/13
letters. 12/13
sounds.
Student B: 8/13
letters 7/13
sounds
Student A was
able to
recognize
letters better
with sound.
Student B
mixed up the
letter with
sounds.
Found that the
alphabet help
the students
recognize
letters more
efficiently.
Noticed that
sounds and
letter are
becoming more
familiar but still
being mixed up.
Both students
made it through
the alphabet
song due to
prior teaching.
Letters A-M
Student A:
occasionally
mixed up
sounds and
letters.
Student B: A-J
100%
Student A:
Various

25 min
10/23
25 min
10/24
25 min
11/4
25 min
11/18
25 min
12/2
10 min
less motivated
today but
reached a great
level of
improvement.
Student B
would only
copy what
student A
would do.
Student A
worked ideally
better when
working on her
own.
Student B
seemed less
distracted.
Both students
were working
very diligently
and were both
very happy see
improvements
in themselves.
Student A ran
to me when I
called her name
to work. She
was so happy
today.
Student B
showed
improvement
but wanted to
play math
games instead.
Student A was
ecstatic when
she reached all
her letter.
Student B was
also happy
when he
mastered his
letters
Both students
were eager to
review their
Bingo
Alphabet song
Matching Game
Alphabet Song
Assessment
Flash cards
Alphabet Song
Flash cards
Alphabet song
Missed well
known letters
but began
progressing (AT)
Student B:
added K-P
improvement
shown by both
students.
Student A: A-M
100% accuracy
with the help of
the song
Student B: A-M
100% accuracy
recognition and
sound after
changing a few
at the end
Student A:
improved an
immense
amount when
working on her
own.
Student B:
mixed up some
letters but
changed them at
the end of the
assessment
Flash cards
became
successful with
both students
when naming
the letter and
sound
Student B made
a huge growth
today using the
color cards!
Both students
had a 100%
accuracy of the
alphabet song
Student A: A-Z
Student B: A-T
Students A: AZ 100% sound
Letters M N
and Y need
practice.
Student B: A-Z
complete letter
recognition
Bingo
Bingo assessed
as practice.
Assessment
100% accuracy
letter
recognition for
both students A
and B
Matching lower
case letters
Begin matching
lower case
letters on the
Student A
continued to
practice A-Z
with proper
sound
Unbelievably
amazed at the
results of this
assessment

letter and
introduce lower
case letters.
color cards
Strategies Used
Pop and Win Bingo (upper case letters)
Matching Color Card Game
Alphabet Song
Flash Cards
Matching Game (lower case letters)
Assessments
Letter assessment using letter blocks (uppercase)
Student Progress Monitoring Chart

Letter recognition and sound are worth 100% accuracy each. This chart is based on the students
A and Bs two scores and averaged together on a scale from 0-200.
250
200
150
Student B
Student A
100
50
0
Initial
Mid Point
Final
Overall Reflection
My primary goal was for the students to make as much progress as possible while implementing
different strategies. Because of their lack of overall English knowledge, I tried not to push them
students too extensively. The strategies that were implemented throughout the semester were
very basic but that was the type of practice these students needed to progress. One of the most
significant changes made was relating strategies to students personal lives. This approach was
applied after the midpoint assessment. The flashcards used in the beginning shows no
progression but when I used flash cards that meant something to them, they worked more
efficiently. For student A I used flower flash cards and for student B I used dinosaur flash cards.
I was overly ecstatic that both students recognized and used sounds 100% for all upper case
letters A-Z. In the future, a different approach I would use is letter recognition for letter not in
order from A-Z.
Strategies on Teaching Letter Recognition to ELL Students

Carly Coyne
Samford University

Abstract
English Language Learners have the ability to learn letter recognition depending on the strategy
that is being used. These students all work at different paces and will need differentiation applied
in the classroom to fit their needs. Some of these strategies that will take place are gestures,
visual aids, and pronunciation. Each student is capable of learning; you must always keep them
engaged.
Keywords: recognizing, differentiate, gestures, visual aid, pronunciation

Strategies on Teaching Letter Recognition to ELL Students
As I person that has grown up knowing only one language, learning came easier than
most. I cannot remember the time when I learned my letters, but it was something that I first
thought would be so easy to catch on to. That theory could not be more wrong. Working with
English Language Learners opened my eyes to teaching on a different spectrum. These students
are not only learning English, but most are learning Spanish at home. Research tells us that letter
and word knowledge is needed to become successful (Perez). The students must be
knowledgeable in recognizing letters to understand math, reading, language, social studies, and
science. This becomes difficult if the student does not understand the text. One of the main
difficulties English Language Learners have today is developing the correct pronunciation of the
letter when recognized. English and Spanish letters are very much alike but pronounced
completely different. You have to look at these students learning process as if you were dropped
in an unfamiliar country and told to learn their language.
For effective teaching, teachers must learn how to differentiate instruction in the
classroom. This is important especially for me, because my students are in
kindergarten. For both of them, it is their first time seeing English letters and they can
become overwhelmed easily. Perez lists strategies for beginner level learners, such as
gestures, real objects and pictures, and a clear pronunciation (Perez). Gestures is one
thing I found to be helpful by researching strategies online and then used with my
students. I found a song a while back that had a hand movement for every letter. This
was something that worked out tremendously once the students learned the song. For
example, C stands for cold. The students would use gestures by wrapping their
arms around themselves shivering and making the C noise. This strategy helped

improve the students ability to recognize letters faster. The other strategy I used was
pictures or any sort of visual aid to enhance engagement. It is true that A picture is
worth a thousand words. Having a visual aid is known to be an applicable way for
students to better understand and give more feedback (Ferlazzo). This is a strategy I
wish I would have known from the first week I started working with my students.
After about a month, I felt like my students letter recognition growth was not
improving. I sat down with my teacher before class one day to discuss different
learning methods to increase their engagement. She told me to use visuals. The
visuals I used were things that were important to them. For example, one of my
students likes dinosaurs. By showing him a picture of his favorite dinosaur by the
letter D, he was able to recognize and sound out the letter more efficiently. Another
way this tool can be used is by printing pictures from a story, or the story you are
reading allowed in class. The visual will give the students an idea of what is going on
in the story and can be reread at a different time independently. At the ARA
conference, a speaker from the University of North Alabama (name unknown) talked
about giving students visuals to keep with them. I feel like this strategy would be
useful for my students as the teacher gives instruction and also the interaction
between one student to another. The last strategy is pronunciation. Teaching
pronunciation a big part of letter recognition. Without good pronunciation
understanding, fluency will become an issue (Hayman). We live in a country with
several types of dialects in which some are hard to grasp. As an educator, this is
something I would like to implement and model in my classroom. There are times
when I am working with a student and M and N almost sound the same. Working

on my pronunciation as the teacher will hopefully make a positive impact on the
students. All of these strategies can be helpful in the classroom when working on
letter recognition with English language Learners.

References
Ferlazzo, L. (2014, November 19). Using Photos with English Language Learners.
Hayman, H. (n.d.). The Importance of Pronunciation. Retrieved from funeasyenglish.com
Perez, B., & Clark, E. (n.d.). The Role of Spelling and Word Knowledge in ELL Literacy

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