A Worked Proposal
A Worked Proposal: Grade 7 Silent Reading
The teacher in this example is a new educator running her first action research cycle. She has been teaching Grade 7 English for one term. Her class is a single section of 32 students.
1. Problem statement
In my Grade 7 English class, students struggle with reading comprehension. On the last chapter test, 18 of 32 students scored below 50 percent on the comprehension section, while almost all of them passed the vocabulary section. I know this because I marked the tests myself and kept a tally by question type.
2. Research question
How does ten minutes of daily silent reading at the start of class affect weekly chapter-quiz comprehension scores among Grade 7 students over six weeks?
3. Research objective
To examine the effect of ten minutes of daily silent reading on weekly chapter-quiz comprehension scores among Grade 7 students over six weeks.
4. Population and sample
Population: all Grade 7 students in my school across the three English sections, total 95 students. Sample: my own section of 32 students, by convenience sampling, because the question is about my own teaching and I cannot run an intervention in another teacher’s section.
5. Variables
Independent variable: ten minutes of daily silent reading at the start of every English class. Dependent variable: weekly chapter-quiz comprehension score, on a five-question, ten-mark quiz. Measurement of the DV: weekly quiz total out of ten, marked against a fixed answer key, plus a one-mark rubric on the inference question. Constants: same teacher, same time slot (8:10 to 9:00 each morning), same textbook, same room, same quiz format. Known confounding variables:
- Variation in decoding skill at baseline. Plan: record a short decoding screen in week 0 and report results separately for fluent and developing decoders.
- Attendance gaps. Plan: log attendance and note any student missing more than two sessions in the analysis.
- Test fatigue across the term. Plan: keep the quiz length stable.
6. Data collection tools
Tool 1: weekly chapter quiz (quantitative), five questions, ten marks, given every Friday. Tool 2: teacher field journal (qualitative), short notes after each lesson, under three minutes per entry. Tool 3: end-of-cycle student questionnaire (mixed), five rated items plus one open item on what the student enjoyed and what was hard.
Pre-intervention data: a one-off comprehension quiz in week 0 using the same format, plus a decoding screen.
7. Intervention plan
For six weeks, the first ten minutes of every English class is silent reading from a graded reader chosen by the student. Students may switch readers at any point. The teacher reads at the front of the class, modeling silent reading. No worksheets or comprehension questions are added during the ten minutes. The intervention happens five days per week, Monday to Friday.
A note for replication: the readers must be at-level. Books that are too hard turn silent reading into pretend reading.
8. Ethics plan
Consent: a one-page letter to parents at the start of term, plain language, with a clear opt-out for any specific data collection. Letters returned signed in week 0. Assent: in week 0 I will explain to the class that I am studying whether silent reading helps comprehension, that nothing in their normal grades changes, and that they can decline to fill in the end-of-cycle questionnaire without any effect on their grades. Do no harm: if any student shows visible distress with silent reading (rare, but possible if reading is a sensitive area), I will offer a quiet writing or drawing alternative without comment. No disadvantage: the intervention is whole-class. Every student gets the same daily silent reading. Privacy: all reporting will use pseudonyms. The quiz scores will be reported in aggregate. The questionnaire responses will be summarized by theme, not student. Right to withdraw: any student or parent may decline the questionnaire or the decoding screen without effect on grades.
9. Timeline
| Week | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0 | Consent letters out and back; baseline comprehension quiz; decoding screen |
| 1 to 6 | Daily silent reading intervention; weekly quiz on Fridays; journal entry after each lesson |
| Mid-cycle (end of week 3) | Short three-item questionnaire on whether students are enjoying it |
| End of week 6 | Post-test comprehension quiz; full end-of-cycle questionnaire |
| Week 7 | Reflection writeup |
10. Reflection plan
I will sit with the data within five days of the post-test. The reflection will answer four questions: what worked, what did not, why, and what should change in cycle 2. I will share a draft with my critical friend, the senior English teacher who teaches another Grade 7 section, before finalizing. The expected cycle-2 change, if comprehension rises only for the fluent decoders, is to pair silent reading with short, structured decoding work for the students who need it.
What this worked proposal shows
Every section depends on the ones above it. The problem statement justifies the question. The question fixes the variables. The variables fix the tools. The tools fix the timeline. The ethics plan and the no-disadvantage design rule out the easy mistakes. The reflection plan commits the teacher to sitting with the data, not just collecting it.
A short card to lock in the habit this whole chapter is about.
