Finally got my answers together for the next chapter. I think this is
such an important chapter because it deals so much with running
records which are my favorite way to get information on my students.
Things to
Consider:
•
What will I use for
my assessments?
At the beginning of
the year I do the following assessments to help me place my students in guided
reading groups.
1.
Phono-Graphix
assessments, this includes 4 separate tests which give me a really good idea of
how my students are at blending, segmenting and manipulating sounds. It also gives me a clear picture of what
letter sounds they know.
2.
Running
Records (last year I used Treasures Benchmark books but I plan to use Fountas
and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment)
3.
IRI from
Treasure
4.
Sight Word
Fluency Assessments (From Treasures)
5.
Treasures
Placement Test
6.
Words
Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory
•
Do you need to
practice taking running records?
Though I have a lot of practice taking
running records I still need to practice coding the correctly.
•
When you finish your
assessments, how will you use that information to group your students?
After I finish my assessments I
have to input all my data into an excel spreadsheet and send it to my principal
and resource team. I then group my
students based on their instructional reading level and use the other
information to make instructional decisions for our first lessons. I also have a very good idea of my student’s
strengths and areas of weakness. Early
in the school year I meet with my principal and resource team to discuss how I
have grouped them and what students should receive extra support. Though getting
all the data put together and input is time consuming it is very beneficial to
have other people look at it in case I missed something.
•
Will you use
comprehension interviews? If not, then
how will your check for understanding?
Since comprehension
interviews are intended for fluent readers I will not be using them to make my
groups. I plan to use the questions that
come with the benchmark books.
•
How often will you do
running records on your students?
I do running records
on my students once every two weeks. I
do these during my guided reading lessons while a student is reading to me from
their leveled reader. I do running
records on benchmark passages at the end of each quarter.
Teacher Questions
from Jan Richardson
•
What assessments
should I use?
•
Running
Records with Comprehension Questions
•
Words
Their Way Primary Spelling Inventory
•
Sight Word
Fluency
•
Phono-Graphix
Assessment
•
Dictated
sentences
•
Why should I take a
running record?
Running Records are extremely
important to me because they help me get a good idea of what my strategies and
skills my students are using. In the
beginning of the year it helps me form my groups and during the year the
information I gather is what I use to pick our next book and create my lesson
plans.
•
Should I introduce
the text used for an assessment?
Yes the
introduction should be brief and only state the title and main idea of the
story. Treasures benchmark books come with
the introduction. I find this very helpful.
•
Should the student
read the text silently first?
Not for a running record, since we get our information from the
children’s errors a silent reading won’t help us understand their
thinking. Cold reads are best for
running records.
•
What if the student
asks for help?
When my students ask for help I tell
them to try their best, I encourage them to use the strategies they’ve learn to
attempt the word. I really don’t like it
when they skip words because I get no idea of what’s going on in their heads when
they read. (Does that make sense? I’m not sure I explained it correctly)
•
How do I assess
comprehension?
I assess my student’s
comprehension by asking them any questions that come with the story. Sometime around November or December I begin
using a graphic organizer to ask them questions, i.e beginning, middle and end
or main idea and supporting detail. I
write down their answers as they tell them to me.
•
How do I know when to
move a student to a higher level guided reading group?
I can normally tell during our lessons because they are moving
through the text easily and with few mistakes.
When I notice this I either ask them to come to the next levels lesson,
privately do a lesson with them on the next group level’s book or do some
running records on higher level books.
It all depends on how much time I have.
Following Jan’s lesson formats though my kids normally move up in book
levels together and don’t shift groups more than four to five times year.
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