Documenting and Assessing Responses to Literature and Comprehension Strategy Use

EDC423

Dr. Julie Coiro

Quick Write: Documenting Responses to Literature

Think about all the different ways that students might respond to the books they read. In the next three minutes, work with a partner to brainstorm as many ways as possible to “document” these reader responses in ways that can improve your teaching and learning.

Documenting Good Teaching and Learning in A Reading Class

Teacher responds to student journal

Mailing labels

Dated to compare over time

Documenting Good Teaching and Learning in A Reading Class

Color-coded stickers on journals

Portfolio – writing samples

Draw a picture and summarize in caption

During reading summaries/monitoring

Student checklists and reflections to help set goals

Selecting main ideas/quotes & reflection

Today’s Learning Objectives

1. Identify principles of assessment in response-based reading programs 2. Describe what and how you would document reading performance and growth over time (in a response-based program) 3. Practice documenting response type and comprehension strategy use in student journal entries and using this data to inform your feedback and instruction4. ** See the connections between these ideas and your lesson plans (response objectives, assessment ideas, rubrics, etc)

Principles of Assessment

The purpose of response-based assessment is to improve teaching and learning.

Assessment should be consistent with curricular goals (individual choice, interests, and performance over time) to create lifelong learners, not just good test-takers.

Response-based assessment should involve multiple perspectives and sources of data (e.g., reader response portfolio - p. 441-442)

Patterns of Response to Literature (beginning of semester)

Hancock, Chapter 1

What should you document in a Reader Response program?

Document program opportunities AND individual student performance (linked to specific book titles over the course of the year)

Listening behavior Contact with Books (browsing, attention, proximity)Impulse to Share (partner read, share/discuss) Actions and Drama (readers theater, role playing) Art, Music, and Constructed Products (draw,cook) Oral Response (retell, lit conversations, prompts) Written Response (response journals, adapting writing using literature models)

Hancock p. 421 and 423

How might you document reader response?

Response Checklists - p. 421 and 423 Teacher Anecdotal Records - observations (stickies, mailing labels) accumulated by date (pair with students’ personal reflections over time)Daily reading logs (track # and type of books) Literature Circle Conversations (peer and self evaluation) - see also “Grand Conversations” Literature response files (track varied types of responses) – Visual graph of strategy use – Subjective guidelines about quality of response (p. 424 and p.

430)

Literature Response Journals – contain elements of…

Personal meaning-making responses– Monitoring understanding – I see that…– Making inferences – I think..– Making, validating, or invalidating predictions – I predict …– Expressing wonder or confusion – I wonder…

Character and plot involvement– Character interaction – 1st person – If I were him…– Character assessment/judgment – That character is..– Story Involvement – pos/neg reactions as the plot unfolds…

Literary evaluation– Literary criticism – author’s craft or style

EXTRA: Hancock article (1993) – see p. 472 for guidelines

Literature Response Journals (Hancock, 2008, p. 278-279)

How do you begin to design literature journal prompts? – Experiential prompts (connect to personal

experiences) – Aesthetic prompts (emotional interactions and

character feelings) – Cognitive prompts (inferences, M&MDAVIS)– Interpretative prompts (personal judgment

about meaning/message & characters) Consider these ideas for your “response objective” and center activity in your lesson plans!

Activity: Documenting Response and Strategy Use in Literature Journals

1. Trade your Book Activity 9 (Running Out of Time journal entries) with a partner 2. Look for evidence of Hancock’s response categories (Pers Meaning, Char/Plot, Lit Eval); code all in the margin with PM, CP, and/or LE3. Look for evidence of M&MDAVIS strategy use; code all strategies in the margin with a single letter for each4. Note patterns of individual readers; Then write a short summary of observations in your own notebook and what you might teach next

5. Discuss patterns across the group as a whole

Coding Categories for Literature Response Journals

PM: Personal meaning-making responses – Monitoring understanding– Making inferences– Making, validating, or invalidating

predictions– Expressing wonder or confusion

CP: Character and plot involvement– Character interaction or

assessment/judgment– Story Involvement

LE: Literary evaluation– Literary criticism

Hancock article (1993)

Comprehension Strategy UseM: MonitoringMC: Making connectionsD: Determining Impt. IdeasA: Asking QuestionsV: VisualizingI: InferencingS: Summarizing

Kelly & Clausen Grace (2008)

Documenting Response Diversity and Strategy Use

7

8

2

2

3

5

5

7

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

0

3

1

4

3

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

3

0

PMPers

Mon

CPChar

Plot

LELit

Eval

Mon MC DI Ask Vis Inf Sum

How would this data inform the feedback you give to a particular student? What you teach next? To whom?

Documenting Response Diversity and Strategy Use

5

8

3

4

0

1

0

3 4

4

8

5

5 4

0

1

0

5

4

3

7

1

4

PMPers

Mon

CPChar

Plot

LELit

Eval

Mon MC DI Ask Vis Inf Sum

How would this data inform the feedback you give to a particular student? What you teach next? To whom?

Documenting Response Diversity and Strategy Use

5

6

2

3

3

5

1

0

0

0

0

1

7

4

4

1

0

1

1

2

2

0

0

1

1

1

1

0

1

1

PMPers

Mon

CPChar

Plot

LELit

Eval

Mon MC DI Ask Vis Inf Sum

How would this data inform the feedback you give to a particular student? What you teach next? To whom?

Homework

Tues, Nov. 23 – Read Ch. 8 (Multicultural/International Lit)– *** Hand In Lesson Plan

Nov. 30: MEET WITH YOUR GROUP! for projectsRead Ch. 12 (Responding with drama, art, and music) Study for Quiz #2 (Nov. 19)

Dec. 2: Quiz, Work on Book Festival Projects (if needed)

Dec. 7 and 9: – Book Activity 11: International Children’s Digital Library– Book Activity 12: Poster Presentation