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1.StudentandTeacherFriendlyAssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders7thAnnualWesternCanadianFirstNationsAdministratorsEducationSymposiumEnochCreeNation,March9,10,11,2011DouglasB.Rogers,Ed.D.StudentLearningAssessmentandPerformanceMeasuresLeadFirstNationStudentSuccessProgramKwayaciiwinEducationResourceCentreAfterMarch31,2011:LiteracyEducationDirector,[email protected]
Theelementaryschoolmustassumeasitssublimeandmostsolemnresponsibilitythetaskofteachingeverychildinittoread.Anyschoolthatdoesnotaccomplishthishasfailed.
WilliamJohnBennett[S]1
Teachersmustunderstandhowchildrenlearntoreadandwritetoassesschildrenandadaptinstructionforfastestprogress.Achildwilllearntoreadandwritebetterifeveryonesignificantinthatchildslifecanarticulatehiscurrentreadingandwritingperformanceandhowhecanimprove,andbyeveryone,Imeanhisteachers,parents,andhimselffrombeforehebeginsJKthroughhighschool.Ihopethatbytheendofthispresentationyouwillfeelpreparedtohelpthepeopleinyourcommunitytodothis.Rightnow,manyteacherssaythattheyarehelpingchildrenlearntoreadbypracticingbalancedliteracy,butthatviewpointhasasignificantweaknessasaninstructionalperspective:Itdoesnotexplainhowchildrendevelopreadingability.DrawingontheworkofJeanChall(1966),balancedliteracypractitionerspositthatchildrenmovethroughstages,buttheviewpointdoesnotsayhow,anditisclearthatfromveryearlytheirlives,childrenshowthattheyhavelearnedtoreadsomeindividualwords:Atoddlerridingwithhisfamilyrecentlyspokeupfromhiscarseat.Speakingthelongestsentencehecouldmake,hesaid,WantfriesashegazedatthetopofatallpoleatthegoldenarchesadvertisingaMcDonaldsrestaurant.[S]And,oncethatwordislearned,childrenwillrememberitalifetime,orleastuntilastrokeordegenerativebraindiseaserobsthemofthestorageorroutetothatword.Itsnotthatbeginnerreadersareatadifferentstage;theyjustcantreadmanywords,yet.Thereisonemorewaythatbeginnerreadersdifferfrommaturereaders,andwelladdressthatlater.Muchofwhatbalancedliteracyenthusiastssayaboutreadingiswrong!Practitionerssaythattheycanteachcomprehension,butcomprehensionisanexperience.ToddlerDanecertainly1
Inthishandout,[S]and[pt]indicatewhenIshowanewslideoranewpointonaslidewhenpresentingthepaper.
2.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.2seemedabletounderstandthethreatofmonsterswhenIreadWheretheWildThingsAre.FourtotssatinfrontofmeasIperformedthestory,makingsuretheycouldseethepictures.Danewastransfixedwhenhesawthefirstpaintingofthemonsters.DanewasabiterattheECEcentre,andhismomreportedthathefoughtalotwithhisolderbrother,apreschooler.Infact,momreported,theyhadtoletDaneusethebroominthefightstoevenupthematches.AsIreadmoreofthestory,Danegotuponhishaunchesandleanedtowardthebook.IflashedonanimageofNeanderthalsaroundacampfire.Suddenly,Danerushedforward,andclawedatthemonstersonthepageofthebook,thenhastilyretreatedtohisspotonthecarpet.Nobodyhadtoteach20montholdDanetovisualize,predict,orinfer.ThebalancedliteracyadvocatescouldbelabeledSkillists:Theyseecomprehensionascomprisedofskillsthatmustbetaught(e.g.,Miller,2002).Eruditionistssaythatevenveryyoungbabiesarealreadythinkingwell,buttheydontknowmuch(e.g.,Hirsch,2003;HirschandPondiscio,2010).LookattheseobservationsfromDebraBlacksreviewofthePhilosophicalBaby:[S]"Wevediscoveredveryyoungchildrenevenbabieshavepowerfullearningmechanismssuchastheabilitytodostatistics,doexperimentsanduselogic.Theyhelpthemdeterminewhattheworldislike.Oneofthebasicquestionsishowdowegettruthabouttheworld.Well,wehavebrainsthatevenasyoungchildrenaredesignedtoletusfindoutthetruth(2009).Aninfantshownatoytraintravellingacirclethroughatunnelisfascinatedatfirstbutsoonlosesinterest.Butiftheexaminerstopsthattraininthetunnel,thebabydoesadoubletake.Clearlytheinfanthaspredictedthatthetrainwillexitthetunnel.Ateachertoldmeastoryrecentlythatshowsthatthedifferencesbetweenthethinkingofadultsandchildrenislessadifferenceofthinkingskillsthanhowmuchtheyknow.Achildliketheladinthestorythatfollowshasnotlikelybeenreadstoriesaboutfarms,certainlynevervisitedone.Hereshowaguidedescribedhisfirstmomentsonthefarm.[S]BeforeIwasateacher,Iusedtoworkonafarmgivingfieldtripstoclasses.Iwouldtakeclassesthroughthefarm,teachingabouttheanimals,theroleofthefarm,thefarmcommunity,etc.,andthenwewouldpickpumpkinsoutinthefieldandgoonanaturehikeinthebackforest.SincewewerejustinthegreenbeltoutsideofToronto,wedidgetmanygroupsfromthecity.Oneday,Ihadakindergartenclassfromdowntowntakethebusup.Iknewrightawaythatthekidsdidnthavemuchexperienceonafarmwhentheysteppedoffofthebus,soItriedtomakeeverythingreallyaccessibleforthem.Whenwegottothecow,Ibegantotalkaboutitgivingthemfactsabouttheanimalascluesastoitsidentity,andasIdidInoticedonekidseyesgettingbig.WhenIaskedifanyoneknewwhattheanimalwas,hestartedwavinghishandfrantically.NowyouhavetopicturethedayitwasOctober,soabitchillyandthecowsbreathwasfoggingup.Thiskid,too,wasstandingrightupnearthefence,starringdirectlyupatthecowthattoweredoverhim.Nooneelsehadanyclue,soIchosehim."IknowIknow!Itsadragon!"heshoutedcompletelywideeyed.Sincestartingkindergarten,hehadheardstoriesaboutdragons,andhemadeaprettygoodguessthatthismightbeone,too.Eruditionistsbelievethatthemaindifferencebetweensomeonewhoknowsalmostnothingabout,sayreadingeducation,andsomeonewhospeaksatconferencesis10,000hoursofqualityinstructionandstudy.Thisladmaybejust9,999hoursawayfromlecturingonthepreventionofmadcowdisease.
3.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.3TeachersworkingfromtheSimpleViewofReading[S],thedominanttheoryofhowpeopleread,aimtoconsiderbothhowwellchildrenarelearningtorecognizeandspellsinglewordsandhowwelltheycanunderstandandwritetext.Readingcomprehensionissimplytheproductofonesproficiencyinwordrecognitionandoneslisteningcomprehension(Aaron,Joshi,Gooden,&Bentum,2008;Coltheart,2006;RobertsandScott,2006;GoughandTunmer,1986).Learningtoreadisreallyjustlearningtounderstandlanguageweseeratherthanhear(Rose,2006).[S]Knowingwhathappensinthebrainhelpsusassessandteachliteracybetter.HereswhattheydidntshowyouinteacherscollegeorinadditionalPDyouhaveparticipatedin.[S]AquickglanceatthistimelineMaryanneWolfhascreatedshowsusthathumanbeingsstoreeachmeaning,pronunciation,andspellingofawordindifferentplacesinthebrainandactivateelaboratecellassembliestoconnectallthisinformationasmoreinformationcomesinthroughtheretinaoftheeye,allinthequartersecondthatittakestoreadthewordwefocuson(Wolf,2008,p.144).Onceweactivatethemeaningofawordwesee,wehaveaccessedthesamelanguagesystemweusetounderstandawordwehear.
Thatsmaturereading,viathedirectroute.Letslookmorecloselyatanotherrepresentationofthedirectroutetoreadingasingleword(Rose,2006,p.86).
4. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.4
WehaveasimpletesttomeasurehowwellastudentcanreadwordsdirectlyandIllshowyouthatmomentarily.Butwhatifyoucantreadawordviathedirectroute?Youllhavetousethephonologicalrecodingornonlexicalroute.Youlearnedanewwordthiswayrecently.Letmetestyouonit:[S][pt]TahrirSquare.Stillsoundingitout?Ididntthinkso.Thisistheotherwaythatbeginnerreadersdifferfrommaturereaders:Beginnerreadersarenotyetskilledatsoundingoutwords.Theydontknowlettersoundcorrespondencesaswellnorhowtoblendsoundstogetherforawholeword.Andwehaveatestofabilitytorecodefromtheprintedformofawordtoitsspokenformandconnecttoitsmeaning.Letstestyourrecodingabilityrightnow.[SofPretestofDecodingMastery]Thatsitthedualroutetowordrecognitionnotthetriplerouteorthequadrupleroute.Butthebalancedliteracypeoplerecommendtrainingchildrentousefourcueingsystemstorecognizewordsinprint(Clay,1985;ClayandCazden,1990;citedinRose,2006).Theybelievethatwhenchildrenhesitatetoreadormisreadawordthatteachersshouldencouragechildrentotryagaintoreadthewordafterusingthesesocalledcueingsystemsbyaskingquestionslike,Doesthatmakesense?(toencourageuseofsemanticcueingsystem),Doesthatsoundright?(toencourageuseofsyntacticorgrammaticalcueingsystem),Couldthewordyoureadlooklikethat?(toencourageuseofthevisualcueingsystem),andCouldthewordbespelledthatway?(toencouragetheuseofthephonologicalcueingsystem).Aswellseeshortly,thesciencesuggeststhatwecanhelpchildrenreadandunderstandbetterfollowingadifferentprocedurewhenchildrenmisreadaword.
5.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.5Sonowyouhaveatheorybasedonresearchanditwillreallyhelpyouassessandteachlanguageartsbetter.Itwillshow,concretelyandinenoughdetailthatyouwillleavethepresentationfeelingthatyouhaveanuptodate,scientific,evidencebasedunderstandingofhowtoassessstudentstohelpthemreadandwritebetter,fromJKtograde12.Letslookatwhatreallymakeskidsbetterdecodersandbettercomprehenders.Tohelpstudentsunderstandincreasinglysophisticatedtext,themainwaywecanhelpthemlearnaboutanewtopicistoensurethattheybeginwithmaterialthattheycanlargelyunderstandalreadysothattheycanlearnalittlenewmaterialatatime.Towardtheendofthepresentationwelllookathowtopromotethedevelopmentoflinguisticcomprehension.ButuntilstudentscanreadthewordsonthePretestofDecodingMastery,themoreimportantjobinliteracyinstructionwillbetohelpthestudentlearntoreadsinglewords.Throughoutourassessment,then,wewillconsiderbothhowwellthestudentisdevelopingwordrecognitionandlisteningcomprehensionorverbalknowledge.Readingdiagnosis,then,explores[S]
currentreadingperformance(wordrecognitionandreadingcomprehension),
listeningcomprehension,and
relatedfactorsthatwemayhavetotakeintoaccountinreadinginstruction(e.g.,
autism,hyperactivity,intellectualdeficit,depression,attitudetowardschool,andso
forth).Analogously,writingassessmentexplores[S] handwriting,
spelling, conventionsofstandardwrittenEnglish,
listeningcomprehension, genrewriting,and
relatedfactors.Thisapproachtolanguageartsassessmenthasfourfeaturesimportanttorealizingmyaimtohelpthestudentslearntoreadandwritewell:[S]1.
Teacherscanlearnquicklyhowtoimplementtheassessmenttostudentsfromjunior
kindergartenthroughhighschool.2.
Thecostsofimplementingtheassessmentaremodest.3.
Teachersneedlittletimetoconductlanguageartsassessmentsofalltheirstudents,
startingwiththosemostatriskoffailingtolearntoreadandwrite.4.
Theassessmentshowsstudents,parents,andteacherspreciselytheinstructionand
practicethatwillleadtoeachstudentslearningtoreadandwritebetter,faster.Theassessmentprocedureispresentedchronologicallyfromyoungertoolderstudents,butonceteachersarefamiliarwithimplementingit,theywillbeabletoproceedmorequickly
bychangingtheorderoftestingandomittingsomeparts.IwilltellyouhowyoucangetcopiesofthematerialsIshowyoutodaysothat,ifyoucareto,youcanbegintoimplementtheassessmentimmediately:[S]
6. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.6
EnvironmentalPrintReadingTest(Rogers,2011)
KnowledgeofTextConventionsSubtest(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
AlphabetKnowledgeSubtest(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
SanDiegoQuickAssessment(LaPrayandRoss,1969)
leveledreaderstodetermineindependentandinstructionalreadinglevels
BasicSightWordTest(Dolch,1942) RogersPhonicsTest(2011)
PretestofDecodingMastery(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
FundamentalCodePhonicsSubtest(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
VariantsCodePhonicsSubtest(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
PhonemicAwarenessSubtest(RogersPhonicsTest,2011)
leveledreaderstodeterminelisteningcomprehensionlevel
ReadingComprehensionExplorationTest(Rogers,2011)
OntarioWritingExemplarsProject(OntarioMinistryofEducation,1999)WritingAssessmentDetermineEachStudentsCurrentReadingAbility[S]Tobegintoexplorewhetherweshouldpayparticularattentiontothewordrecognitionorlisteningcomprehensionaspectsofreadingorbothwestartthereadingdiagnosisbyassessingthestudentscurrentabilitytoreadsinglewords.Ifthestudenthasjustbegunjuniorkindergarten,orifyouknowthatthestudentisabeginnerreader,beginbyadministeringtheEnvironmentalPrintReadingTest.[S][Seehandout.]TheEnvironmentalPrintReadingTest[pt]isasimpletooltohelpateacherdetermineifaparticularstudenthaslearnedtoreadanywordssofar.Simplyaskthestudenttolookoverthe3pagetestandreadanywordsherecognizes.Ifthestudentcanreadaword,hecanlearntoreadmore,andthosewordscanbeusedtoteachtherecognitionofmoreprintedwords.Ifthestudentdoesntseemtoreadawordyettheteachercantryteachingone,pickingawordprominentinthechildsenvironmentandimportanttohim.Ifastudentseemstoreadfewornowords,theassessmentshouldexploreotherearlyaccomplishmentsinlearningtoreadandwrite.AdministertheKnowledgeofTextConventionsSubtest[S]fromtheRogersPhonicsTesttoexplorehowwellthestudentislearningthemeaningofwordsteachersuseastheyteachchildrentoreadandwrite.Thesubtestalsorevealsifthestudenthaslearnedwhereonapagetobegintoreadandotherinformationcrucialtoprogress.Thestudentisshownapagesimilartothis[S]wordAHereisasentence.____________________________________________Onceuponatime,threepigswentoutintotheworld.Thefirstpigdecidedtobuildhimselfahouseofstraw.Thesecondpigdecidedtobuildherselfahouseofsticks.Thethirdpigdecidedtobuildherselfahouseofbricks.Theexaminerqueriesthestudentlikethis[S]
Pointwithyourfingerataletterthatisallbyitself. 7.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.7
Pointtothewordthatisallbyitself. Pointtoasentence.
Showmewheretobegintoreadhere.[Touchintothemiddleofthetextbelowthelineonthestudentcopy.]
IfIreadthiswordfirst[touchthewordOnce],showmethewordsIwouldreadnext
WhenIgethere,[Touchtheendofthefirstline],pointtowhereIshouldgotoreadmore.TheteachercanalsoadministertheAlphabetKnowledgeSubtest[S]oftheRogersPhonicsTesttoassessifthestudentcannameandwritethelettersofthealphabet,becausedoingsoiscrucialtolearningtoreadandwrite.Studentsshouldformeachletterquickly,automatically,andlegibly,thesamewayeverytime.Teachersneedtoknowhowwelltheirstudentscanhandwritebecausestudentswilllearnphonicsfasteriftheycanwriteforthelessonsorexplorationsthattheteacherprovides.Whenateachersuspectsorknowsthatachildcanalreadyreadsomewords,[S]shecanstartthereadingdiagnosisbyaskingthestudenttoreadasimplegradedwordlist,liketheSanDiegoQuickAssessment[pt](LaPrayandRoss,1969),to[S]quicklybegintolearnthemostimportantinformation:Whatisthedifficultyleveloftextthatthestudentcanreadrelativelyeasily,makingthetextsuitableforinstructionaluseor,indeed,theleveloftextthestudentcanreadveryeasily,makingthetextsuitableforreadingindependently?[Wewanttoidentifytextthatthestudentcanreadeasilybecausereadingalotoftexteasilyisapowerfulwaytolearntoreadbetter(Allington,2006)].Hereisthegrade6list:
bridge commercial abolish trucker apparatus elementary comment
necessity gallery
relativityFollowtheseprocedurestoadministertheSanDiegoQuickAssessment,
Beginningwithalisttwogradesbelowthestudentsclassplacement,askthestudentto
readaloudeachwordonalist.
Gotoeveneasierlists,ifnecessary,untilastudentreadsallthewordscorrectly.
OntheTeachersCopy,recordphoneticallyallmisreadings.
Stopthetestingwhenthestudentmakesthreeerrorsonalist.TheresultsoftheSanDiegoQuickAssessmenttentativelyidentifythestudentscurrentreadingachievementlevels:[S]
Astudentsindependentreadinglevelisthegradelevelofthehardestlistonwhichhe
misreadsoneorfewerwords.
Astudentsinstructionalreadinglevelisthegradelevelofthelistonwhichhemisreads
twowords. 8. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.8
Astudentsfrustrationreadinglevelisthegradelevelofthelistonwhichhemisreadsthreewords.Suchresultsgivecrude,tentativeestimatesofinstructionalandindependentreadinglevels,sotheteacherwillwanttodeterminemorepreciselythebooklevelastudentcanreadinstructionallyandindependently.DetermineBookReadingLevels(instructionalandindependentreadinglevels)toMatchReaderswithTextofAppropriateDifficultyTeacherscanaskstudentstoreadshortbooksfromasetoflevelledreaders[S]likethoseavailableatwww.readingaz.comorpassagesfromaninformalreadinginventory(IRI)topreciselymatchthecurrentreadingabilityofastudenttoreadingmaterialofjusttherightdifficultylevel.Studentswillreadmoreiftheycanreadeasily.
Anassessmentofinstructionalandindependentreadinglevelsismorereliablewhenit
isbasedonreadingtext,notjustisolatedwordsonalist.Theteacherwillalsocodethe
studentsoralreadingmistakestounderstandhowthestudentattemptstoreadsingle
wordsviaboththedirectrouteaccessingthemeaningoftheworddirectlyfromits
printedformandtheindirectroutesoundingoutthewordsothat,ifitisinthe
studentslisteningvocabulary,itwillactivatethemeaning.Thisinformationwillbe
usefulintweakinginstructioninwordrecognition.Theteacheralsoasksquestionsto
probehowwellthestudentunderstandsthepassage,lookingforinformationusefulto
helpingthestudentdevelopgreaterunderstanding.Directthestudenttoreadalouda
bookbelowthelevelthattheSanDiegoQuickAssessmentidentifiedasherinstructional
readinglevel.YoucanusethehandoutBookLevelComparisonChartforreadinga
z.comandOtherLevelingSystemspleaseseeattachmenttochooseabookthatthe
studentcanprobablyreadprettyeasily,whichiswhereyouwanttostartsoyoudonot
discouragethestudent.TheLearningAZorganizationprovidesbooksthatcanbeusedforassessmentfromwhenstudentsarejustbeginningtoreaduntiltheycanreadintroductorymaterials,atleast,aboutanytopic.
Gotowww.readingaz.comandsignupforafreetrialaccount.
Onceyoureonthesite,clickontheASSESSMENTtabatthetopofthescreen.
UnderthebluefilefoldertabLevelAssessment,thesecondtabontheleftsideof
yourscreen,chooseBenchmarkBooks.
Scrolldowntothelevelwiththebooksyouwant,andclickonafictionornonfiction
BenchmarkBook.
Underthegreenletteringontherightsideofyourscreen,BookResources,clickon
SingleSidedColorBook(underBookOptions),andprintit.Nowyouhaveacopyof
awholebook.Or,underProjectableResources,chooseProjectableBook.
Atthispoint,youmaywishtoclosethebookafterprinting,andchoosetoprinttwomoredocumentsunderLessonResources:RunningRecordForm,onwhichyoucanrecordthestudentsoralreading,andBenchmarkQuickCheck,afewquestionsyoucanaskthestudenttogaugehiscomprehension.TheBenchmarkQuickCheckisalsoavailableforviewingonacomputermonitororviaaprojector.
9.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.9Werecommendthisproceduretodetermineastudentsinstructionalandindependentreadinglevels:
Asthestudentreadsaloudthepassage,recordonacopyofthereadingthechilds
readingerrorsremember:readingaz.comprovidesforeachbenchmarkbooka
convenientversionofthetextonwhichtocodethestudentsoralreadingbehaviour
bycirclingwordsheomits,insertingacaretmarkandwritingoutanywordthestudent
addstothetext,writingaboveeachmistakeaphoneticrepresentationofthatword
attempt,andbracketingtextyoureadforthestudentafterhepausedformorethana
fewseconds.(Youmayalsowanttounderlinetextthestudentrepeatsandputacheck
markorscbesideanywordsinitiallyreadincorrectlybutselfcorrected,butdontcount
theseaserrors.)Youmaynotneedthestudenttoreadanentirelongbook.Afterthe
studentreadsaminimumof100words,youcoulddirectthestudenttocompletethe
booksilentlyandaskthequestionswhenhesfinishedbut,generally,themoreoral
readingyouassess,themoreyoulearnthatcanhelpyoudifferentiateinstruction.
Donttakethetimetodeterminetheuseofcueingsystemsbecausegoodreadersdont
guesswordsmuchandwhentheyareunabletodirectlyaccessthemeaningofthe
word,theyarecapableofphonologicallyrecodingawordtoitsspokenform.Indeed,
poorreadersrelyoncontextmorethangoodreadersandguessingwordsisseldom
successful(Torgesen,Wagner,andRashotte,1999,p.4).Goodreaderstendtouse
contextasacheckonreadingaccuracy.Thismonitoringofcomprehensionoccursvery
rapidlyautomaticallywiththeeyessometimesjumpingback(regressing)tolook
morecloselyattextreadpreviously.
Askthestudentquestionstoestimatethestudentscomprehension.(Underthe
readingaz.comtabAssessment,clickonListofBenchmarkQuizzestofind
comprehensionquestionsforeachtextyouuseinyourassessment.)
Calculatethepercentageofwordsreadcorrectlyandthepercentageofcomprehension
questionsansweredcorrectly.
Continueaskingthestudenttoreadtextsfromhigherbooklevelsuntilthestudent
readswithlessthan95%correctwordrecognitionoranswersfewerthan70%ofthe
comprehensionquestions.Thatlevelrepresentsthestudentsfrustrationreadinglevel.
Identifytheinstructionalreadinglevel(i.e.,thehighestlevelatwhichthestudentreads
thewordswithbetween95and97%successandanswersthequestionswithatleast
70%accuracy).
Identifytheindependentreadinglevel(i.e.,thehighestbooklevelthatthestudent
readswithatleast98%wordaccuracyand70%comprehension).Beginnerreadersmay
havenoindependentreadinglevel:Theywilllearnbestifalltheirreadingissupported
byinstruction.[S]Theimmediate,practicaluseoftheoralreadinganalysisisthatateachercanassignreadingthatwillhelpthestudentbecomeastrongerreaderthroughindependentreadingandknowpreciselythereadabilityoftextsuitableforguidingthestudentsreading.[pt]Theinformationisalsousefultoconsiderinformationusefultohelpingthestudentdobetterlexicalandnonlexicalwordrecognitionandtodecidehowtohelpthestudentdevelopintoabettercomprehender.[pt]Hereisasummaryofthewordrecognitionaccuracyandcomprehensionthatsignalastudentsindependentandinstructionalreadinglevels:
10. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.10
Thehighestreadabilityleveloftextthestudentcanreadwithatleast98%wordrecognitionishisindependentreadinglevel
Thehighestreadabilityleveloftextthestudentcanreadwithatleast95%wordrecognitionishisinstructionalreadinglevel
Poorerperformancewillfrustratethestudent.RichardL.Allington(2009)presentsconvincingevidencethatreadingmoretextattheindependentleveleasilypermitsfastestprogress,concludingHighlevelsofreadingaccuracyproducethebestreadinggrowth(p.46).[S]Ehri,Dreyer,Flugman,andGross(2007)describeafineexperimentthatleadsthemtofavourlotsofeasyreadingastheroutetoreadingbetter:[S]ThereadingachievementofstudentswhoreceivedReadingRescuetutoring[aprogramthatemphasizedlotsofeasyreadingandphonicslessons]appearedtobeexplainedprimarilybyoneaspectoftheirtutoringexperiencereadingtextsatahighlevelofaccuracy,between98%and100%(p.441).Further,[S]Thesefindingsindicatethathightextreadingaccuracyduringtutoringwasthestrongestpredictorandtheonlyuniquepredictorofstudentsreadingachievementattheendoffirstgrade(p.440).Thisstudyshowsthis;sodoesotherworkgoingbackdecades,includingBettsworkquantifyingtheoriginaldesignationsofindependentandinstructionalreadinglevelsfrom1949!Theresnodoubtthatthemarvelous,parallelprocessingbrainschildrenusetoreadtheirfirsttextdoattendtosenseandgrammarastheyread,buttheseprocesseslargelyoccurbelowconsciousness.Perhapsthereasonwhythereissolittleevidencefortheefficacyofteachingcueingsystemsisthatthepracticereducesthetimethatteachershelpchildrenreadtext,andthattimeontaskisthemostimportantfactorinhelpingchildrenreadbetter.Establishingtheindependentreadinglevelusingonelevellingsystemcanhelpateacherfindothermaterialthatachildcanalsoreadeasily.AsSingerpointedoutyearsago(1975),ifthestudentorteacherexaminesasampleoftextidentifiedasappropriateforindependentreading,aneyeballestimatewillbegoodenoughtorecognizeotherreadingmaterialofsimilardifficulty.Teacherscanalsoseekreadingmaterialofappropriatereadabilitybyreferringtoachartthatshowsthedifferentdesignationsofseveralbooklevelingsystemsforbooksofcomparablereadability.Oneofthebestkindsofinstructionalreadinghelpishelpingastudentreadinstructionalleveltextorevenindependentleveltext.Howcanatutorbesthelpastudentwhilehereadseasytext?[S]Whenhemakesanerror,correctitandhavehimsaythewordandrereadthesentence(HeubuschandLloyd,1998).GrossenandCarnine[S](1990)saythateveryoralreadingerrorshouldbecorrected,notjusttheonesthatalterthemeaningp.18).[S]Afterhereadsthepassageorshortbook,studyeachwordmisreadbytalkingabouthowthelettersspellthesoundsofthewordandreadingthewordseveraltimes(Stuart,2003,p.3).[S]Thenthestudentshouldrereadthebookforfurtherexperiencereadingwithhighwordrecognitionaccuracy(Allington,2009).Howcanweensureourstudentsdogreateramountsofeasyreading?[S]
11. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.11
Matcheachstudentwithtexthecanreadeasilyandarrangeforlotsofreading,includinghavingstudentsreadintrios,assigningtextthattheweakestreaderofthetriocanreadeasily.
Arrangeforstudentstoreadtoabuddy.
Encouragestudentstoreadtoparentsandvolunteers.Doyoufindithardtobelievethatreadingmustbesoeasyforchildrentomakeoptimalprogress?ConsidersomeinformationAllingtonpresents(2009,pp.5152).Wouldyouwanttoreadabookwhereyouhadtostruggletoreadwordseverypage?ReadingtheSecretLifeofBeesat99%wordrecognitionaccuracywouldmeanthatin300pagesyouwouldencountermorethan1000wordsthatyoucouldntreadcorrectlyoronlybyslowingtodecode![S][pt]AchildreadingtheMagicSchoolBusserieseachbookisabout40pageslongwith95%wordrecognitionaccuracywouldencounter250wordsthathecouldntreadeasily![pt]Evenat99%wordrecognitionaccuracy,hewouldstillmeetalmost50wordshardtoread,ifhecouldreadthematall!DeterminetheStudentsAbilitytoReadWordsonSightandtoSoundThemOutIfthestudentisreadingbelowthefourthgradelevel,theteachershouldlookcloselyathisabilitytoreadsinglewords.[S]Progressinreadingisinhibitedaslongasstudentscannotreadmostwordsdirectlyandquickly.IfastudentoftenmisreadsthemostcommonwordsofEnglish,[S]manyofwhicharelessphoneticallyregularthanmanyEnglishlanguagewords,theteacherwillwanttotakeacloserlook.AdministertheBasicSightWordTestlistofhighfrequencywordstoshowwhetherastudentneedsadditionalhelpinlearningtoreadthesecommonwords(Dolch,1942).[PleaseseethehandoutBasicSightWordTest,whichpresentsafivelevelversionoftheBasicSightWordTestforeasyrecordingbytheteacher.]HerearethetenmostcommonlyprintedEnglishwords:
the to and a I you it in said
forSimplyaskthestudenttoreadeachword,beginningwiththepreprimerlistoraPowerPointpresentationofthosewords.Whenthestudentmakesanerror,youmaywishtowritethechildsreadingerrorphoneticallytoconsiderlaterhowwellhecanrecodewordsfromtheprintedformtothespokenform,butyouareprimarilyinterestedinlearninghowwellthestudentcanrapidlyreadthemostcommonwordsofthelanguage.Noteifthechildreadsthewordsslowlybecausereadersneedtoreadthemrapidly.
12.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.12Howcommonarethesewords?The100mostcommonwordsmakeupabout50%ofEnglishprintedmaterials,andthe220mostcommonwordsontheBasicSightWordTestcompriseperhapstwothirdsoftherunningtextinacommunitynewspaper.TheDolchwordsareamongthefirstthatastudentdoesandshouldbeabletoreaddirectly,thatisviathedirectroute,thelexicalroute,towordrecognition(Coltheart,2006).TheBasicSightWordTestisidentifiedasalistofwordsthatchildrenshouldknowbyearlygrade3.ThatmayhavebeentruewhenEdgarDolchcompiledhislistin1936,butmanynowexpectthatstudentscanreadallthesewordsbytheendofgrade1.Ifstudentsaretolearnall220wordsduringthe35weeksofaschoolyear,theymustlearnslightlymorethan6wordsaweek,notanunrealisticgoal,especiallyifthereislotsofeasyreadinggoingonintheclassroomandteachersuseawordwallforstudyanddrillordisplaytheliststhemselvesandensurethatstudentsknowwhytheyreworkingtoreadthesewords.[S][S]Suchprocedureswillhelpthestudentdeveloptheabilitytodirectlyactivatethewordmeaningsforeachofthesehighfrequencywords.Ifthestudentoftenmisreadsphoneticallyregularwords,and,again,thisisparticularlylikelyinabeginnerreader,theteachershouldadministertheRogersPhonicsTesttoassessthestudentsphonicsskills(i.e.,knowledgeoflettersoundcorrespondencesandtheabilitytoblendthemtosoundoutaword).Usingthistestallowstheteachertoseehowwellastudentisabletousetheotherprocedureforreadingsinglewords,theroutetowordrecognitionthatweallusewhenwedontrecognizeawordonsight:Wetrytodeterminethespokenformofthewordfromitsprintedform;inotherwords,whenwecantreadawordonsight,wesounditout,wephonologicallyrecodethewordfromprinttospeech(Coltheart,2006);weusethenonlexicalroute,asillustratedearlierbyRose(2006,p.86).[S]TheteachermustdecidewhethertoadministerthePretestofDecodingMastery,thefirstsubtestoftheRogersPhonicsTest,alistofpolysyllabicnonwords(pseudowords)thatarespelledphonetically.[S]IftheteacherknowsthatthestudentisveryunskilledatlookingatawordintheEnglishlanguageandreadingthewordaloudwithacrediblepronunciation,theteachershouldskipaskingthestudenttoreadthePretestofDecodingMastery.Childrenwhocanreadthewordsonthepretestwillalmostcertainlybeabletodecodewordsthatareintheirlisteningvocabulary,evenwhentheyhaveneverpreviouslyreadthem,justaswereadTahrirSquarethefirsttimewesawitinprint.Thepretestisusedonlytoquicklyidentifystudentswhoaresoproficientatusingthephonologicalroutetoreadingsinglewordsthatthereisnoneedtoadministertherestofthephonicstest.Teacherscanfocusonhelpingsuchproficientdecodersincreasetheircomprehensionandabilitytolearnfromtext.Next,theteachershouldadministertheFundamentalCodePhonicsSubtest[S],todetermineifthestudentknowsthemostcommonlettersoundcorrespondencesforourEnglishdialectandcanapplythemtoreadwordswiththemostcommonspellingpatterns(e.g.,sib,slin,nope,andsoforth).[Pleaseseehandout,RogersPhonicsTest.][Thenextfewslidesshowsomedetailsfromthesubtest.]Studentswhoperformperfectlyhavemastered,ornearlymastered,automaticwordrecognition,soteachersshouldadministertheVariantsCodePhonicsSubtest.[S]Simplyaskthestudenttoreadaloudeachwordandrecordphoneticallyallerrors.Everyitemthestudentfailsonthatsubtestindicatesalesscommonlettersoundcorrespondencethatthe
13.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.13studentdoesnotseemtoknowandcannotusetosoundoutwordsand,thus,shouldbeconsideredforexploringorreteaching.Forstudentswhoareunsuccessfulonmanyofthephonicanalysistestitemsorareunabletoreadthebasicsightwords,theteachershouldcontinuetestingbylookingatthechildsphonemicawarenessskills[S]withthePhonemicAwarenessSubtest.[Pleaseseehandout.][Twoslidesshowdetailsfromthissubtest.]Whenstudentshavephonemicawarenesstheycanisolateandmanipulatethesoundsofthelanguage.Althoughrecentresearch(e.g.,Castlesetal,2009)showsthatalphabetknowledge,phonemicawareness,andphonicsarebesttaughtsimultaneously,teachersgainusefulknowledgewhentheyidentifystudentswhoarejustbeginningtohavethisknowledgeandskill.Teacherscan,forexample,helpstudentsimprovetheirspellingofandreadingofwordsandsyllablesbysingingthealphabetsongandlisteningtoalotofalphabetbooksrepeatedly,spellinganddecodingwordsintheconsonantvowelconsonantpattern(e.g.,mat,tas),andreadingdecodablebookswiththephonicelementstaughttodate.StudentswithautomaticwordrecognitionwhocaneasilyreadalltheDolchwords,forexample,andthepseudowordsofthePretestofDecodingMasteryenjoyreadingcasually.ThirdgraderswhocanrecognizeautomaticallyanywordinprintthattheyknowwhentheyhearitorspeakitmayreadahundredAnimorphsbooksoverasummervacation.Otherchildrenwillbeexcitedbyopportunitiestoreadbooks[S]fromtheGoosebumpsorChooseYourOwnAdventuresorMagicSchoolBusorJunieB.Jonesseries.Whenstudentshavestrongwordrecognitionskills,theyfindreadinganinterestingbookforrecreationisaseasyandenjoyableaswatchingaTVsitcomorplayingacomputergame.Theyarereadingcasually,notintendingtoapplytheinformationlearnedwhilereadingoreventorememberitforlong.Rather,theyfocusontheirimmediatesensationsofbeingamusedorfrightenedorsatingcuriosity.DeterminetheStudentsListeningComprehensionLevel[S]Whenstudentsdemonstrateautomaticwordrecognition,teachersmustshiftthefocusofreadingassessmentfromstudentsprogressinlearningtoreadtostudentsabilitytolearnfromreading.Theassessmentfocuswillbecomeconsideringhowwellstudentsunderstandwhattheyhearandreadandhowwelltheycanreadtolearnmoreandexpressthemselvesinprint.TheSimpleViewassertsthatreadingcomprehensionistheproductofastudentsabilitytoreadsinglewordsandhislisteningcomprehension.[S]AsRose(2006)putit,[S]learningtoreadisjustlearningtounderstandlanguageweseeratherthanhear.Juniorkindergartenstudentscanreadveryfewwords,buttheycanunderstandalotoflanguageaboutmanytopicsif,forexample,theylistentosomeonetalkingaboutthesetopics.Ifweassesstheirlinguisticcomprehension,wecandeterminetheleveloftextthattheycouldreadiftheylearnedtoreadtheindividualwords.Weusethesameproceduretoassessthelisteningcomprehensionofkindergartenchildrenaswedoolderstudents:Wesimplyreadpassagesliketheleveledbooksonthereadingaz.comsiteofincreasinglyhigherreadabilityandaskthemtosummarizethemoraskthemquestionsaboutthematerialuntilwefindthehardestpassageforwhichtheycanstilldemonstrateabout70%comprehension.[S]Evenifastudentcandirectlyreadthousandsofwordsandefficientlysoundoutnewwords,hemaystillstrugglewithschoolwork,soateacherwillwanttoconsiderthestudentsabilityto
14.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.14understanddiscourse,includingtext.Onceateacherfindsthehighestreadabilitytextthatastudentcannotadequatelyreadandunderstandthefrustrationlevelatwhichheanswersthequestionswithlessthan70%successshecanlookmorecloselyatwhatisinhibitinghisunderstanding.Whydosomekidsnotunderstandschooltexts?[S]Usethisproceduretofindout:Readthepassageorbooktothestudentandthenaskthequestions.Askthestudenttodefinesomeofthewords.HartandRisley(citedinHirsch,2003,p.16)suggestthatstudentsareunlikelytoadequatelyunderstandareadingpassageunlesstheyalreadyunderstandsome9095%ofthevocabulary.(Hirschexpressesitthisway:[pt]Vocabularyexpertsagreethatadequatereadingcomprehensiondependsonapersonalreadyknowingbetween90and95percentofthewordsinatext.Knowingsuchahighpercentageofwordsallowsthereadertogetthegistofwhatisbeingsaidandthereforetoguesscorrectlywhattheunfamiliarwordsprobablymean.)Tohelpastudentstudyatopicforwhichthetextbookistoohardforthestudenttounderstand,theteacherwouldhavetohelphimfindmoreintroductorytextorothermedia.
Studentswillhavedifficultyunderstandingpassagesontopicsaboutwhichtheyknowlittle.Beforetheycanunderstandsuchmaterials,theywillneedtofillingapsintheirbackgroundknowledge.Thatswhyschoolsmustsupporteverytopicofcurriculawithrichmaterialsaboutthosetopics:DVDs,bookstoreadtostudents,bookskidscanreadthemselvestoresearchtodoandpresentprojects,alltoexplorethisremarkableworldinwhichwelive,alltohelpthemdevelopmoreverbalandnonverbalknowledgeofourworld.Aswesawearlier,helpingtobooststudentscomprehensionisnotteachingthemskills:DanedidntneedanyvisualizationtrainingtoanticipatethatSendaksmonsterscouldmeantrouble.Thehighestreadabilityleveloftextatwhichthestudentcanansweratleast70%ofthequestionsishislisteningcomprehensionlevel.[S]Ifitishigherthanhiscurrentindependentreadinglevel,theteacherknowsthatifshecanhelpthestudentimprovehiswordrecognition,thestudentwillbeabletoreadandunderstandmoreadvancedmaterial.Ifastudentsindependentreadinglevelissixthgradeorhigher,hisgenerallanguagecomprehensionissufficienttolearnaboutanytopicprovidingthathestartswithmaterialatanappropriateintroductorylevelsothathealreadyknowssome90%ofthewordmeaningsofthetext(orotherdiscourse,forthatmatter).DetermineHowtoHelptheStudentReadtoLearn[S]Ifstudentscanrecognizethewordsinthetextreadthemaloud,forexample,withmostlycorrectpronunciationtheywillunderstandthetextatleastaswellastheywouldunderstandifsomeonereadittothem.Theappropriateresponseifstudentscannotunderstandtextthatyouareusingintheirclassroomevenifyoureadittothemistoprovidethemwithmaterialatamoreintroductorylevel.However,thereareotherways,too,thatteacherscanexplorehowstudentsareattemptingtounderstandtextand,possibly,helpthemunderstanditbetter.Toassesshowwellstudentsareabletoreadtexttolearnortoreporttootherssomethingtheyvelearnedasforsituationslikelearningbiologyforahighschoolsciencecreditorreportingprogresstoamanagertheyworkforinabanktheteachermustobservestudentswhiletheyresearch,read,andwrite,andaskthemquestions:ThepointsmadeinthediscussionthatfollowshavebeenincorporatedintotheReadingComprehensionExplorationTest,whichteacherscancompletetonoteastudentscurrent
15.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.15readingperformancetoplanhowtohelpthemlearnevenbetterfromtheirreading.[Seehandout.]Whenthestudentispuzzledwhilereading,doesheroutinelytryhardertounderstand?[S]
Doesthestudentrereadpuzzlingtext?
Doesthestudentskipafewwordstoseeifitmakessensewhenonereadsonabit?
Ifstillpuzzled,doesthestudentseekoutmaterialatamoreintroductorylevel?Doesthestudentshowanunderstandingofhowtolearneffectively?[S]
Doesthestudentpauseinreadingtoaskquestionstodetermineifhehasbeenableto
buildamentalrepresentationofthepassagetopic?Ifhecantvisualizeandsummarize
thetopicwiththeappropriatewords,hehasnotreallyunderstoodorrememberedthe
material.
Doesthestudentuseadictionarytoclarifythemeaningofthepuzzlingwordsinthe
passage?
Doesthestudentseektotalkaboutmaterialreadtobetterunderstandandremember?
Doesthestudenthighlightwhatmustberememberedtolimitmaterialtoreviewfora
testorjusttorememberforlife?
Doesthestudentusemnemonictactics,suchascreatingacronyms,toremember
information(e.g.,RememberingthewordHOMEScanhelponenamethegreatlakes)?
Doesthestudentusestudyprocedures,suchaspreviewingtext,settingquestions
beforereading,tryingtoanswerthequestionsafterreading,andreviewingthetextto
restudypointsstillnotunderstood?
Doesthestudentknowthatheshouldpayvigilantattentionwhenhisteachersteacha
guidedordirectedreadinglessonbeforeassigningreading,thatsuchlessonsmayhelp
himfillinsomeofthebackgroundmaterialandvocabularyhemustknowtomakesense
ofthereading?
Doesthestudentrealizethattherearewaysotherthanreadingtolearninformation
(e.g.,Doesthestudentknowthatifhecannotreadthewords,hecanstilllearnthe
informationifhecangetsomeonetoreadanddiscussthetextwithhim)?
Veryimportantly,doesthestudentunderstandthatifhereadswidelyonmanytopics
hewilllearnmoreinformationandvocabularysothathewillbeabletolistentoorread
moreandmorematerial,includingtextthatisincreasinglysophisticated(Rogers,2002)?
Doesthestudenttakeresponsibilityforstudyingbypracticinggoodstudyhabits(e.g.,
settingasideadequatetimetostudyfortestsandtoprepareprojects)?
Doesthestudentmakenotes,documentsources,makegraphicaids,outline,draft,and
revisewritingasawaytolearn?
Perhapsmostimportantly,doesthestudentknowthatifhecannotunderstandthetext
(orlectureorvideotapedmaterial),hewillbeabletounderstandamoreintroductory
presentationoftheinformationandbegintolearnaboutthetopic?Arationalreadingassessmentwillalsoincludealookatastudentsabilitytolocateinformation(Rogers,1984)[S].Canthestudentsfindthetexthemustreadtolearn?
Teachersshoulddetermineifastudentcanusebookparts,forexample,tofindthetitleofawork,aswellastheauthor,publisher,cityofpublication,edition,copyrightdate,andsoforth.Canthestudentquicklylocateandunderstandthefunctionofbookparts
16.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.16suchaspreface,foreword,introduction,tableofcontents,listoffigures,chapterheadings,subtitles,footnotes,bibliography,glossary,index,andappendices?
Doesthestudentlocateinformationinadictionary(e.g.,useguidewordsandathumbindex,locaterootwords,usethepronunciationguide,selectthewordmeaningappropriatetothepassage)?
Doesthestudentuseencyclopediasandotherreferenceworks?
Doesthestudentuseinformationretrievaltoolssuchasanelectroniccardcataloginalibrary,anonlinedatabase,oranInternetsearchengine?Teacherscanalsoassessstudentsspecificabilitytounderstandthegraphicaidsthatauthorsoftenusetoaugmenttextwhentheytrytocommunicatetheirthoughts.
Doesthestudentreadgraphs,charts,tables,cartoons,pictures,diagrams?Somestandardizedreadingtestsassesssuchskills,butsimplequestioningcanrevealwhetherastudentisskilledatinterpretingsuchgraphicaids[S](Rogers,1984).DetermineHowtoHelptheStudentWriteandWritetoLearnJustasassessingreadingismorepowerfulwhenweassessstudentswhiletheyarereadingwordsandtryingtounderstandtext,theassessmentofwritingwillbemorepowerfulifweobservestudentswhiletheyarewriting.Considerabriefpieceofwritingthatateachermighthelpstudentswriteasearlyaskindergarten.AfterreadingThereWasanOldLadyWhoSwallowedaFly,[pt]theteachergiveseachchildabigpieceofpapershapedlikeastoutlady.[S]Thechildrenareencouragedtobrainstormandwriteapageforanexpandedbookaboutotherthingsthatladymighthaveswallowed.Asthechildrenlearntospellfromcopyingtext,inventingspellingsbasedonmemoriesofthevisualappearanceofthewordandknowledgeoflettersoundcorrespondencesandorthographicpatterns,theteacherscanscrutinizethestudentsworktodecidehowtohelpthemwritebetter.BooksthatwereadtochildrencanoftenleadtointerestingwritingprojectsforevenourstudentsjustbeginningtolearnEnglishlanguagearts.[S]StudentswhohadlistenedtoEricCarlesTheGrouchyLadybugwereaskedtowriteandillustratetheirmostvividmemoryofthestoryandtotellaboutatimetheyweregrouchy.[S][S]StudentswilllearntowritefastestiftheyarehelpedtowriteprojectslikeonesketchedbelowaboutinterestinganimalsinthispartofNorthAmerica.[S][pt]Readingaboutthiswritingprojectwillhelpyouinplanninglotsofthekindsofwritingthatwillhelpstudentsbecomebetteratreadingandwriting.Thisworkwillstretchoutoveracoupleofweeksandgiveallthechildreninagrade3or4classmanyopportunitiestoreadandwrite.Theteacherprovidesbothapurposeandanaudienceforthewriting.AfterreadingJudithViorstsAlexanderandtheTerrible,Horrible,NoGood,VeryBadDay,finishingwiththememorablephraseeveninAustralia,theteachershowsthestudentswhereAustraliaisonaglobe.ShetellsthemthatathirdgradeteacherinAustraliahasproposedaproject:HerstudentswillwriteandillustrateabookabouttheanimalsthestudentswouldseeiftheyvisitedAustralia;shehopesCanadiankidswillwriteabookdescribingtheanimalsstudentswouldseeiftheyvisitednorthernOntario.
17.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.17Theteacherproposesthattheentireclasswillcollaboratewiththeteachertocreateapagetogetheraboutananimalthatvisitorsmightsee.ThenthestudentswillworkinpairstocreateapageforthebooktheywillwritetogetherandsendtotheclassinAustralia.TheteacherhasassembledalotofmaterialaboutanimalsofCanada.ThereareDVDsandbooksrangingindifficultyfromshortandsimpleenoughfortheweakestreadersintheclasstosohighinreadabilitythatitwillbebestiftheteacherreadsthemtoeveryone.TheteacherpassesoutpadsofPostItnotesandsuggeststhateachstudentmakenotesaboutwhattheylearnaboutbearsfromtheDVDofaDiscoveryprogramthatsheshowstointroducethetopicofbrownbears,thetopicofthefirstpageoftheirbookorPowerPointforthestudentsinAustralia.AftershowingtheDVD,theteacherreadsafewintroductorybooksaboutbearstothestudents.Onanotheroccasion,theteacherandstudentsvisitwebsitesrunbyzoostoseewhatzoossayaboutbrownbears.Allthewhilethestudentsarerecordingnotesandtemporarilypostingtheminanotebooksotheydontlosethem.Afterexploringthetopicforawhile,theteachersays,Letsstartourwriting.WhohassomeinterestinginformationthatwemightsharewithchildreninAustralia,childrenwhohaveneverseenabrownbear.ShelistensasherstudentsreadaloudfromtheirPostItnotes.Hmm,shesays,WhatifIstarttowritedowneverythingyousayasyoutellittome?Wouldthatmakeagoodreport?Theteacherengagesthechildrenintheideathattheclassneedstodecidehowtoorganizetheinformationsothatitiseasyforreaderstoreadthroughit.Letsdraftourtitlerightonthechartpaper,shesays,IllwriteTheBrownBearatthetop.Whatshouldwetellfirstaboutthebear?Theteachercoachesthechildrentodecidethattellingwhatabrownbearlookslikeisagoodplacetostartthereport.Letmemakeanoutlinehere:Imgoingtocreateatablewithacolumncalledappearance.Wereprobablygoingtowriteseveralparagraphs,soIllmakeachartforourpoints.[s]EveryonewhohasaPostItnoteaboutappearance,pleasecomeupandattachittomyappearancecolumn.Oncetheteacherhasallthenotesdisplayedinthecolumnaboutappearance,shecangoontosay,Letstalkaboutourtopicsentence.Whatisthemainideaofthisparagraphweregoingtowriteabouttheappearanceofbrownbears?Talkingwiththestudents,workingfromtheirnotes,theteachergraduallywritesforthestudentsawholeparagraphabouttheappearanceofbrownbears.Youcanimaginethesimilarworktowritenotesfortheorganizerandthentodraftwiththestudentstheadditionalparagraphsaboutthediet,habitat,andfamilylifeofbrownbears.Thestudentscanalsosuggestanillustrationfortheentirepageaboutthebrownbear.Oncestudentshavewrittenwiththeteacher,theycanbegintoreadandviewmaterialswithapartnertoresearchtheotheranimalsthatwillbeincludedinthebookaboutanimalsonemightseeinnorthernOntario.Inturn,theywillmakenotesandorganizethemonachartliketheycompletedwiththeirteacher.Aftertheteachervetsthechart,thestudentsarereadytodrafttheirparagraphs.Overandoveragain,teacherswillhelptheirstudentsbecomestrongerreadersandwritersbyworkingthroughprojectswiththem:sciencefairprojects,diariesaboutprecontactlifeinCanada,newspaperaccountsofsurvivalinthewildernesssparkedbynovelslikeWilliamStiegsAbelsIsland,andsoforth.Studentscanworkinpairsorgroupsorindividually.Alongthewaytheycanreadoneanotherswork.Theycanexaminetherubrictheteacherusestoassesstheir
18.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.18work.WhenstudentsstudytherubrictheirteacherusedtomarktheirworkperhapsliketheonebelowbyWestbyandClauser(2005,pp.288289)theycanseemoreclearlyhowtowritebetterforthenextproject.Studentscanhelptheteachertocreatetherubrics.Studentscanhelponeanotherproofreadandeditgoodcopyfordisplayforparentnights.Projectbyproject,studentswillbecomemoreliterate.
19. AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.19
TwodocumentsontheOntarioMinistryofEducationwebsitewillbeofparticularhelpinassessingandteachingwriting.[S]Thedocumentathttp://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/task18.pdf,[pt]TheOntarioCurriculumExemplarsProjectWritingExemplars:YearendWritingTasks,showstheproceduresteachersfollowedtoguidestudentswritingforseveralprojectsandthematerialsthattheyused,aprojectforeachgrade.Teacherscanworkthroughoneoftheseexemplaryprojects.ThesixthgradeprojecttakesthestudentsthroughaprocesstohelpthemsummarizewhattheyreadaboutNunavut,acommonschoolassignmentfrommiddleschoolthroughuniversityandintotheworkworld.TheOntarioCurriculumExemplarsGrades18Writingat[pt]http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/writing18ex.pdfshowsexamplesofworkcreatedbystudentsfromgrades18.Notonlydoesthisdocumentshowrealstudentwork;itshowstheassessmentofthelevelofwritingdemonstratedineachexampleofstudentwork.Theexamplesofstudentworkmakeiteasiertocomparehowaparticularstudentisprogressinginlearningtohandwrite,spell,punctuate,capitalize,paragraph,takenotes,draft,revise,andeditwriting,againstprovincialexpectations.Comparingtheseexemplarstotheworkyourstudentwritescanhelpyouassesscurrentwritingcapacityandmakeiteasiertheinstructionthatwillhelpthestudentwritebetter.Teachersandparentscanconsiderthelanguageartsexpectationsforthirdandsixthgradestudentsanotherway,too,byvisitingeqao.com,thesiteoftheEducationQualityandAccountabilityOfficefortheOntarioMinistryofEducation.Pasttestsareposted,completewith
20.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.20therubricsusedtoscorethemandexamplesofactualstudentworkmarkedwiththoserubrics.Someoftherubricsfocusonthecontentofthewriting;othersfocusonhowwellthestudentisobservingtheconventionsofstandardwrittenCanadianEnglish.Ontarioaimsfor75%ofitsstudentstoattainlevel3,andstudyingtheworkonthissitemakesiteasierforteachersandparentstoseewhatlevel3and4writinglookslike.Teacherswhohelpstudentsworktheirwaythroughsomeofthetestitemsarehelpingtheirstudentsdevelopthequalitiesnecessarytocommunicateeffectivelyinwriting.Teachersmusttakecertainstepstoassesswritinginwaysthatarenotconflatedbystudentsreadingability.Thisisnotalwaysdone.Forexample,studentswritingscoresontheEQAOtestsdependpartlyonhowwellthestudentsareabletoreadthematerialusedinthetestitems.Somelowscoreswillbeduetoreadingdifficultiesmorethanwritingdifficulties.Theeasiestwaytogetacleanerlookatwritingistoensurethatastudentsindependentreadinglevelisatleastashighasthematerialinthewritingtestitemsor,ataminimum,toreadtothestudentalltextinthetestitemandtheinstructionsforcompletingit.TeacherscanarrangeforstudentstoparticipateinthelessonandwritingassignmentoftheOntarioWritingExemplarProjectatthesamegradelevelastheirindependentreadinglevel.Anexemplarwritingprojectcouldalsobechosenatthestudentslisteningcomprehensionlevel,ifsomeonereadsforthestudentthroughoutthewritingassignment.Teacherswillalsoassesstheirstudentswritingmoreeffectivelywhentheyteachwritingmoreeffectively.Forexample,studentswillbemorelikelytoshowtheirbestwritingifteachersshowstudentsexamplesorexemplarsofthekindofwritingtheyaredoing,therubricsthattheteacherwilluse,andthemarksassignedforthewriting.AssessFactorsRelatedtoLiteracyLearning[S]Onceteachershaveidentifiedwhatchildrenknowalreadyandwhattheymuststilllearn,teacherscanconsiderfactorsthatmaynecessitatemodifyinginstruction.Literacyproficiencyisinfluenced,forexample,bychildrensabilitytolistenandspeak.Achildwithasmallvocabularyduringhispreschoolyears,forinstance,may,evenifhelearnswordrecognitioneffectively,slumpinfourthgradeorlater(Challetal,1990,citedbyHirsch,2003,p.10)becausehemaynotknowthemeaningofwordshecanread.Hecanreadthewordsaloudcorrectlybutdoesntunderstandthetext.Wecanexploreachildsorallanguagecapacitybysimplyaskingchildrentosummarizeoranswerquestionsaboutinformalreadinginventorypassageswereadtothem.(Childrenshowingpronounceddifficultytalkingshouldbereferredtoaspeechandlanguagepathologist.)Theseareotherfactorsthatshouldbetakenintoaccountastheteacherplanslanguageartsinstruction:
Physicaldisabilities
Developmentaldisorders(hyperactivity,autism,andsoforth)Differencesinmemoryandratesofautomaticnamingmayalsoexplaindifferencesinthepaceoflearningtoreadandwrite,anduniversityreadingclinicsoftenadministerteststomeasuretheseconstructs.TheComprehensiveTestofPhonologicalProcessing(CTOPP)isfrequentlyusedwhenchildrenlearnlanguageartsveryslowlydespiteinstruction.TheCTOPPmaybeused,forexample,toassessphonologicalmemoryviameasuresofrecallofbothdigitsandphonemes.Ifthestudentseemstobeabletoholdlessinformationinworkingmemory,perhapsthatslows
21.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.21phonologicalrecodingorlearningtoconnectthewrittenformtothespokenform.Slowerrapidautomaticnaming(ofdigits,colours,andobjects)maymakeitharderforalltheinformationtogetintoworkingmemoryfromtheplacesinthebrainwheretheforms,sounds,andmeaningsofwordsarestored.Sciencehasreachednofirmconclusionsabouthowtoremediatetheseobserveddifferences,butteacherswhoassiduouslyencouragetheirstudentstoreadeasilyattheirindependentlevel,whohelpstudentsreadattheirinstructionallevels,whosystematicallyexplorewithstudentshowthesoundsoftheEnglishlanguagearespelled,whohelpstudentslearntoreaddirectlythemostcommonwordsofthelanguage,andwhohelpthemtodeveloptheirlisteningcomprehensionandwritingskillsarealreadyprovidingthekindofinstructionthattheclinicsadvise.Moreelaborateassessmentsarenotnecessaryforafundamentalliteracyassessmentusefultoclassroomteachers.Thecasehistoryoflanguagedevelopmentgatheredfrominterviewingthechildandparentsandguardiansintheliteracyassessmentmayalsorevealinformationthatwillleadtorecommendationstoadaptthelanguageartsinstruction:Theteachermaychoosetospeakintoamicrophoneforthebenefitofachildwithhearingloss.Shemayscheduleshorter,morefrequentlessonsandmotivatewithconcretereinforcerslikecandytohelpanactivechildlearn.Ateachermayarrangeextralessonsforachildwholearnsmoreslowly.Asteachersadjustreadinginstructionastheylearnofrelevantrelatedfactors,theycancontinuetoobservestudentsreading,writing,andgeneralbehaviourtofurtherrefinetheliteracylessons.WriteaLearningPlanforEachStudent[S]ThelastcomponentofaneffectivesystemofstudentlearningassessmentofEnglishlanguageartsis,Ithink,alearningplan,orlifeplan,anLP,foreachstudent.Ienvisionarecordthatwouldbepassedfromteachertoteachersothateachreceptionteachercouldquicklylearnkeyinformationaboutastudentnewtohersothatshecouldbeginimmediatelytoprovideappropriateinstruction.SeveralcomponentswouldmaketheLPworththework.Thebasicinformationshouldcertainlyidentifythemostimportantinformationrelevanttoliteracylearning:
currentreadingperformance(wordrecognitionandreadingcomprehension),
listeningcomprehension, handwriting, spelling,
conventionsofstandardwrittenEnglish, listeningcomprehension,
genrewriting,and relatedfactors
HeretherewillbestatementslikeAlbertachievedalevel3forwritinghedidonthegrade4OntarioWritingExemplarsProjectassignmentwhetherAlbertisingrade2or6.InconjunctionwithmaterialslikethehandoutEndofYearReadingLevelTargetsforthePrimaryGrades,teacherscanusetheseresultstoarrangeformoreinstructionforstudentswhoarefallingbehindtheirpeers.
22.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.22TheLPshouldbemorethanthis.Itshouldbeadigitalfile,includingaportfolioofthestudentswork.Itcouldevenincludethecoverandcommentsabouteverybookastudenthasread.Itshouldincludeyearbyyearstatementsbystudentsoftheirplansforlivingagoodlifeintheupcomingyear.ConclusionYouveexploredacomprehensiveapproachtoassessingthereadingandwritingperformanceofstudents:[S]
assessmentofbeginnerreadersandwriters,
thegrowingwordrecognitionprowessofstudents,
limitstostudentsabilitytocomprehenddiscourse,
howwellstudentsarelearningtowrite,and
relatedfactorsthateducatorsmustconsiderinplanninginstruction.Ifschoolsassessandinstructlanguageartseffectively,thestudentswillshowtheirliteracyproficiencyonanytestsweputthemto.[S]Studentswilllearnbestwhentheyandthepeoplewhocareforthem,mostespeciallytheirteachers,haveasolid,modern,scientificunderstandingofthereadingprocess.Ifyoucanfillintheblanksinthisnextparagraph,yourewellonyourwaytothatunderstandingandtobeingabletoensurethatyourstudentscanarticulateit,too.Capablereaderscanlookatwordsandunderstandthemaseasilyastheydowhenthey_____them.Mostlyreaderslookatawordandconnectdirectlytothewordintheir_____vocabulary:Theycanunderstandlanguagethroughtheireyesaswellaslanguagetheyhear.Whenreadersseeawordtheydontrecognizeonsight,theycanfigureoutquiteaccuratelythe_____formoftheprintedform.Ifthewordisintheirlisteningvocabulary,theywillrecognizethiswordbecausetheirbrainwillhaveconnectedthespokenformwiththewordmeaningstoredintheir_____.Readingistheproductofourabilityto_____singlewordsandto_____them.Ifstudentscanreadthetextaloudbutcantsummarizeitoranswerquestions,theyneedtofindmore_____materials,eithersimplerbooksorothermedia.
23.
AssessmentthatTurnsKidsintoReaders,p.23ReferencesAaron,P.G.,Joshi,R.M.;Gooden,R.;&Bentum,K.E.(2008).DiagnosisandTreatmentof
ReadingDisabilitiesBasedontheComponentModelofReading.JournalofLearning
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