Informal Reading Inventory, A Valuable Diagnostic Tool?

Many students were reading below grade level, and Tyner needed an intensive reading model that could fill in the gaps of each student’s literacy. She began using a basal reading program called Early Steps (Morris, Tyner, & Perney, 2000). Tyner decided to use some of the components of Early Steps to develop her own reading model that would focus on the needs of beginning and struggling readers. The Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model consists of a framework specifically designed for beginning and struggling readers so that they may progress through the appropriate developmental stages and become proficient

The Running Record of Oral reading is series of assessments administered over a number of weeks/months that help determine the reading level of a student. The Running Record begins with the test administrator, typically a teacher, finding text that they believe the student can read with 90 to 94 percent accuracy(Instructional Reader). If a student scores 95% or above(Independent Reader), or below 89%(Frustrated Reader) then the text has to increase or decrease in difficulty so that the reader is in the instructional range. The running record is scored by the administrator while the student reads the selected text. It is scored when the number of correctly read words is divided by the total number of words in the text. A separate score

Running records. Essentially a visual recording of the student’s reading word by word. It enables a teacher to identify the reading strategies the student may or may not be using and the types of errors the student makes while reading. These errors reveal what is going on in the student’s mind as he or she attempts to make meaning, or comprehend the text. To administer a running record, the teacher provides the student with a book judged to be at his or her current reading level. As the student reads, the teacher makes a series of specialized marks on a running record recording sheet. A checkmark indicates each word read correctly, and other special markings are used to indicate words that have been omitted, inserted or substituted with

The examiner conducted a set of running records in order to assess Kamil’s reading performance and identify his instructional reading level. Instructional reading level Kamil was asked to read a story from Reading A-Z Benchmark titled “A Night in the Trees”. The results of the assessment are summarized in the following table:

A goal for my future classroom is to try and do one running record on every student weekly. If kept organized I would able to see the smallest improvements in my students, which will allow me to more accurately and efficiently adjust for the student. Moving them up reading levels right when the student is ready and staying on top of their progress will create a positive leaning environment for the entire class. Doing running records weekly will also serve as a great resource to provide to parents. Running records are a one-on-one personal experience for the teacher and student, which can have a positive influence on the parents. You are taking time to assess their child personally every week, which proves to the parents you are meaningfully

The use of formal and informal reading assessments provide important data that allow educators to identify at risk students (Tompkins, 2010). The data collected from the assessments address any factors that may prohibit the development of students’ reading and writing skills. In addition to the assessments, the more an educator can learn about students’ backgrounds and their past reading, language development, and writing experiences the more instructional strategies can be designed to specifically meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

Research was conducted in a third grade general education classroom. The entire class participated in the method of research, but only a select group of students were assessed for the purposes of this research. Students were selected for assessment based on their performance on the Basic Reading Inventory (BRI), given in the fall. Eleven students were rated as Needs

The strength of the research by Kucan and Palincsar lays in the Identification of a struggling reader and the importance of the teachers to dedicate one on one time with their students in an interactive atmosphere which allows early assessment with rich texts and bearing in mind, other factors such as home, which can contribute in this problem.

The information shared this week was very interesting in the early acquisition of reading. I connected to the early acquisition of reading articles, but I give my elementary teachers all of the credit, especially my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Tipton. She was an excellent teacher and made time to sit with each student to practice letters and words. Arlene Barry’s “Reading the Past: Historical Antecedents to Contemporary Reading Methods and Materials” stated “it is the teacher, and not the material, that is the key to quality instruction (47).” One excellent teacher and the environment he or she establishes is all it takes to spark an interest in learning for a young child. Mrs. Tipton was that type of teacher and truly dedicated to her job.

Based on their first research question: Do students at risk for reading difficulties who receive supplemental reading intervention using guided reading approach have better outcomes in word identification, phonemic decoding, reading fluency, and reading comprehension, relative to students who receive reading intervention using an explicit , sequential approach, (pg. 269), it was hypothesized that the guided reading group would perform leaps and bounds over the explicit group, but as the results show, there was no significant difference between these two groups. Based on their second research question: Do students who receive supplemental guided reading or explicit instruction intervention have better reading outcomes than those who receive the reading instruction

Guided was also outlined in the National Reading Panel’s report as effective technique to teach reading. This system of strategic activities for proficient reading provides a platform for reading, talking and occasionally writing to engage in a variety fiction and nonfiction text. Yet, teachers need a systematic assessment to determine the strengths and needs of the students in order to group students for efficient reading instruction (Fountas & Pinnell 1996). For that reason, reading assessments are needed to answer critical questions regarding the students reading behaviors. Formal outcome reading assessments are required in most states. Moreover, the majority of states now require a formative end-of-year outcome assessment in reading for all students starting in third grade. These particular tests usually assess a student’s ability to comprehend a text in ways that are outlined the states’ literacy standards (Fountas & Pinnell (1996). Relatedly, in the occurrence of the of No Child Left Behind legislation, another legislative initiative has cultivated in North Carolina to help young children to succeed in reading. The Read to Achieve Law that is part of the Excellent Public Schools Act. Under this state law, third-grade students who are not reading at grade

Students can struggle to read for many reasons. “They can lack the talent, the cognitive wiring that is necessary to easily unlock the printed code of English” (Shaywitz, 2003). These students have been categorized by many names such as learning disabled, dyslexic, and ADD (attention deficit disorder). There is only a minimal amount of students who actually suffer from a neurological or cognitive issue which causes them to be behind in learning. Student’s which are considered “at risk” because of their poor achievements on assessments actually have average intelligences they just lack a strong literacy environment at home. A child’s learning foundation begins at home so students who tend to struggle with reading are not being read to. These

Lancia continues by discussing the context and methodology for his study. His study was conducted within his second grade classroom which has identified learning disabled students, students receiving support from Title I, and a gifted and talented student where the students reading development ranging from late emergent to students who were reading fluently. He continues by explaining the components of the reading program he enlists within his classroom

The National Reading Panel (NRP) and the International Reading Association (IRA) are two different associations that provide research findings on the best practices for teaching and learning literacy. Reading and understanding the findings of both associations is important for educators and parents to boost the literacy rates of our children. Below I will summarize the reading standards that our outlined by both and provide my thoughts and insights.

In the academic world reading is like breathing is to life; an absolutely necessary component not only to succeed but to survive. To teach a child to read is to give them an opportunity to achieve their potential and realize their dreams. As teachers we should not only strive to teach children to read but more importantly we should ignite a passion inside of them so that each child wants to read; craving books as if they were food (or video games). Unfortunately in any given group of students a good percentage of them will struggle with reading. The best way to prevent a child from falling behind is early identification and intervention, coupled with a comprehensive scientifically-based literacy program (Sousa, 2005). There are five