strategies not levels

I have been doing some intervention work with a few first graders since December. Now it's May and time for benchmark assessments to see how much they grew. My little kiddos unfortunately did not make it to grade level, but there's so so much to celebrate!

So here she was reading a level D Nonfiction book. She confuses her b's and d's and usually I would prompt her with this little organizer, but because it was a benchmark, she had to ask for this tool rather than me handing it to her:

But do you see how I was scripting what she was saying? Then she says to herself, "Does that make sense?" and she went on talking aloud to herself saying, "No, it doesn't."

As a Reading Specialist, this is what I want her to do, to problem solve on her own, without my help, to use strategies I prompt her with in guided reading on her own. Even though this means she frustrated on level E, which is a beginning-of-first-grade level, I feel so proud in what she demonstrated to me. Not only did she verbalize the semantic cueing system, she also:

• read punctuation, dialog, and bold words with proper inflection
• cross-checked to pictures and words
• looked back at the title or another page she had already read to help her solve a new word
• substituted words that made sense
• retold the story by looking back across the text

On the level E book, she had a lot of errors, and two repeated with the following:

After it was all said and done, I taught on these miscues. I had her say with and we paid attention to where her tongue was on the /th/ - buzzing by her teeth. Then we said the nonsense word wif - and we noticed that her tongue was in the back of her mouth to say /f/.

That's the purposeful kind of conversations that come from running records. Oh, super cute, she miscued: loof for loose. At one point I was looking to see if she had lost all her front teeth!

I've just been reflecting on all this because I know we have these benchmarks to attain, but for me, it's never the level. This little kiddo did so many things that made my heart swell with pride - and those strategies she has now are hers - her strategies to take her up the levels to more complex text, especially as I think about how kids have to get over that hump from easy picture books to the beginning chapter books around levels J-K-L.

Also, we have to remember that all children develop in their own time. While this particular kiddo may only be at level E right now, she may come back and then have instruction click in second grade and then all of a sudden she's made four levels of growth in four months.

The strategies are what is important. Not the reaching for higher and higher levels.

Your thoughts?

makeover madness!

As school ended this year, I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do this summer, including really working on my Teachers Pay Teachers stuff. Truth be told: I love to write and love to blog. I usually only do TpT stuff when I'm getting ready for a blog hop (side note: there's one this Friday!) and so I don't have lots going on with TpT. But, the #tptsellerchallenge is super motivating and I'm so happy to participate!

I created a Running Record freebie awhile ago and I just uploaded it as is - no cover, no TOU (I didn't even know about any of that stuff until just recently!) So, I've updated the freebie because I'm working on a complete set of running records to put up, too!

My freebie used to be just what you see to the left - just the resources. The thing is, I'm super good with creating quality stuff for TpT, but they don't look cute. So huge shout to Sparkling in Second, Third in Hollywood, Teach, Create, Motivate, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista for hosting!

If you like this freebie, you're going to love the complete collection of Running Records I'm currently working on. I've got the kinder and first grade ones done, and am diligently working on the rest! Stay tuned! And, check out my Running Records Tutorial if you want more information on them!

Have you checked out the #tptsellerchallenge? What are you redesigning this week for Makeover Madness? 

And just a reminder -- The Reading Crew is sponsoring Summer Blog Party beginning this Friday! Seventeen reading specialists share tons of resources for parents and teachers for beating the Summer Slide!

Hope to see you back this weekend!

defining moments

The moment I because a Social Constructivist is as clear as day.

There I was, standing at the front of my classroom. My kids sat in groups of four. They had their basal (gasp!) out in front of them and we were reading a story from the book as a whole group (the horror!) It was some kind of traditional literature story about how the stars became in the night or something like that.

I would read a little, and then as prompted by the questions along the side of the book, stop periodically to ask the questions to the kids. I would pose a question, they would think and then turn and talk, and then we would share out.

This particular day I was modeling how to draw inferences as we read. The book told me to stop at some line and then share the inference listed. But there was a problem (well, there were a few, namely 1. basal reader, 2. whole group instruction, and 3. kids didn't do any independent reading, but I digress.) At that moment, my problem was that the inference that the book publishers were telling me to make made absolutely no sense to me. Zero sense. Zilch.

This happened in my fifth year of teaching when I was in the midst of my graduate work at ASU. I was learning about best practices in teaching reading and all the pieces suddenly fit together so perfectly.

Pearson or McGraw Hill or whoever was the publisher of this book was trying to instruct for me. I had no accountability to this book and this story, because it was all laid out for me. I just opened it up and read what it told me to. And usually it made sense, but in this moment when it didn't, it finally clicked. If I want to give my kids the best instruction, *I* have to be the one to figure it out and make meaning that makes sense to me. I have to be the one to prepare it for my kids!

I can't say that from that moment on I began doing what I'm doing now in year 12, but I was acutely aware that I had to construct my lessons myself.

I still used the basal, but I prepared how I was going to teach from the stories. Before I taught them, I sat down with that book - just the story, nothing else - and I read it through. I considered what my during reading strategy should be and picked places to stop and model what that would look like. I figured out if we would do any analysis after our first draft reading and planned that. The teacher who teaches kids each day should plan everything out. Not Pearson. Not McGraw hill. The practitioner.

Today, I am proud to be a part of a district that operates under a constructivist philosophy. In year 12, this makes sense to me and I believe it's what is best for kids.

But then I think of our first year teachers and how overwhelming it can be. I was lucky to be handed a basal in year one, and continue using it for five years. I got my feet wet, got my management down, had the kids do worksheets and everything was there for me. It was laid out and easy. That was all well and good, but it wasn't what is best for kids.

So to the newbies out there - the ones who are trying to get everything down in year one - the ones who are exhausted and have no time to do anything but work because on top of managing a classroom, you're also trying to learn how to teach a Reading and Writing Workshop - please know that you are giving kids amazing instruction, coming from what I believe is the hardest teaching philosophy out there. You're putting in all the labor to figure out how to model what good readers do and then give differentiated instruction in your guided reading groups, get kids to love to read and write, and then having them share. You're keeping anecdotal notes and using running records to inform your instruction, and writing Common Formative Assessments with your team, and grading them and then figuring out what kind of reteaching and enrichment needs to happen - you're doing all that work plus teaching three other content areas. I, on the other hand, opened a basal.

It's time for you to pat yourself on the back and appreciate all the work you've done, because it's outstanding and you're amazing.

Defining moments...mine was a sunny day in Phoenix during my fifth year of teaching. What is yours?

instructional level or grade level...that is the question

A few weeks ago at the Illinois Reading Council (IRC) conference, I ended up in two sessions where the speakers (One of them: Tim Shanahan) were talking about teaching guided reading with grade level text. Their point was that if we only teach on instructional level, when will the kids be exposed to grade level reading? Their other point: In a guided reading group, there are only 4-6 kids, so you can provide enough scaffolding to help them read that grade level text.

So, I've tried this out with my guided reading group (only once so far). They are reading at a level G-H, and grade level for this time of the year is J. Now, this isn't a huge jump, but I can totally tell when they're reading the grade level text - and so can they. The amount of words on the page is way more, the text is smaller, there are less pictures...etc.

This week, we've been reading Nonfiction. We did the instructional level text "Life Cycles" yesterday and today. Tomorrow and Friday we're going to be reading a level J book, "The Life Cycle of the Owl" which is more of the same, but goes into much more detail about the owl's life cycle.

I'll report back later this week with the results, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts about this? One book a week on instructional level, and the other on grade level?

Don't be shy....leave a comment!

Goodnight!

running records tutorial

Hey there! Do you use Running Records to inform you instruction with groups of students? If you're not doing so yet, you need to start ASAP! You will glean so much information about your kiddos by listening to them read, recording their miscues, and having a comprehension conversation with them!

I've created a running record using Reading A-Z's benchmark book. The book is a level I fiction book (first grade) and the comprehension conversation is aligned to Fountas and Pinnell's Benchmark Assessment System.

Head on over to my TpT store to download it and then read this blog while you take a look at the form.

This form goes with the Reading A-Z Benchmark book, On Vacation. It's Level I which correlates approximately to March or April of 1st grade.

Okay so let's start with the front of the doc. When you sit down with a child to give them a running record, you'll need a copy of the book, a copy of this form, a pen or pencil, a timer, and a calculator (or you can use this calculator by FnP!)

Make sure you read the whole book first, as the child will only read part of it aloud to you. You will place the book in front of the child and read them the prompt from the form, "Read this story about a girl who visits her grammy. You'll read pages 3 through 8 aloud to me and then finish in your head before we talk about the book together."

The child will begin reading and you'll start the timer. Record the miscues the child makes on your recording sheet. If you have the FnP calculator, you can keep the timer going until the child finishes page 8, but if you don't, pay attention to the 1 minute mark and mark spot where the child finishes a minute's worth of reading. After the child finishes reading reading page 8, have them finish in their head while you work on some data points.

Record the time right away in the box below. Record the number of errors the child made in the time read aloud - but note: if the child self-corrects, it's as if they didn't make an error, so don't count that. Record the number of self corrections. If you're using a regular stopwatch and marked the words read in one minute, record the total words read correctly (subtract the errors). I usually did it like this:

Next, you're going to find the accuracy. To calculate this, follow this formula:

(Total words read - Total errors) / Total words read x 100 = Accuracy Rate

In this case we'd have the following formula:

(98-3) / 98 x 100 = 96.9%

Go ahead and record the accuracy percentage. At this time, the child should have finished reading the text and you'll be ready to flip the recording sheet over and have a conversation about the book.

(If you have a FnP calculator, follow the directions for collecting all the data. You'll get a larger sample so your data will be just a little bit more accurate!)

The Comprehension Conversation will always include three questions from three different categories: Within the Text, Beyond the Text, and About the Text. Let me give you a brief explanation of these three kinds of questions before I discuss the ratings.

Within the Text - This question deals with what is right there for the kids to read, and I always make this question a retell question. In addition to retelling, the evaluator could make notes of how the child solves words, monitors their reading, searches for and uses information, maintains their fluency, and adjusts their reading when they are trying to problem solve.

Beyond the Text - These questions are inferential in nature and require the reader to think with their own background knowledge and experiences added to what the text said. These questions will require children to predict, make connection, synthesize, and infer.

About the Text - These types of questions will ask the child to comment on the author's craft and structure or ask the child to critique the text.

So now we're ready for page 2:

Update: I've done a little bit of revision to this, including the type of question for each category. In this case, the Within the Text question is Summarizing, Beyond the Text is Inferring, and About the text is Analyzing. I've also added suggested answers to make your note-taking on the text easier!

There is plenty of space for recording the child's answers. These are great forms because as you save them, you have lots of information to inform your instruction in guided reading and also share with parents at conferences or if a parent requests information on their child's progress!

Let's discuss ratings for the Comprehension Conversation:

In all cases, a 0 score would indicate the child did not answer at all. A 3 would indicate that the child gave an excellent answer, sequenced correctly (if applicable) and with multiple responses (if applicable). Additionally, a 3 would also be for an answer that had to be justified with evidence from the text or background knowledge, which the child could provide. When a child attempt an answer, but does so incorrectly, I score them at a 1.

Within the Text - For a child to score three points, they have to tell you a really good summary, sequenced correctly, when you ask them about the book. For me, I score down to a two if I have to prompt them lots (feel free to prompt the child with more questions!) but in our district we've had many conversations about this. Some people believe that if you prompt the child with 10 questions and they get them all right, that is still a three. It's my personal opinion that a child earns a three only if they retell flawlessly and talk easily about the book without being prompted. I mean, isn't that what we're striving for, anyways?

Like I said in a post the other day - this is messy work! Don't beat yourself up when you begin this kind of assessment - as you learn, you will refine your procedures and knowledge of the assessments and books!

Beyond and About the Text - Again, scoring is a matter of hearing various children read the same text and answer the same questions before you can really hear who has the 3 answer, the 2 answer, and the 1 answer. Just keep in mind that a 3 is Excellent, a 2 is satisfactory, a 1 limited, and a 0 unsatisfactory.

Tip: Rate the child right away! Do not save the scoring of the 0-1-2-3 until the child walks back to their seat. You'll do a better job if you just make a snap decision in that moment based on what you heard and the notes you wrote.

Once you have finished scoring the child's conversation, determine the amount of points they get, with 9 being the max. There is an option to give an additional point, but I use that very sparingly - you'll know it when you hear the conversation. There will be a kid at one point or another who blows you away with the connections or inferences they make - usually just as you begin the retell - that is the time to give the extra point!

Here are the scores and ratings for the Comprehension Conversation:

Once you list this information on the front page in the boxes to the bottom of the text of the story, you can then determine if the level of the book the child is reading is Independent, Instructional, or Hard. Here are the qualifiers to make that decision:

As the reading levels go up past level K, there are different qualifiers. So, make sure (if you use this sample running record) you are looking at the A-K qualifiers, since this running record is for level I.

Remember, the independent level is the level at which the child can read the book on their own with no support - this should be where they read for their Just Right books. The Instructional level will challenge them just a little - this is the level you'll want to use in guided reading. Finally, the hard level is just so you know when they frustrate. Sometimes students can be independent and instructional at a range, so keep testing up in the beginning of the year until you have their hard level!

Well, I'm tired of writing this novel of a blog. I'm sure I've forgotten things and I can always go back and add a follow up, so no worries. What I want to know from my readers is if this kind of doc is something you'd like to have and that you'd use in your classroom? Thoughts? How can I make it better? Please share what is confusing, too, and I can elaborate!

By the way...the book below is one you need to own. I used it as I created the comprehension questions and it's super helpful for instruction!

That's all for today! Happy Wednesday!

An InLinkz Link-up

SOLSC #10: Running Records

WRITE. Every day in March write a slice of life story on your own blog.

SHARE. Link your post in the comments on each daily call for a slice of life stories TWT.

GIVE. Comment on at least three other slice of life stories.

Being new to elementary school, I was new to running records. I tried them out and studied them in grad school, but never used them until this year. Well, let me tell you - they can totally inform your instruction and be a super easy way to collect data if that's what you need to do!

If you want to start using running records with your students, here's a little how to just for you!

You will need:

A Leveled Reader (or another leveled reading passage) - We have a book room at our school. All the books that were leveled readers from any reading series we ordered, or science or social studies are in there and leveled by the Fountas & Pinnell leveling system. Last week, my 2nd graders were reading this book, which is a Level H.

A recording form - Sometimes forms come with books and materials you may order, and other times you have to make them. This is one that I made last week. 

Here's the back of my recording form:

All of my forms have the same parts:

• The text of the story your student is reading (including running number of words)
• A prompt to get them thinking in the right place about the text they are about to read.
• Three comprehension questions:
• Within the text: A right-there question - usually asking students to retell what they just read.
• Beyond the text: An inferential question
• About the text: A question about the author's craft or structure - this could be about the drawings, the pattern of the text, the text features or structure...etc.
• Ratings for each of the comprehension questions on a scale from 0-3
• Scores for the following:
• Time
• # of Errors
• # of Self Corrections
• Words Per Minute (WPM)
• Accuracy
• Comprehension points (out of 9, but add one for additional understandings)
• Comprehension score and rating: 0-4: Unsatisfactory, 5-6: Limited, 7-8 Satisfactory, 9-10: Excellent
• Level: Hard, Instructional, Independent

A timer of some sort - I love this one that comes with the benchmarking system from Fountas & Pinnell. It's cool because you can do time, input the Running Words (RW), the number of errors, and the number of corrections. Then, it will calculate the WPM and the Accuracy Percentage.

So, to collect data, find trends, and see if students are growing, you need to:

1. Have the kids read to you! (While you record miscues...)
2. Have a comprehension conversation (ask the questions and discuss)
3. Score the running records.
4. Record data consistently across the weeks

Here's one of my kiddos' recording sheets that I just did this morning:

And the back:

After I finish the running record, I record the data into a spreadsheet like you see below. It has taken me all year to get this sheet like this - I kinda played with other indicators and rating scales, but in the end, aligned everything to the Fountas and Pinnell benchmark system. I mean, that makes the most sense for me, since that benchmark system is what we use with out students, right? Anyways, here's my recording sheet:

You'll need to record data for a while, but then you'll start to see if there is growth or not. I keep all of my kids' running records in a binder with this sheet on top. Then, if and when I meet with parents for aconference, I have lots of data to share. Here's a snapshot of one of my 2nd grader's Assessment Summary Form:

I usually wouldn't have jumped to a book leveled that high (the K) but we were introducing the kids first chapter book to them and so I gave them lots of extra support knowing it would be challenging. Next week, I'm going to give kids a cold read (a running record on a book they haven't read) to see where they are and if they've grown since I last benchmark in December.

Anyways, I'm super excited about this today because my kiddos are finally really starting to show growth, and I can see it even clearer now that I'm tracking it more consistently with better data. My last assessment summary form was kinda wacky and inconsistent, so it's nice to revise a tool you had and then see how much better it really is!

Any tips for me with running records? I am still such a newbie to this!

Happy Monday!