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Using Formative assessment to Improve Reading Instruction. Meredyth Kezar January 26, 2011 Mkezar@vsb.bc.ca http://lateliteracy.blogspot.com/. Lessons I have learned being in the classroom. To improve your students ’ reading you have to know how well they actually can read
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Using Formative assessment to Improve Reading Instruction Meredyth Kezar January 26, 2011 Mkezar@vsb.bc.ca http://lateliteracy.blogspot.com/
Lessons I have learned being in the classroom • To improve your students’ reading you have to know how well they actually can read • You have to know where their challenges are in reading • You have to get them reading material they can and want to read at their independent level • You need to teach them strategies to make them better readers • Reading instruction happens in all subjects
How can I know how well they read? • Word lists such as the San Diego can give you a quick look • Fluency tests as found in tests like the Whole Class Reading Assessment or the RAD • Assessments that measure vocabulary and comprehension strategies such as the Whole Class Reading Assessment or the RAD • A spelling assessment also can be useful-there is a relationship between encoding and decoding • Perhaps most importantly careful observation
What can I learn? • Word lists-sight vocabulary-rough idea grade level • Fluency tests-use grade level material-can he read it fluently-if not, need to address this • If fluency is at grade level how is his comprehension-what strategies does he know and use? What do I need to teach, review-try to see if there is a pattern in the class • Spelling assessment-what level of spelling are my students at, what do they need-this is also a good opportunity to work on vocabulary
When should I assess? • Do initial observations and assessments • See what stands out • Make a plan, try it out • Assess again • Plan where you need to go next • For a whole class assessment probably once each term
Reading every day • Have them read every day in class • Use strategies from The Daily Five to make sure they have just right books-books they can and want to read • Make expectations clear you expect them reading –again great strategies from The Daily Five • Begin with R5 strategies –Read and Relax, Reflect and Respond, Rap 1 and Rap 2 (Comprehension Shouldn’t Be Silent) • In my grade seven class students read 25 minutes and respond every day • Try to have books for all readers-Orca books and graphic novels have been wonderful for some of my students and picture books can be just fine –nudge into more difficult books when you need to • Students need enough reading time to get in The Zone (Nanci Atwell)
What I have learned about reading • Leveled reading materials are great but at intermediate level it’s hard to level and aren’t always interesting • A book like The Lightning Thief can turn a kid on to reading • A book like The Red Pyramid can make a kid realize that big books are worth the effort • Movies can make books more accessible to kids • Thank goodness for books like Bone, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Orca Currents-they get kids to start to feel they can read with pleasure…
Home Reading • Make them accountable • Help them understand why they should read • Turn it into a pleasure and a class norm • Turn it into an addiction
Other days way to inspire reading… • Read alouds-it may not happen every day but it’s a way a class can share a story-a saga • Mine are once a week, sometimes more • With a response booklet to complete • Last year Dormia (never completed-too long) this year Charlie Wilcox • You are able to share books that they might never have read for themselves but learn to love • Great way to highlight vocabulary-demonstrate connections and predictions etc.
Literature Circles • Many ways to do them and I have tried many • I like the format now from Faye Brownlie’s Grand Conversations • Students read text sets and meet in small groups-agree how much they will read and come prepared to discuss-mine happen once a week-currently on Ancient Egypt
Word Study Groups • Word Study is important • To me, vocabulary and spelling • Use assessment so that you can have two groups-that’s manageable • Pretest, discuss, have them group words, write sentences, study, post test • In class time only takes two periods
Word Study strategies-examples • Is there a picture or a diagram to help? • Does the word look or sound like a familiar word? • Can you break it into parts? • If you keep reading will you find the meaning? • If all else fails use a dictionary
Word Study strategies • The reason many students don’t do well in reading • Is because they don’t understand the words • You need to instill a love of words • Getting your students to be “word savvy” • And to find ways to figure out words’ meanings in context • Use these strategies and opportunities in all content areas
A Proficient Reader(based on P.David Pearson’s research • Connects • Questions • Visualizes • Infers • Analyzes • Synthesizes • And monitors comprehension so he knows when he doesn’t understand and stops, goes back and rereads in order for understanding to take place
There are some great lessons but • Using the RAD or Whole Class Assessment • You can see what they are doing and • What they may need more practice in • Teach specifically • But bring into all subjects and lessons • The more you do something • The better you get
A common complaint • I taught them but they still can’t do it • Truth is we have to do something many times before we actually master it • Solution? • When we teach how to do a strategy use the following steps
The Gradual Release of Responsibility Framework • Connect and engage • Teacher Modeling-I do it • Guided Practice-we do it • Collaborative Practice-you do it together • Independent Practice-you do it alone • Application of the Strategy-you do it in different contexts, places, with different texts
What materials can we use to teach strategies? • To teach a strategy use a easy material at an instructional material and not too lengthy • Your goal is to teach the strategy so you don’t want the material getting in the way • Use material that is of interest to the students, for instance, science magazines can work well, a picture book. Non-fiction is usually better-depends on what you are teaching • Major publishing companies have some excellent materials now as well
Other things that I have really noticed… • It’s important that students use strategies in all subject areas and see the connections • For instance, a hypothesis is a type of prediction as is an estimate-you can even call them inferences. • Make sure you, as a learner, understand the question in order to answer correctly • Pay attention to detail-it can make all the difference-in fact that sign is now laminated in my classroom • Students need to see school as a game in which they can all succeed with the right strategies.
Resources • THE DAILY FIVE: Fostering literacy independence in the elementary grades - Gail Boushey & Joan Moser. (2006). Stenhouse. ISBN 978-1571104298. • SMALL-GROUP READING INSTRUCTION: A differentiated teaching model for intermediate readers, Grades 3-8 - Beverly Tyner. (2003). IRA. ISBN 978-0872070073. • STRATEGIES THAT WORK: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement - Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis. (2007). Stenhouse. ISBN 978-1571104816. • GRAND CONVERSATIONS, THOUGHTFUL RESPONSES: A Unique Approach to Literature Circles -Faye Brownlie. (2005). Portage & Main. ISBN 978-1553790549. • THE READING ZONE: How to help kids become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers – NancieAtwell. (2007). Scholastic. ISBN 978-0439926447.
Resources • COMPREHENSION SHOULDN’T BE SILENT: From strategy instruction to student independence - Michelle J. Kelley & Nicki Clausen-Grace. (2007). IRA. ISBN 978-0872076204. • R5 IN YOUR CLASSROOM: A Guide to Differentiating Independent Reading and Developing Avid Readers - Michelle J. Kelley & Nicki Clausen-Grace. (2008). IRA. ISBN 8-0872076846. • NSIDE WORDS: Tools for Teaching Academic Vocabulary: Grades 4-12– Janet Allen. (2007). Stenhouse. ISBN 978-1-57110-399-4. • WORD SAVVY: Integrated Vocabulary, Spelling, and Word Study, Grades 3-6 - Max Brand & Diane E. Deford. (2004). Stenhouse. ISBN 978-1571103666. • MINDFUL OF WORDS:Spelling and Vocabulary Explorations 4-8-Kathy Ganske (2008) Guilford Press. ISBN 9781593858223 • BUILDING READING COMPREHENSION HABITS IN GRADES 6- 12: A Toolkit of classroom Activities 2nd Ed.-Jeff Zwiers (2010) International Reading Association.
Resources • For additional great professional web resources just visit my blog http://lateliteracy.blogspot.com/ • and look at my Good Sites to Visit there • I should mention one great resource is The Reading Teacher-to subscribe • http://www.reading.org/general/publications/journals/rt.aspx • Consider forming a professional book club-just contact me if you want any advice on this… • Our school book club this year is Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemoy