GREENSBURG SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT ELEMENTARY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT March 2013 Unpacking the Standards Skype Session Benchmark Assessment Continuum of Literacy Learning

Benchmark Assessment System: Matching Reader to Text

The Big Picture 15% Targeted Interventions

Data Days Student’s Name Benchmark Independent Level (Beginning of Year) Benchmark Instructional Level (Beginning of Year) Benchmark Independent Level (Mid Year) Benchmark Instructional Level (Mid Year) Benchmark Independent Level (End of Year) Benchmark Instructional Level (End of Year)

Data Discussions  Who are our students scoring well below/above the grade specific instructional level expectations? Why? What are the characteristics of those students?  What structures do we have in place and how are we using those to support our students?  What interventions are in place for those students who are not making the mark? How are we stretching students who are well above grade level expectations?  What are some areas of the curriculum, instruction, and assessment that need to be addressed?

Benchmark Assessment FAQs  What is the Benchmark Assessment?  How often is the Benchmark Assessment administered?  How will the data from the Benchmark Assessment be used?  Can we move students up a text level without administering the Benchmark Assessment?  What if I have a student who is so far ahead of the class that he or she doesn’t belong in any group?  What if I have students at multiple levels and a wide range of readers?  Do all texts have to exactly match instructional or independent reading levels?  What if I have a student who reads at a level far below the rest of the students?  What if I have a student who is so far ahead of the class that he or she doesn’t belong in any group?

Text Complexity Model Quantitative measures – readability and other scores of text complexity often best measured by computer software. Qualitative measures – levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands often best measured by an attentive human reader. Reader and Task considerations – background knowledge of reader, motivation, interests, and complexity generated by tasks assigned often best made by educators employing their professional judgment.

The Continuum of Literacy Learning

Guided Reading Comprehension Questions Level A Guided Reading Comprehension Questions Fiction: What words to you expect to come on the next page? What do you think is going to happen next by looking at the pictures? What connections can you make between this book and another book about _______? Have you ever read another book that has this same character in it? the same setting? Tell me about how the character feels in this story? Why is the title a good one for the book? What did you think of the book? Does it have a good beginning, characters, ending? Nonfiction What do you already know about this topic? (prior knowledge) What do you think will happen at the end of the book? Does this book remind you of another book about ______? What connections can you make to other books about ______? Have you read or heard books read about _____ (topic)? How were they alike? What is something new you have learned from reading this book? What was the most interesting thing about this book? What happened first in the book? last? Why was the title a good one for this book? What do you think of this book? Is this book interesting to read?

Connections to the Continuum LevelBGLORU What do readers have to be able to do to read at this level with understanding, accuracy, and fluency? How can we use this tool to inform our teaching?