1. Guided Reading as an Assessment Tool Dr. Jennifer Herbold June 25, 2008

2. Agenda A brief review of a “balanced literacy program” An in-depth discussion of guided reading, one of the most essential parts of a balanced literacy program. Documentation and assessment Practice!

3. Balanced Literacy, A “Review” Independent reading-Independent writing Shared reading-Shared writing Guided reading-Guided writing Modeled reading (sign/read aloud)- Modeled writing Why is guided reading so critical within this framework? Children need opportunities to read for themselves but also receive support Children learn to read, primarily by reading This is an assessment-based strategy that provides small group/one-on-one support for students.

4. What is Guided Reading? Definition: The teacher works with a small group who have similar reading processes (or one-on-one with a student). The teacher selects and introduces new books and supports children reading whole texts to themselves, making teaching points during and after the reading. Purpose: Provides the opportunity to read many texts and a wide variety of texts Provides opportunity to problem-solve while reading for meaning (“reading work”) Provides opportunity to use strategies on extended text Challenges the reader and creates context for successful processing on novel texts Provides opportunity to attend to words in text Teacher selection of text, guidance, demonstration and explanation is available to the reader Level of Support: Some level of support is needed. Reader problem-solves a new text in a way that is mostly independent

5. Possible Outcomes General comprehension skills: Use of pictures or other contextual clues to understand text Uses prior knowledge Uses specific punctuation marks to comprehend meaning Prediction abilities Retelling skills (main ideas, summary, selects important information) Able to answer factual/explicit questions Ability to make inferences about text Comprehension of specific phrases and idioms Ability to put words together in sentences to make meaning Vocabulary skills: Prefix/suffix comprehension General vocabulary comprehension Word attack skills (making meaning from text or pictures) ASL skills: Demonstrates understanding of punctuation Demonstrates understanding of various roles/characters Uses conceptually accurate ASL signs for specific words or word clusters

6. Guided Reading: Procedures 1. Pre-select focus areas based on assessment (e.g. vocabulary and strategies) 2. Introduce the book to the child 3. Have the child read the book silently or aloud (depending on purpose) 4. Work on specific strategies/vocabulary 5. Have student re-read book aloud (depending on purpose) 6. Take notes on the following: New areas of focus Unexpected responses/ unknown words to focus on next time Students’ responses to new strategy/words Students’ responses to the story itself (interest level, etc) 7. Initiate word-work activities or other post-guided reading activities as appropriate 8. It is strongly encouraged that you spend some time reviewing what was learned in previous sessions before initiating new concepts/vocabulary to ensure retention. Note: Procedures 3, 4, & 5 should not take more than 15 minutes.

7. Before Reading… Teacher selects appropriate text, one that will be supportive but with a few problems to solve prepares an introduction to the story briefly introduces the story, keeping in mind the meaning, language, and visual information in the text and the knowledge, experience and skills of the reader leaves some questions to be answered through reading Student engage in a conversation about the story raise questions build expectations notice information in text

8. During Reading… Teacher listens in observes the reader’s behaviors for evidence of strategy use confirms children’s problem-solving attempts and successes interacts with individuals to assist with problem solving at difficulty (when appropriate) makes notes about the strategy use of individual readers (later in this workshop, we will discuss how to make notes) Student read the whole text or a unified part to themselves (softly or silently) request help in problem solving when needed

9. After Reading… Teacher talks about the story with the student invites personal response returns to the text for one or two teaching opportunities such as finding evidence or discussing problem solving assesses student’s understanding of what they read sometimes engages the children in extending the story through such activities as drama, writing, art, or more reading Student talks about the story check predictions and react personally to the story or information revisit the text at points of problem solving as guided by the teacher may reread the story to a partner or independently sometimes engage in activities that involve extending and responding to the text (such as drama or journal writing)

10. Planning Guided Reading Grouping of students FAQ: What do other kids do when guided reading? There are several workshops on literacy centers per year in Albuquerque. Materials Reading material: Individual books (trade books or level books) Easel and chart paper (teacher created reading materials) Highlighters/ Highlighter tape Magazines, email, newspapers, etc.

11. The Role of Assessment in Guiding Instruction. Different types of assessments The significance of assessing your students in your own classroom Perhaps even more so when compared to a fixed curriculum, individual student assessments should guide what you do in your reading classroom. How guided reading in itself is both an assessment and an instructional tool

12. DOCUMENTATION! Practical aspects and examples How does documentation guide your next guided reading sessions as well as lessons?

13. Running Records & Miscue Analysis Common types of miscues: Correction: During the oral reading, the child realizes he/she has made an error and re-reads the section/word without prompting. Document by writing “©” above the word. Insertion: As the child is reading, he/she will insert a word or two that isn't on the page. Document by writing the word where it was inserted along with a Omission: During the oral reading, the child leaves out a word(s.) Document by crossing out the word. Repetition: A child repeats a word or portion of the text. Document by writing “®” above the word. Reversal: A child will reverse the order of the print or the word. (will say something like of for for etc.) Document by creating a line between words ( ) Substitution: Instead of reading a specific word, the child inserts a different word. Document by writing the word above the substituted word

14. Running Records & Miscue Analysis Information from miscues Correction: This is good! We want readers to self-correct. However is the reader reading too fast? Is the reader mis-correcting accurate reading? If so, the reader often doesn't see himself as a 'good' reader. Insertion Does the inserted word detract from meaning? If not, it may just mean the reader is making sense but also inserts. The reader may also be reading too fast. If the insertion is something like using finished for finish, this should be addressed. Omission: When words are omitted, it may mean weaker visual tracking. Determine if the meaning of the passage is affected or not. If not, omissions can also be the result of not focusing or reading too fast. It may also mean the sight vocabulary is weaker. Repetition: Lots of repetition may mean that the text level is too difficult. Sometimes readers repeat when they're uncertain and will repeat the word(s) to make sense of the passage. Reversal: Watch for altered meaning. Many reversals happen with young readers with high frequency words - of for for etc. Substitutions: Sometimes a child will use a substitution because they don't understand the word being read. Does the substitution make sense in the passage, is it a logical substitution? Good vs. “poor” miscues What’s important? Did the miscue change the meaning or impede the child’s comprehension?

15. Let’s Practice In groups of 2 or 3, practice guided reading. (You will need to take turns “acting” as a student) Note: For training purposes, I am only using the beginning of short stories. It is really better to allow the child to get “used” to the story before evaluating the child’s ability to read the story.

16. Resources Books Clay, M. (2000). Running records for classroom teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All Children. Heinemann Publishers, 1996. Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Goodman, Y., Watson, D., & Burke, L. (2005). Reading miscue inventory: From evaluation to instruction. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owens Publishers. *Note: May be somewhat challenging to read if you are entirely unfamiliar with miscue analysis.