1. NB: Instructions for the presenters are written in regular font.
Dialogue for the presenters is written in bold font.
HANDOUTS
Handout 1.: Different types of miscues
Handout 2 : OTS recording sheets
Handout 3 : Evidence gained from the OTS miscue analysis
Handout 4.: Holistic Evaluation of the reader form
Using ‘Over the shoulder’ miscue analysis in the assessment of oral reading 1

2. asks readers to consider how and why they make miscues.
Davenport:
views reading as a process of constructing meaning, not of saying words,
perceives miscues as a window into a reader's strategies for creating meaning
offers an in-depth discussion of what miscues are, and how knowledge benefits both teacher and students
asks readers to consider how and why they make miscues.
Explain that: This presentation is based on Ruth Davenport’s book(2002), Miscues not Mistakes.
In her book she examines a number of different procedures for conducting miscue analysis: some are taped , some are untaped and each has a slightly different focus.
In this workshop, we will be focusing on one untaped procedure: Over the Shoulder (OTS) miscues analysis.
Link: We will begin the session by looking at what we mean by the term ‘miscues’. 2 2

3. A miscue …
…is an unexpected response during oral reading.
… carries a strong message
conveys the notion that the reader has not made a mistake, but instead has altered the text in an unique way that may or may not change the reader’s understanding of the text.
CLICK to bring in the message.
Explain that: Quite often miscues do not change the meaning of the sentence and therefore do not interrupt the reading process.
Link : We will now look at the different types of miscues. 3 3

4. Different types of miscues
SUBSTITUTIONS
OMISSIONS
PARTIALS
REGRESSIONS
INSERTIONS
PAUSES
REPEATED MISCUES
Materials: Handout: Different types of miscues.
Explain that: There are any ways readers can change a text as they read aloud.
CLICK to bring in each of the eight different types of miscues.
State: Davenport provides a further breakdown of these miscues in the Handout: Different types of miscues.
To ensure participants have a shared understanding, provide time for participants to quickly read through the Handout: Different types of miscues.
Link: So what does the term ’miscue analysis’ mean?
COMPLICATED MISCUES 4 4

5. Miscue analysis helps us look at what readers do and what reading is.
…is a method of examining oral reading. It is a tool that allows us to explore why students make unexpected responses when they read. It gives us a “window on the reading process”.
…gives us a way of observing readers’ control of the reading process, describing their use of language, and explaining what we hear when we listen to them read.
Click to bring in the summary point.
Link: We will now look specifically at the procedure of Over the Shoulder miscue analysis as presented by Davenport.
Miscue analysis helps us look at what readers do and what reading is. 5 5

6. What is Over the Shoulder (OTS) miscue
analysis ?
OTS miscue analysis is a tool for writing down information about the reader, his/her miscues and his/her retelling
AND it allows teachers to make notes about miscues, strategies to teach, or observations to share with the reader.
The goal is to nurture reflective learners who are able to express their actions as readers.
(Miscues not Mistakes, M. Ruth Davenport, 2002)
Explain that: Davenport’s OTS miscue analysis entails a detailed recording and review of readers’ miscues during oral reading and of the quality of their retelling.
The purpose of OTS miscue analysis is to provide a teaching conversation in which students are empowered as readers and develop metacognitive awareness of their strategies and processes during reading.
Link: It is important to understand the place of running records in assessing reading of students beyond the emergent level. 6 6

7. Quote
While running records are a great tool for developing readers, they are being increasingly misused for older, fluent readers. Such use was never intended, is unnecessary, and is not a good use of student or teacher time.
Routman (2000) Teaching children to read
State that: An OTS miscue analysis is intended for use with older readers – that is, readers beyond the emergent stage who are more fluent, approaching fluency or struggling to become fluent.
Link: So what does an OTS involve? 7

8. OTS processes WITH THE STUDENT:
Ask a student to join you in a reading conference and to bring any book he/she is currently reading
Talk briefly about the text and complete the cover page
Listen to the student read while looking over his/her shoulder at the text
Complete the miscue page during reading
Scribe the retelling and discussion after the reading on the cover page
Select and discuss several miscues that changed meaning
Select a strategy to introduce or review
Celebrate what the reader has done well. .
Read through the procedural points listed on the slide.
Link: The teacher then completes the process after the student has left the reading conference. 8

9. OTS processes AFTER THE STUDENT HAS LEFT THE CONFERENCE:
Complete the insights page and determine graphic similarity. .
Link: We will examine the three recording pages referred to in these processes. 9

10. Completing the OTS recording sheets
BEFORE THE READING: • Complete the top part of the cover page DURING THE READING: • Write down information about each miscue on the miscue page
• Make notes in the margin of any conversations or side comments that occurred during the reading AFTER THE READING: • On the cover page, scribe as much of the teaching conversation as possible • On the insights page, total each column from the miscue page and record your observations about this reader .
Materials: Handout: OTS recording sheets
Ask participants to look at the Handout: OTS recording sheets.
Briefly explain the summary as presented on the slide.
Explain that: There are three pages of the form for the untaped OTS : the cover page, the miscue page and the insights page.
The purposes of the cover page are: to capture and highlight the talking that takes place after the reading; to value the teacher’s insights about the reader and the decisions about the teaching points; and to convey the message that this is not about writing down all the ‘mistakes’ a reader makes.
The insights page provides the information for the teacher to determine what readers are doing well and where they need to improve.
Link: Let’s have a look at the first step the teacher does in recording miscues during reading on the miscue page. 10

11. The OTS recording form Reader said Text Said Self corrected
Uncorrected with no meaning change
Uncorrected with meaning change
but
between 
seen
laid eyes on
hopped
hoped .
Explain that: Here you can see that the teacher has written what the reader says in the first column and what was the actual written text in the second column.
The next step is to indicate whether the student made an attempt to self correct and if no correction was attempted, whether this impacted on the meaning of the text.
Link: The analysis of the miscues and the % of miscues provides valuable information about the reader for the teacher to use in planning support. 11 11

12. The patterns of miscues
High % of self corrections
 Low % of self corrections
High % of miscues uncorrected +no meaning change
 Low % of miscues uncorrected +no meaning change
 High % of miscues uncorrected + meaning change
 Low % of miscues uncorrected +.meaning change
Materials/Resources: Handout: Evidence gained from the OTS miscue analysis
Read through the different patterns of miscues as displayed on the slide.
Refer to the Handout: Evidence gained from the OTS miscue analysis and read through the section titled “The Patterns of Miscues”.
Complete the activity outlined on the slide.
Link: Teachers return to the form after the conference to make the checkmarks in the similarity columns.
Discuss with a partner/small group which patterns are of concern/ no concern? Why? 12

13. The OTS recording form Reader said Text Said Self corrected Graphic
Uncorrected with no meaning change
Uncorrected with meaning change
Graphic
similarities
Self corrected during conversation
High
Some
None
but
between  a
the
hopped
hoped
 Materials/Resources: Handout: Evidence gained from the OTS miscue analysis
Remind participants: This section is NOT completed during reading.
Reader A:If the uncorrected mistakes show little or no graphic similarity but they don’t change meaning, then the reader has picked up a minimal amount of graphic clues and prioritised constructing meaning- the example on the slide ‘a’ for ‘the’ is a common example of this.
Reader B:If the uncorrected miscues have HIGH graphic similarity and they do change meaning, the reader is over relying on the graphic information- e.g. ‘hopped’ for ‘hoped’ as shown on the slide.
Refer to the Handout: Evidence gained from the OTS miscue analysis and read through the section titled “Graphic similarity”
With a partner/small group, discuss what specific learning experiences could be planned to address specific reader needs e.g. a close activity for Reader B.
The final column on the miscue page, Self- Corrected During Conversation, indicates that the reader realised what the word should have been. This could possibly have been one made in haste or a mispronunciation of a word for which the reader knew the meaning.
Link: We will look at this teaching conversation now in more detail. 13 13

14. Quote
At the heart of the OTS miscue analysis is the teaching conversation.
I believe one of the strengths of miscue analysis is that it allows students, in conversation with the teacher, then independently, to become reflective about their own reading process.
Davenport, 2002
State that: As stated at the beginning of the session, the purpose of OTS miscue analysis is to provide a teaching conversation in which students are empowered as readers and develop metacognitive awareness of their strategies and processes during reading.
One of the main goals is to help students-all students- understand that they are doing a lot of things right as readers, discover what those things are, and consider ways that they can continue to improve.
Link: We will now look at what this could involve either during (only occasionally) and after the reading. 14

15. Suggestions for the teaching conversation…
Tell me about what you have just read. Is there anything you’d like to add?
Do you remember what happened here? (if something significant was omitted) .
Does this remind you of anything? Do you have questions about this?
Look at the OTS form. Discuss patterns of miscues.
Go back to individual miscues( teacher or student selected) and ask what were you thinking when you said …?How did you get that ?
Explain: Teachers need to write as much as possible.
Note: two points when conducting a conversation during reading include:
This should occur occasionally , not too frequently
Focus on significant teaching or a celebration point.
These are some suggestions for the teaching conversation, which may include any or all of the points listed on the slide.
CLICK to continue. 15

16. Suggestions for the teaching conversation…
Go back and clarify concepts or words where meaning may have been lost.
Select a brief teaching point. Model or remind the student of a strategy. Suggest something to work on.
Conclude with a Celebration Point. Point out something the student is doing well. 16

17. Suggested frequency OTS conference –every 2-3 weeks
Holistic Evaluation – once a term
Materials: Handout: Holistic Evaluation of the reader form
Ask participants to quickly look at the Handout: Holistic Evaluation of the reader form
State: Davenport refers to this form as a way of “Bringing it all together: knowing our readers”. It provides information regarding the reader’s ability to construct meaning and use to use appropriate strategies.
Link: To encourage teachers to see the validity of assessing oral reading the following simplified procedure could be a good starting point. This procedure was designed by a classroom teacher. 17

18. Simplified Group Running Record
Teacher:
identifies a group of students- according to focus/need
writes each student’s initial on the left hand side of page
gives a  for each word correct
gives a  for each miscue ( including omissions)
conducts a debriefing where students are encouraged to contribute the miscues they heard while their peers were reading
State: It is important to note that this is not part of Davenport’s book .
This procedure is a simplified version of a combination of procedures for assessing oral reading.
The major difference is the fact that it is delivered to a group of students It should also be noted that it is not as detailed in the analysis process.
However it does utilise the debriefing aspect whereby students are encouraged to be part of the conversations about their own and their peers’ miscues.
Link: The recoding of this assessment can simple or detailed. 18 18

19. Sample recording sheet
Text: Date:
Names of students:
R      
H       
B      
R      
H       
B     
Explain that: Teachers could write in the word given for miscues. This would provide information for reviewing at a later date.
CLICK 19
Shea, 2000 19

20. It’s a memorable moment the first time you tune in to students
Quote
It’s a memorable moment the first time
you tune in to students
with a “new ear” to listen to them read,
use a language to talk about what you hear, gain a new perspective
to interpret what it all means,
and then change
your teaching accordingly. 20
Davenport, 2002 20