Chapter+4

Chapter 4 from Bobbi Friend #1 In order to get my students into just right books right away, I use several pieces of data. First of all, we use Dibels fluency scores across the district to help identify struggling readers. So that is one score that I will have from the previous teacher. I use the child’s standardized testing data from the previous year as well. Both of these give me an idea of where my students’ just right levels may be, but depending on their summer reading habits those scores may vary significantly. I use Fountas and Pinnell’s word list as a quick assessment piece as well. It is not a perfect assessment, but it adds to the picture of the student as a reader. I also teach my student’s the three finger rule as discussed in the book as a way for them to check their level after I have an idea of what their level should be. It is easy to get carried away with strict assessment such as running records at the beginning of the year, but it is essential to get students into books right away. I believe it is better to err on the side of caution and have students choose a book that may be a little too easy rather than too challenging early on. In that way I agree with the authors when they state, “If I was still unsure, I preferred to err on the side of matching readers to books that were too easy, because my goal in the very start of the year was to get students engaged and to help them feel comfortable with reading.”
 * __Chapter Four: Matching Students to Just-Right Books__**
 * 1) 1. Every student deserves books that are "just right" for them. Research has well demonstrated the need for students to have instructional texts they can read accurately, fluently, and with good comprehension if we hope to foster academic achievement (Richard Allington). The author illustrates this point with the clothing we wear. How true it is that just as our clothing size fluctuates so does our reader's levels. We need them to feel comfortable reading and we need them to read a lot, as soon as possible. Some suggestions are given as to how to quickly get students into books right away. What do you use to get just-right books into students' hands right away? Comment on their suggestions.
 * Respond Here:**

//As in the educational setting that Bobbi is in, we are able to use theprevious teachers' comments and scores (Dibels or Fontas & Pinell BenchmarkAssessments) given to place books into the hands of babes right away. Thisreally helps in leveling the students quickly; it can be assumed that they mayhave dropped a few levels if they didn't read over the summer. Or if they didread over the summer faithfully they may have advanced a few levels. Therefore,it is important to give some type of survey of the students regarding their readinghabits over the summer. It may be best to ask the parents if their child readover the summer, to have a more accurate account of their summer reading.//

//The book mentions using the finger rule to match students to text. This is astrategy that I've used in the past with my lower readers. This habit should becautioned however. The students may be able to read all the words on the page,but have no idea of what they read. So I would caution any educator of usingthe finger rule to match a student with a text.//

//The third way the book mentions to get just right books into students handsis to use running records. This method is probably the least desirable to me. Iknow how to give and assess using the running record. It just seems so time consumingto me; I'd rather give the Fontas and Pinell Benchmark Assessment instead. Therunning record has so many "iffy" assumptions of results that I don't think it's too reliable.// //Cara1212//

//Getting the Right-Fit into the hands of our students for literate success, I use Dibels, Star Test, my walk and talk assessment. That's where I listen as my children read aloud during independent time. Some of my students coming to me this fall have been reading over the summer. I will compare their scores at the end of June to my Star Test in September. I agree with Cara1212 that I will err on the side of easier and move up. I will keep a running record this year, children do enjoy seeing their successes.//

//Margaret Fox﻿//

When my first graders walk through the door on the first day of school we talk about our whole class goal in reading. Unfortunately, the only data piece that comes with my students is the DIBELS Benchmark score for the end of kindergarten and the number of sight words recognized. Therefore, I start with level 1-3 in my table baskets. Although I will soon discover that there is a much wider range of readers than 1-3, I, like the authors would rather err on the side of caution and not frustrate anyone. I walk around as the class reads and just make notes for myself and I usually get some information from parents who love to tell me what their child has been reading. I do DRA running records as soon as possible to get a baseline for my entire class. This is time consuming but very valuable to me. –Jodee Tuttle

Like Margaret and Bobbi I can access the previous years data and look at how the DIBELS, STAR Reading, and F&P Running Record levels compare to get an intial read on where a good starting point may be for my students. I am also considering sending home an interest inventory before school to see what I might glean. I would hope to use that information to "flesh out" my classroom library and cover a wider range of interests and titles. I found the 3 finger rule interesting. It seems we have used the 5 finger rule before. I think the accuracy target is now slightly higher for finding "just right books" and so the 3 finger rule makes sense. I think an important piece to remember is __**"to err on the side of matching readers to books that were to easy, because my goal in the very start of the year was to get students engaged and to help them feel comfortable with reading"p.36**__

Like many others, I have access to students’ previous years DIBELS score and running record. These are not perfect, but they at least give me a jumping off point to quickly get students into books. I tried something new last year and look forward to trying it again this year with regards to having students select their first books for their book boxes. One of the tasks students had during our before school open house was to see me for book levels, based on the previous year, then select a given number of books from these bins. I typically moved students down one level to ensure no books would be too challenging and frustrate students. As the text says, I would rather “err on the side matching readers to books that were too easy, because my goal in the very start of the year is to get students engaged and to help them feel comfortable with reading.” (p. 36) Nearly all students enjoyed choosing books and parents seemed to like seeing what levels and interests their children had in books.

Stephanie Cooper Fortunately this will be my first year where I will receive an accurate independent reading level for each of my students at the end of Kindergarten using the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. I plan on using this data as a starting point for each student. Quickly though I plan on using informal running records, individual conferring sessions, and beginning of the year DIBELS information to adjust reading levels to be more appropriate. I’m realizing now that something I can do at the end of the school year is to take a picture of the titles of each student’s book bin books and pass that on to the second grade teacher. This way the teacher will get to see books that the student liked and were at a good reading level for the end of first grade. I would love that information from kindergarten. Garth

Garth, I love the idea of taking a photo of their book bins to pass on to the next teacher. The familiarity of the texts will engage the students right away! And Stephanie, taking time during the open house for the kids to choose books for their bins is a great way to get parents familiar with your approach to teaching reading as well as getting to know thier kids as readers. It gets kids comfortable with the classroom library, and it seems like it'd be a great time saver, too. As for my experience as an interventionist, I often just pick up where I left off last year. I usually have most of the same students that I had at the end of last year. However, we still look at fresh data in September to determine who is eligible for services, and what level the students should be reading. Each teacher passes on a reading level to the next teacher. So I use that information as well as my information from last year to determine which texts to use during sessions. I usually bump them back a little because of summer set back. I'll do an informal running record during our 2nd session, and a formal running record during my 3rd or 4th session. I wait a little bit for the formal running record so that they have had some reading time in the classroom and with me before I get a reading level to use to measure growth throughout the year. ~Stephanie B.

In our district we use the DIBELS information as a benchmark at the beginning of the year. We can compare their scores from the end of the previous year to see how much it differs. We also do a quick vocabuary test to see how much they have retained over the summer. I have used the five finger test in the past but will switch this to the three finger test for about 100 words worth of reading. I will teach the strategy of "book choosing" as one of my first lessons. I feel that our district puts alot of importance on the DIBELS test as the way to determine who needs extra support services and I need to make sure I put more importance on the comprehension aspect as well as speed. I like the idea on page 35 of "getting a few copies of each title and for them to read the first chapter of that is one level below the book they mentioned that they last read." "When they are done they need to tell me about the first chapter without looking back at the book." I would have them write it down if they are able to.... Ronda My students come to me with Dibels scores, SRI lexile scores and standardized reading grade level scores. The first few days of school I do a quick reading inventory with my students to get a feel for where they are reading as well. As my students read the first few books they have picked, I listen to them read and make adjustments as needed. Stephanie, I like the idea of letting students pick books for their book box during open house. I think I will borrow that idea. I also like the idea of sharing pictures of a students’ book box with the next teacher, what a nice way to share that information with each other and also have a starting point with familiar books with the students. Sue Ronning

I am also very lucky as far as getting just right books into my students' hands. Second grade teachers create a list of what levels the students were on at the end of the year. I also receive their Dibles scores. I, myself, give the Dibels and SRI to my students in the first two weeks of school. I am also planning on doing reading questionnaires that both my students and parents will answer to get an idea where the student is reading at. Since Reading Workshop is new to me this year, I am worried about having enough books for my students. It is a concern I am working on and will be counting on using the library heavily in the beginning of the year. TGaribay

I get just right books in students hands right away I do various things. I try to check their CA60 for past reading scores. The scores could be DIBELS, IOWA or local assessments. I start the first couple of day with communal book baskets with the low range for that grade and a few mid levels basal. I see how is reading, who is pre reading, not reading and loving to read. Then I do a spelling inventory and interest inventory. All this in an effort to match books to abilities and interests. KDN

From the first day of school the students have baskets of books at their tables. The books are familiar favorites, cool non-fiction, and some leveled books. In the morning as I greet the children from that day forward, I spend a few minutes in a research or compliment-type conference (the authors go on to explain these in later chapters.) I simply want to get to know the children, their interests, and connections they have (“Oh, you have a sister, too?” “You like to play soccer like Froggy!”) Based on these initial and informal assessments and data from last year’s teacher, I know where to begin as I conduct running record assessments with each child (page 33). Also, like Bobbi, I use the scores from our school-wide assessment (we used to use Dibels, now we use AimsWeb) to inform my decision. Once I have a picture of the child’s strengths as a reader and what level they are at, I have them shop for books at that level. Though before I assess everyone I like to give what the authors termed “a probably-just-right level for the time being.” In a series of mini-lessons, I also teach children how to select their own good-fit books. I like to use the Goldilocks analogy for finding one that is just-right. There is also a great lesson outlined in a book by two sisters called //The Daily Five//. They use shoes to illustrate their point. (Garth, I also like the photo of their book bins idea. Picking out books during an Open House is a great idea, too, Stephanie!) Sara Sabourin

Chapter 4 from Bobbi Friend #2 Running records are a very valuable source of information for teacher to gather about every student. I was trained with Fountas and Pinnell, and my frustration was the amount of time it took to assess each child. In order to complete all the parts of the record, it took me between 20 and 30 minutes per student. Trying to administer these assessments as other students were engaged in independent reading workshop was overwhelming. I could not do any reading conferences for weeks as I was trying to get all the running records completed. I decided to streamline the process and conduct a running record similar to what was shown in the book, with students reading 100 words orally and making notes similar to what was shown by Clay in the book. I was able to assess fluency and I had the students conduct a brief retell of what they read for an easy comprehension check. I then administered a more formal benchmark assessment at the end of each grading period to check comprehension in a more standardized way. I used to results of the running records to group students with partners and small groups based on the needs I was seeing in individual students.
 * 1) 2.This next part of the chapter talks about running records. Many of us have been formally trained in administering and analyzing running records. If you have experience with running records, share with others what you find meaningful about them and what is difficult.
 * Respond Here:**

// I personally do not like to give the running record. Part may be due to my experience giving the assessment, but I just don't enjoy giving the assessment. //// One reason that Bobbi brought up is that it takes so long to give. It may takeup to 30 minutes to an hour to get just a right level for the reader. Then the t //// eacher must analyze the results which are so subjective. They may be thought of as one thing to one teacher and something else to another. I also think the //// books that our school uses are boring, so they must be boring to the students also. I'd much rather use the Fountas & Pinell Benchmark Assessment. It is //// also a much longer assessment, but it delivers a given letter level right away and the mentor texts are fiction and nonfiction, which provides a better outlook //// of the student than the running record. // // Cara1212 //

// Running records are difficut. At our school we have the material to do this but you must be consistent. I do the fluency weekly, the Star is administered Quarterly. This year I will keep my own running record. Cara1212, could you tell me about the Fountas & Pinel Bench Assessment. I would like to try something better. //

// Margaret Fox﻿ //

My school currently requires 4 formal running records to be done throughout a school year. We use the DRA system at this time. I was trained in the Fountas and Pinnell system 2 years ago and have been advocating for it to be adopted in our district but until the money tree turns green again we will continue using DRA. I can think of both pros and cons to running records but for me the pros far outweigh the cons. The biggest negative I see and all of the wiki entries before me stated is the time factor. If I am administering running records to 24 first graders than I am not teaching–wish I could do both at one time! I usually have them reading or doing review work to get warmed up for first grade work with parent volunteers or parapros supervising. Sometimes I ask for volunteers (students) to stay in and read to me at recess also. Some of the pros I see are taking the time to really watch a child as a reader and give them lots of positive talk afterward. I also can see a lot of strategies and skill a child has or lacks. Contrary to how Cara feels, I believe the information is less subjective because each child would be assessed with the same books and the retell is scored based on the child’s response-right or wrong. In first grade we have no standardized testing (thank goodness!) so our district places a lot of value on the DRA for reporting purposes. Do I think this is a complete picture of a reader? Absolutely not, I try to look at as many pieces of information as I can when determining what a just-right book would be. –Jodee Tuttle

Like Cara we use the F&P Benchmark Assessment 3 times a year. I like the choice it gives students at each level, they can choose between fiction or non-fiction. Like everyone else though, it is TIME-TIME-TIME! This is when having students engaged is so important. I really want to see my students read to assess their level without distraction, to give them their best chance to see what they can do, and this requires for me as well as my students, a calm environment. I have tried literacy centers where I rotated groups between testing, and a lot of phonics "quiet work" to acheive this. I'm hoping I can find those "just right" books this year to keep my students engaged (and quiet and calm) while I administer my running records. I see value to using running records more often and will try some of the less formal methods to see what information and teaching tips I can find in my students reading. Mike

In agreement with all of the others commenting, time is a major hurdle to conducting running records. They are not required in second grade, but all teachers in our building conduct them. We used to receive a full day sub, then a half day sub when money was available. Last year, we had to find class time to conduct the running records, but were given freedom to be creative. Some teachers combined classrooms so one teacher could test, while others enlisted parent volunteers to conduct activities, freeing the teacher to test without distractions. I do think it’s important to conduct them, though I agree with Cara in that some of the stories are boring so a student may not do as well as if the material were interesting to them. The information I receive from running records allows me to form small focus groups and inform parents of specific skills where their child is successful and those that need practice. It gives me one on one time to really listen to a child read, retell, answer questions, and tell me their thoughts about reading. Stephanie Cooper I can’t agree more with all the other responses about the time constraint caused by administering running records especially in my district that uses the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. Although I appreciate the information I get by using this “running record” system, you have to wonder if the time spent administering it which takes away from teaching time is worth it. It seemed to me that last year I got just as valuable of information on a child’s reading readiness and areas for improvement during conferring than I would giving a running record. I will say that the information I got using F&P was very helpful during report card grading and parent conferences because it was formalized and something easy for the parents to see and understand. Garth

I agree with everyone about the time and management issues caused by administering formal running records to every student. It becomes especially time consuming when students progress through levels rather quickly in the lower grades. However, if we think about the purpose of assessment, mainly measuring growth and driving instruction, the running record is a powerful tool. I think analyzing the running records using miscue analysis gives the teacher as much insight as possible into what the reader is doing cognitively to read the text. It can give a teacher exact teaching targets for conferring and small group instruction. The comprehension questions from the Fountas and PinneI can direct a teacher to where the student's comprehension is breaking down. Also, I think that having a "benchmark" running record 3 times a year is a valuable tool for measuring growth and the effectiveness of our teaching. The other quick measures, such as DIBELS, only give us information on a small piece of the reading puzzle. Although we can use this tool to measure growth in accuracy and reading speed (not fluency), it is very difficult to plan teaching points around these results. A running record gives us a more thorough picture of strategies the reader uses to read the text and make meaning of the text. ~Stephanie B.

I agree that running records take alot of time to administer but what you learn from them is very informative. I think that you can find a "reader's independent reading level and a sense of the way they handle the difficulties they encounter." Ideas of what to teach certain students and "what skills and processes to reinforce" are some of the important information you can gain from the running records. First grade students find it difficult to stay engaged for long periods of time so you can't get many running records completed during one day. I don't all parts of running records exactly as they discuss on pages 37-43 at the first grade level. It still helps me to gain some incite but isn't as involved as reading 100 words. Doing this would be very frustrating for most and wouldn't be the best for ﻿their confidence. Ronda

As a resource teacher, I am constantly assessing my students and where they are as readers. I use the QRI for my reading information. As others have mentioned, the time to give running records is a huge issue. The information gained from students is so valuable though, that the time is well spent. As students have become used to the workshop method of teaching, they are comfortable with conferring and others reading while they are working independently. This has made administering individual reading assessments easier as it is just one more thing we do in the classroom.

Sue Ronning

Running Records will be new to me this school year. I did observe a teacher giving a student a running record last year. I have running records from A-Z from the Teacher's College for this year along with the books used from L-Z. I will be giving them this year. I am very excited about the information I will be getting for each of my students. I wish I would have used them earlier in my teachings. TGaribay

I have given lots ands lot and lots of running records. It can tell you so much I generally have been lucky and have given them while being a Title teacher with more flexibility. If in the classroom I do it when I have a student who is a puzzle and I am trying to fill in the holes. On pg 41 I like the text question that where provided. These also help determine the type of thinking reader student is in front of you. Then what mini lessons that would assist in comprehension or inferential thinking need to be modeled. KDN

What I find difficult with administering running records is the time it takes, some of the discrepancies between other colleagues with the scoring, and the time and knowledge it takes to analyze the data to use to inform my instruction. I agree with Bobbi that I felt overwhelmed to spend about 20 minutes with a student and not have time left over to confer much with others. Jodee, I, too, try to tackle the time problem by asking volunteers to stay in at recess to read to me. Cara, I know what you mean about the book selection in the running record kits. I worry that a child’s disinterest in a book may lead them to not do their best. In my building, there has been debate about what percentage to use as the child’s independent level. I see know from Richard Allington’s research (page 32) that students should be able to read with at least 97% accuracy (in addition to good comprehension and fluency) for the book to be considered at an independent reading level.

I see the benefits in analyzing the miscues in that I can better form small group strategy lessons (as Calkins further details in The Art of Teaching Reading) and individualize while conferring. I also like having that chunk of time with one reader to really see what they are doing. One tip I’d like to share to help alleviate the problem of being interrupted by other students while I’m conducting a running record – as can be SO common in first grade J - is to put out a stop sign. I teach my children what this means and what to do if they see it’s out and need help. If they come up to me anyway, I point to the sign and give them the “just a minute” finger. We have a signal in my room for the bathroom. It’s the sign language sign for it (pointer and middle finger crossed). I simply nod if that’s the case and they go. It’s so important to have a solid chunk of time for readers to do their best, therefore having structures in place for this is crucial. Sara Sabourin

//One way to assess how the student reads is to give them a reading survey at the beginning of the year. It should ask questions about the reading habits and skills the student uses while reading. Another way is to ask the students parents how much the student reads, what they enjoy reading, and how often the student reads. Students can also be asked what they like most about reading, if anything. It would be very apparent to tell from thier responses about their attitudes of reading.// //Cara1212//
 * 1) 3. As we look at our readers, we want to get a complete picture of their reading level but also their attitudes towards reading and what strategies they have or need. Can you think of other things that might give us insights into the child as a reader? Share what you use.
 * Respond Here:**

//My year will start with a Minilesson on "Who are the readers in my Neighborhood". We will do a walk about and look at my Classroom Library, our school Media Center and our shopping area. The students will share their likes and dislikes. A letter will go home before the first day of school. Their first assignment will be to bring in a book from home or reading material in their home.(must be appropriate) I know not everyone ﻿//

I will definitely be using reading surveys this school year. I received some nice ones from the Reader's Workshop Class. I also have many examples from online sources. Not only will students be taking these, but I am going to have parents fill them out as well during Open House. I would also like to have them filled out again half way through the year and/or at the end of the year. I'd like to see if their perceptions of reading have changed, or how they have grown. It will be a good assessment for my teaching as well to see where my strengths and weaknesses are. TGaribay

Inventories: Theses inventories can be oral or written inventories that the students take. An oral or written inventory done by the parents, this will give another opinion. Fountas and Pinnell have other pieces of there assessments that give more insight. The journal students keep and the books they choose all help with the changing picture. KDN