k Web viewThroughout the school year, ... writing activities, and an 80-minute block devoted to Literacy cooperative groups (called “Literacy Stations”)

Running head: READING ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTION ASSIGNMENT

Reading Assessment and Instruction Assignment

Kelly Harrell

University of Colorado – Denver

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READING ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTION ASSIGNMENT

Introduction

The partner school that I am working in is Alsup Elementary School in

Commerce City, CO. Alsup serves students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade

and is part of the Adams 14 school district. Based on previous school year enrollment

data, there are around 600 students total. The student body is 80% Hispanic, 15% White,

3% African American, and 2% Asian/Native American/Multiple, with 60% of the student

body identified as English Language Learners. The amount of students that are eligible

for free and reduced lunch is about 90%. Based on my observations in the first few weeks

of the school year, the community is very connected, friendly, and family-oriented. The

majority of students in the school have siblings and other family members that also attend

Alsup or used to attend the school. Many of the veteran teachers have taught multiple

children from the same family and have made connections to the family through each

student.

Because 60% of the student body is made up of English Language Learners, much

of the literacy instruction that I have observed is differentiated to accommodate students

who need extra help in English. Students participate 45 minutes of ELD (English

Language Development) every day. Literacy proficiency levels are based on data from

school-wide assessments that were taken at the beginning of the school year. Throughout

the school year, teachers re-assign literacy groups based on data collected from

continuing assessments and their own observations of the student’s reading performance.

In the second grade classroom that I am working with, literacy instruction occurs

throughout the day with scheduled time for read-alouds, grammar exercises, writing

activities, and an 80-minute block devoted to Literacy cooperative groups (called

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“Literacy Stations”). During the Literacy Stations, students are divided into five different

groups that are assigned by their reading proficiency level. Every group has five to six

students and the groups rotate to a different station every 15 minutes. The different

stations include shared reading, vocabulary (students complete worksheets based on

weekly vocabulary words), writing (students work on answering different prompts in

their writing journals), listening (students listen to a CD and quietly read along with the

coordinating book), computers, and guided reading. The guided reading station is the

most differentiated and interactive. The teacher plans each 15-minute period to

accommodate the needs and proficiency levels of each small group. The selected texts

and the focus of each lesson are different for each group, and the teacher makes notes of

individual student performance throughout the lesson.

The student that I chose to focus on for this assignment will be referred to

throughout this paper as “JA”. JA is a second grade student at Alsup Elementary and he

is very enthusiastic about reading and math. He is able to read fluently but he does not

show understanding of the text and main ideas of a story when he is asked questions

following a reading. His teacher has noted several times that he tends to speed through

assignments without reading directions or correctly reading all of the questions. He is in

one of the higher literacy groups for his literacy stations but not in the very highest group.

He is engaged during the literacy stations, but rarely takes time to stop and think before

shouting out answers and does not make connections between key details in the text. The

most current reading level for JA is a level 14 on the DRA, his primary language is

Spanish, and his primary language of instruction is English.

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Rationale

How will we know what a student’s strengths and weaknesses are without

assessments? Continuous assessment of student reading is an integral part of teaching

literacy. According to Fountas and Pinnell (2001), comprehensive assessment is so

important because it allows us “to build an ongoing picture of what students know so that

we can take them where they need to go next”(p. 483). In other words, we can use

reading assessments to gather evidence and use that evidence to plan instruction that best

suits each reader.

Ongoing reading assessments are a useful tool for both teachers and students. By

gathering evidence from assessments throughout the school year, we can set goals for

each individual student and communicate ways to improve their reading. By

communicating with students and giving feedback, they become more invested in their

journey to become better readers and can use their success and growth as inspiration to

achieve their reading goals.

By using the information gathered from reading assessments, we can plan specific

guided reading instruction that will meet the needs of individual readers. Because every

student is different and has individual needs, small group instruction is a great way to

help students expand their reading abilities based on the proficiency or learning goals of

the group. Guided reading instruction has a purpose and by using small group instruction,

we can focus on the needs of each specific group.

So what is guided reading and how does it work? Fountas and Pinnell (2001)

define guided reading as “a teaching approach designed to help individual students learn

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how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and

fluency” (p. 193). It is different from shared reading, read alouds, and independent

reading because it focuses on small group instruction that allows group members to

interact and focus on concepts that will benefit the entire group. Guided reading is a time

when students can practice the strategies that they learned during shared reading and read

alouds (Cappellini, 2005, p. 152). A guided reading lesson typically begins with the

teacher introducing the text to the group of readers. As the group reads through the

assigned text, the teacher supports them as they read the text (if necessary), and then

involves the group in a discussion when they are finished. Some teachers might ask a few

introductory discussion questions before the group begins reading or they might stop and

ask questions throughout the reading. For students who are less proficient in reading, the

lesson might include different activities that focus on fluency or language development.

Because of the differentiated instruction that goes into small group guided

reading, it is very dynamic and always changing. Guided reading is differentiated so that

each group can focus on improving in their specific area. Depending on proficiency level

or language, teachers might use flashcards, realia, or other visual cues during the lesson.

Teachers also show flexibility in guided reading by changing the members in each group

as students progress at their own pace.

At the end of a guided reading lesson, teachers can assess student learning in a

variety of ways. One way is to take a running record of a student as they read out loud

and analyze their mistakes. You can also look for their miscues during reading and use

that information to find out how the reader is processing the text. Teachers might also

check for fluency and accuracy during oral reading and use that information to track

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progress or need for more instruction. Teachers can use guided reading lessons to assess

comprehension of the text by asking specific questions about the text and engaging in

conversation about the reading to check for understanding (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001).

Materials

In order to effectively plan for my guided reading lesson, I began by assessing a

few students in the same literacy group. The reading assessment that I used was the DRA

(Developmental Reading Assessment). The DRA is a great tool for teachers because it

helps teachers identify a student’s reading level, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

The levels that I used for the three DRA tests that I administered ranged from Level 14 to

24. According to the DRA proficiency scale, second grade students should be reading at a

level 16 at the beginning of the school year and level 28 at the end of the school year. I

offered a variety of texts on different levels so that each student would be able to choose

which book to read. This was helpful for me because I was able to ask questions about

why they chose that particular text. Their answers gave me an idea of what types of

books they like to read. For the student that I will focus on in this paper, JA, the text that

was used during the DRA was titled “The Pot of Gold”, which is a Level 16 text. Please

see Appendix A for a copy of the DRA Observation Guide.

After administering the DRA, I used the information from the assessment to plan

the guided reading lesson. The books that I used for the guided reading were titled

“Swimming with Pops” (Corporate Author, Harcourt School Publishers) and “Grandma’s

Rain Song” (Corporate Author, Harcourt School Publishers). I selected these texts with

the help of my Clinical Teacher, who said that they were the appropriate level for JA’s

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literacy small group. The group had already read “Swimming with Pops” during their

daily literacy group for two consecutive days before I conducted my guided reading

lesson. I decided to use two texts because I wanted JA to use compare and contrast to

increase comprehension of the text.

Instructional Method/Assessment Procedure

I planned for the DRA by meeting with JA’s teacher to discuss which students to

focus on, which texts and materials to use for the assessments, and what to look for while

administering the DRA. I also planned by watching videos online (Insert citation here)

and by observing a few instructors while they administered the DRA in school. Once I

had an idea of how to correctly administer the assessment, I took the student out of class

and administered the test in a quiet space outside of their classroom. I began by giving JA

three different books to choose from and then asked him why he chose “The Pot of

Gold”. He said that he thought the story looked good and he liked the pictures. As he

began reading, I conducted a Running Record and took notes on his miscues and self-

corrections. I followed the plan on the DRA Observation Guide that went along with the

text and asked questions to check JA’s comprehension of the story. I asked him to close

the book and then asked him to start at the beginning and tell me what happened in the

story. As he began to retell the story, I highlighted ideas that he remembered and noted

key details. I realized he did not use the names of the main characters when retelling.

Instead, JA said “the man” instead of “Grumble” and “the boy” instead of “Elf”. Because

JA did not give many specific details from the text, I prompted him with other questions

to get more information. I concluded the assessment by asking JA questions about how

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often he reads, where he reads, and how he prefers to read. Based on the data I gathered

from the DRA, I found that JA is on-level for accuracy and fluency, but struggles with

comprehension.

Because JA did not show proficient understanding of the key details of the story

during the DRA, I decided to plan the guided reading lesson with a focus on improving

comprehension. After reviewing the texts that JA’s literacy group had read, I decided to

use Compare/Contrast of two stories as my strategy for increasing understanding of main

idea and key details in the text. The main idea that both texts shared was that the main

character overcame a problem with the help of a grandparent. The main character in both

stories was nervous and unsure in the beginning and had a sense of pride at the end. I also

thought that this main idea was appropriate for the group because they were working on

writing their own narratives called “A Time When I Was Proud” during writing that

week. At the end of the lesson, I wanted students to learn how to increase their

understanding of a story by comparing the similarities and differences between two texts.

My evidence of learning would be based on whether or not students were able to make

connections between the two stories during our discussion following the reading.

Though most of the details of my guided reading lesson plan can be found on

Appendix B (Small Group Guided Lesson Plan Form), I will provide a brief overview

here. The lesson will begin with a review of the previous day’s text, “Swimming With

Pops” and fill out main ideas and details on the Venn Diagram. Next we will do a short

vocabulary exercise with flashcards to make sure that the students are able to read and

understand the meaning of unfamiliar words in the text that I am introducing to them.

After that I will pass out the new text “Grandma’s Rain Song”, and ask students to

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predict something that they think will happen based on looking at the cover of the book.

After they quietly read the text by whispering as a group, we will discuss the story and

compare and contrast the two texts using the Venn Diagram.

In relation to Cambourne’s Conditions of Literacy Development (Cambourne,

1988), this lesson includes Demonstration, Engagement, Use, Approximation and

Response. Engagement will be practiced in the small group instruction because I will

provide a comfortable environment for the students to learn and interact, with access to

books and any reading materials necessary. Approximation and response will be

implemented through encouraging the students to share their thoughts, feelings, and

reactions to the story in their own words and at their own pace. If a student needs more

time to think or to find the right words to answer a discussion question then I will be

patient and wait for them to gather their thoughts. Use is a condition that will be practiced

in this lesson through the use of visuals such as flash cards and the Venn Diagram, which

students will be involved with reading and providing answers for the diagram.

Communication to Students and Goal Setting

At the end of the assessment, I gave constructive feedback to JA and let him know

that I appreciated him allowing me to listen to him read. I told him that he did a very

good job reading the words and was getting better at “sliding” his finger across the page

while he read instead of pointing to each individual word. I told him that I thought it was

great that he gets excited about reading, but encouraged him to slow down a little bit so

that he can get to know the characters better.

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I planned to give feedback at the end of the guided reading lesson depending on

the outcome of our group discussion following the reading. I planned ahead by thinking

of questions to ask in order to get more information of the student’s understanding.

Rather than saying “yes, that’s right” or “no, that’s wrong”, I asked questions like “how

do you know?” or “why do you think the character felt that way?”. I did not give positive

or negative reinforcements when the students were answering questions because I wanted

to encourage students to show their process and reasoning for understanding the story.

Reflection - Assessment

I chose JA out of the three students that I performed the DRA with because I

knew that he would be excited to read out loud and would not be shy about answering my

discussion questions. The reading assessment that I chose was the DRA. I chose the DRA

because it is an all-encompassing assessment of reading that allows the instructor to take

a running record, assess fluency and accuracy, and determine comprehension level. It was

very helpful for me to watch my clinical teacher administer a few DRAs before I gave the

assessment to a student. I noticed that she followed the instructions and prompts in the

observation guide for the most part, but also asked really good questions that were not on

the guide. Some of these questions included “How do you know?” and “What do you like

best about this story?”. She gave me suggestions about things to look for, such as when a

student does not call the characters by name, or when they struggle to recall a detail from

the text because they might not know how to say the word in English.

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The running record that I took from JA’s DRA indicated that he is at a 98%

accuracy rate, with just 6 miscues. However, he struggled to answer the comprehension

questions that I asked after he finished reading the story. The main characters in “The Pot

of Gold” were Grumble and Elf, and JA referred to them as “the man” and “the kid”,

indicating that he did not understand the names of the characters in the story. When I

asked him to retell the story and start from the beginning, JA was able to retell some of

the main events but did not give much detail. When I asked how the story ended he said

“the man was mad” but could not explain why. After reviewing JA’s answers and

discussion of the text, I determined his comprehension score was a 13 out of 24.

Based on the data that I collected from the DRA, I concluded that JA has a high

accuracy rate and shows fluency while reading out loud. He is enthusiastic about reading

but does not take the time to engage in the main ideas and concepts of the text. He tends

to speed through reading but does not make connections between the events in a story

and does not show understanding of the characters or plot. He does not change his voice

or tone to show feelings or attitudes of the characters in the text while reading out loud.

Overall, he seems to speed through the reading like it’s a race to the finish line but does

not gather the main concepts of the story.

After discussing the data and conclusions I made from JA’s DRA with my clinical

teacher, I decided to focus the guided reading lesson on improving comprehension

through compare and contrast of two texts. I knew that JA would not have any difficulty

reading the words in the two texts that we would discuss, but I wanted to create a lesson

that allowed him to discuss the main idea and key details from two stories with his group

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members, and then make connections about the two stories in order to increase his level

of understanding.

Reflection - Guided Reading Lesson

Planning, instructing, and reflecting on the guided reading lesson was a great

learning experience for me. I felt prepared with my visuals, vocabulary words, discussion

questions, and Venn Diagram drawing. The review of “Swimming With Pops” went well

and the students seemed to understand the vocabulary words that we discussed before

reading “Grandma’s Rain Song”. The group seemed very engaged and excited, though I

think this was partially due to the fact that they were not used to doing guided reading

with me. All of the group members were eager to answer questions and participate in the

discussion, and they seemed to respond well to the Venn Diagram that we filled out

together during the activity.

Though the students were engaged in the lesson and showed great participation,

the group did not seem to make the connection between the two texts as easily as I hoped

they would. When I asked discussion questions such as “JA, think about the main events

in the two stories. What was the main thing that the characters had in common?”, he was

able to retell a few details from both stories but did not make the connection that both

texts told the story of a character who overcame a problem with help from a grandparent.

I asked the group “Why is it important to read stories like this?”. Their response was “So

that we can get better at reading!”. Though I loved their enthusiasm about becoming

better readers, I was hoping that they would understand that we can learn valuable

lessons from reading stories like “Swimming With Pops” or “Grandma’s Rain Song”.

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When I asked the group “How did each character feel at the end of the story?”, the group

responded that the characters were happy at the end and sad in the beginning. I was trying

to convey to the group that the characters were nervous and unsure in the beginning but

confident and proud at the end, so I think I missed the mark a little bit. In the future, I

might focus on one text instead of two, or do some more practice with Venn Diagrams to

make sure the students understand how they work before using them in such a short

lesson. I might also have a mini-lesson on words that describe our feelings, because I

noticed that the students do not use many words other than “happy”, “sad”, or “mad”

when describing feelings.

One thing that I learned about myself as a literacy teacher is that every student has

their own individual interpretations, reactions, and thoughts about the texts that we

provide to them. In this particular lesson, I learned that some students seemed to identify

with the main characters more than others. I also learned that discussions about a text

need to be focused but encourage all ideas and opinions at the same time. While I enjoy

hearing every student’s answers and thoughts about a story, it’s easy to get off-topic with

second graders who are so excited to tell you that today is their brother’s birthday or that

they lost a tooth last night. So, I think that as a teacher I will need to find a balance

between encouraging discussion while staying focused.

I also learned that using visuals is incredibly helpful in keeping students involved

in the lesson, especially for ELL students. Guided reading lessons are short and dynamic,

so it’s important that your visuals are relevant to what you are trying to teach to your

students. One thing that I hope to achieve as a literacy teacher is to show my students that

reading is fun and exciting. I want them to know that you can get lost in a good book and

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learn valuable life lessons. I want students to understand that reading can be a way to

learn about new people, stories, and experiences that they might not learn about

otherwise, and that we read so that we can become so much more than “better readers”.

References

Adams County School District 14. (October 2011). Alsup Elementary: School

demographics. Retrieved from

http://www.adams14.org/Websites/adams14/images/Alsup_Demographics.pdf

Cappellini, M. (2005). Chapter 9: Guided reading. In Balancing reading and language

learning (pp. 152-169). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Colorado Department of Education. (2013). State standards: Reading, writing and

communicating. Retrieved from

http://www.cde.state.co.us/coreadingwriting/statestandards

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2013). English language arts standards »

Reading: Literature » Grade 2. Retrieved from

http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/2

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http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/2

http://www.cde.state.co.us/coreadingwriting/statestandards

http://www.adams14.org/Websites/adams14/images/Alsup_Demographics.pdf


Fountas, I.C., & Pinnell, G.S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching

comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Green, C. & Lilly, E. (December 8, 2010). Literacy development: Cambourne’s

conditions. Retrieved from

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Cambournes-literacy-development/

University of Colorado at Denver. (2006). Elementary literacy guidelines 2006. Denver,

CO: Nathenson-Mejia, S., Townsend, S., et.al.

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http://www.education.com/reference/article/Cambournes-literacy-development/

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k Web viewThroughout the school year, ... writing activities, and an 80-minute block devoted to Literacy cooperative groups (called “Literacy Stations”)