I think Beth has nailed it - we, too, use DIBELS, but this is only our second year. As a building, (K-5) last year was dedicated to the comp. strategies, and at least 1/2 of our staff read Mosaic - all of us read 7 Keys. It is a major focus in the classroom and it is evident when you talk to kids about their reading - they use the vocabulary well in their writing and discussions. Fluency has been a huge issue for us because it has never been taught to our students. Most students get it anyway, but those that don't are getting some help through our RTI model. It was a leap of faith for me, as the reading specialist and Title teacher, to let go of teaching comprehension with my kiddos, but I have to depend on the classroom teacher to address that need. I spend my time diagnosing and then making recommendations to the classroom teacher, and also in teaching the intensive level (based on Dibels) kids with fluency instruction. I have a para who works with strategic level students. We have established a "fluency lab" utilizing Read Naturally. We've only been using that for a month now, but the kids are having a blast with it. They enjoy reading the non-fiction articles and I am seeing some great results - not just in speed, but in reading with expression and also in the building of sight vocabulary. I follow the program but add some of my own twists. I keep anecdotal notes on each reading so I can determine the problems the student is having, then I can relay that to the teacher and we can both work on the problems. I have found that with my 3rd and 4th graders, they are very receptive to suggestions for improving their oral reading and they practice their stories diligently. Marzano's book, Building Academic Vocabulary, was a great "aha" for me and has convinced me of the need for this type of reading.
I keep reminding our teachers that fluency is only a symptom of an underlying problem and Dibels is only a SCREENING to catch that problem, much the same as the school nurse does vision screenings and the speech path. does speech screenings. Dibels does not drive instruction in our school and the numbers are not seen as an indicator of teacher skills or students academic levels. Many of our kids receiving fluency support are on or above grade level on their DRA's. I hope we are on the right track, but time will tell, I guess. -----Original Message----- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of pat wilson Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 8:01 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] DIBELS and progress monitoring Beth, Wow! Your passion for the art of teaching is very evident. I think we learn more about our children when are we not dictated to use a pre-boxed program and can use our own judgement and the research to make decisions. Thanks for sharing! Pat ----- Original Message ----- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org on behalf of Beth Lauterbach Sent: Tue, 1/20/2009 10:40pm To: Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: [MOSAIC] DIBELS and progress monitoring We have been doing DIBELS to check progress since long before they had a website, additional progress monitoring materials were not available, and we used the same readings 3 times a year. I share that because we have done the whole pendulum swing thing. Before we had Reading Recovery in the building, speed was the focus. With 2 of us (along with others) pushing and pulling we got that turned around to, the reading should be fluent enough to make sense and sound right. We tell the kids that if they are too fast, the time on that reading will not be counted. It is easy to demonstrate how reading at 140 - 150 words a minute (give or take) should sound - and most of our kids (k-4) don't need to be reading new material any faster than that (even the exceptional ones) but should be making progress to be there by the time they move to 5th - because that makes their life easier. (If they can read at that rate it is much easier to get through any homework....) Time in the classrooms is spent on reading with understanding - and everything that makes that happen... A small amount of time is given to building fluency for those that benefit from extra rehearsal with that skill. (I do have a title group from 3 and 4 with a fluency focus - because that is the bit that is holding those kids back - and I do not use a package program, but pull from a variety of sources and activities.) Since DIBELS added readiness skills, we (as a group of professionals) have been tweaking the balance between teaching the test process and identifying those that are actually missing the skill. We have gone away from thinking of it as a OMG, if they aren't proficient, they will always have problems reading, to thinking of it as one snapshot of what that child was demonstrating that day with that tester. Progress monitoring (getting another snapshot) and/or practicing the testing skill may be all that is needed to move that child from additional intensive instruction... Having materials that check snapshots helps to identify most kids in a timely fashion. But if all you do with that information is test them again, then it is a waste of time. If you choose to use that information to choose which kids do or don't need to spend more time with short vowel sounds or saying words slowly or reading using all cue sources - even punctuation - whatever, then do that - progress monitor to see if what you are doing is making a difference - then make some more professional decisions. You have a lot more information in your head about that child, coupled with data from the testing - whatever it is - can give you permission (justification if needed) to do something to help that child. Overwhelming sometimes? Yes, but that is why I do what I do. And that is why I am reading listservs, professional materials, talking with colleagues, pushing back with some, supporting some, and asking for support from others. And why I ask, quite often in fact, when is this job going to get easier? I do appreciate the fact that I am not being forced to use a "program" for each deficiency - and that I work with people who give and take and tweak new ideas/suggestions - and share, share, share! We continue to look for cost/time effective, quick and easy, provide helpful information progress monitoring, though!!! Beth _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
