Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Not a book, but here are some links: http://www.edutopia.org/visual-thinking-strategies-art-curriculum http://www.vtshome.org/ Joy/NC/4 How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand. http://www.responsiveclassroom.org From: caitlin fairclough caitlinann...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:26:22 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Thanks Lori, if you find out the title let me know! - Caitlin On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 10:23 PM, Ljackson ljack...@gwtc.net wrote: Hmmm... there is this terrific book out there that uses visual art to teach thinking strategies but everything we own is pretty much in boxes right now...anyone know the book? Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: caitlin fairclough caitlinann...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:54 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I am a huge advocate for incorporating art in the classroom as much as possible. I don't feel that students have enough exposure to the arts. ...Art is my passion..How can you bring art and literacy together?? Thanks -Caitlin ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
This is an excellent conversation that needs to continue:) Sure. It has been a while and I hope I remember accurately... those of you who use DRA, pipe up if you see I mischaracterize the DRA. We thought the text was more interesting and better quality in F and P. We liked the idea of comprehension conversations scored with a rubric rather than firing questions at kids or asking for a retelling. It seemed to mirror what we want to be going on in classrooms and was a more natural way to assess comprehension. We liked the?optional writing piece?(or drawing in the early levels) as a way to get at?understanding of text in a different way.?We liked the additional resources that came with the kits...an example- a guide for teachers that shows what the characteristics of kids are at particular levels and what teaching next steps might be. There are great staff development videos that teachers can watch to learn how to use the kit. There are dozens and dozens of different supplementary assessements like phonemic awareness, sight words, vocabulary knowledge etc etc.? It has a calculator which is a timer. You press a button when a child starts reading and then one when she stops. Enter the running words, number of errors and self corrections and the calculator will spit out percentages, self correction rates and words correct per minute. And... if I remember correctly, it is cheaper. Jennifer -Original Message- From: cnjpal...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 4:36 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Jane Sure. It has been a while and I hope I remember accurately... those of you who use DRA, pipe up if you see I mischaracterize the DRA. We thought the text was more interesting and better quality in F and P. We liked the idea of comprehension conversations scored with a rubric rather than firing questions at kids or asking for a retelling. It seemed to mirror what we want to be going on in classrooms and was a more natural way to assess comprehension. We liked the?optional writing piece?(or drawing in the early levels) as a way to get at?understanding of text in a different way.?We liked the additional resources that came with the kits...an example- a guide for teachers that shows what the characteristics of kids are at particular levels and what teaching next steps might be. There are great staff development videos that teachers can watch to learn how to use the kit. There are dozens and dozens of different supplementary assessements like phonemic awareness, sight words, vocabulary knowledge etc etc.? It has a calculator which is a timer. You press a button when a child starts reading and then one when she stops. Enter the running words, number of errors and self corrections and the calculator will spit out percentages, self correction rates and words correct per minute. And... if I remember correctly, it is cheaper. Jennifer Jennifer, Can you compare the Fountas and Pinnell kit to DRA2? Thanks! Jane in SC :-) (The state with the runaway Governor!) **Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood0004) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Those are the same reasons I liked it. I know our first grade teachers preferred over Rigby; one reason was some of our first graders topped out of Rigby. I administered it to 5th graders and I felt it gave me a lot of information. I didn't use the writing portion because we already have a written respoonse rubric that teachers begin using in the fall that mirrors our state test. Carol - Original Message - From: drmarinac...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:13:02 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) This is an excellent conversation that needs to continue:) Sure. It has been a while and I hope I remember accurately... those of you who use DRA, pipe up if you see I mischaracterize the DRA. We thought the text was more interesting and better quality in F and P. We liked the idea of comprehension conversations scored with a rubric rather than firing questions at kids or asking for a retelling. It seemed to mirror what we want to be going on in classrooms and was a more natural way to assess comprehension. We liked the?optional writing piece?(or drawing in the early levels) as a way to get at?understanding of text in a different way.?We liked the additional resources that came with the kits...an example- a guide for teachers that shows what the characteristics of kids are at particular levels and what teaching next steps might be. There are great staff development videos that teachers can watch to learn how to use the kit. There are dozens and dozens of different supplementary assessements like phonemic awareness, sight words, vocabulary knowledge etc etc.? It has a calculator which is a timer. You press a button when a child starts reading and then one when she stops. Enter the running words, number of errors and self corrections and the calculator will spit out percentages, self correction rates and words correct per minute. And... if I remember correctly, it is cheaper. Jennifer -Original Message- From: cnjpal...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 4:36 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Jane Sure. It has been a while and I hope I remember accurately... those of you who use DRA, pipe up if you see I mischaracterize the DRA. We thought the text was more interesting and better quality in F and P. We liked the idea of comprehension conversations scored with a rubric rather than firing questions at kids or asking for a retelling. It seemed to mirror what we want to be going on in classrooms and was a more natural way to assess comprehension. We liked the?optional writing piece?(or drawing in the early levels) as a way to get at?understanding of text in a different way.?We liked the additional resources that came with the kits...an example- a guide for teachers that shows what the characteristics of kids are at particular levels and what teaching next steps might be. There are great staff development videos that teachers can watch to learn how to use the kit. There are dozens and dozens of different supplementary assessements like phonemic awareness, sight words, vocabulary knowledge etc etc.? It has a calculator which is a timer. You press a button when a child starts reading and then one when she stops. Enter the running words, number of errors and self corrections and the calculator will spit out percentages, self correction rates and words correct per minute. And... if I remember correctly, it is cheaper. Jennifer Jennifer, Can you compare the Fountas and Pinnell kit to DRA2? Thanks! Jane in SC :-) (The state with the runaway Governor!) **Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood0004) ___ 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. ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
There's lots of great info on Pearson's site, too. Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel -Original Message- From: Debbie Smith ledouxsm...@embarqmail.com Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:36:23 To: 'Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group'mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) It sounds to me like the levels you've been given are not necessarily DRA levels. It's been a few years since I've used the Rigby Benchmark kit, but I think the levels are different from DRA. The first clue is that there is no level 32 in the DRA kit. The DRA level for 4th grade would be a level 40. There is no distinction between beginning of year 4th grade and end of year 4th grade. It's just a 40 for 4th, 50 for 5th, 60 for 6th - you get the idea. It will go up to a level 80. The lower levels are broken down because there is more development happening at those levels. The growth you would hope to see for 4th grade would be moving across the scoring guide (intervention, instructional, independent, advanced). Of course, going up to level 50 would also be good, but be careful not to move kids too easily. There is a reason they don't want you to go on (as directed on the protocol) until the student is advanced. By 4th grade and on up, deep comprehension is the goal - you know the saying: In K-3 students learn to read, after that they read to learn. This is hard for some of our teachers to grasp - they want to assign a student a level and be done with it. If you don't use the information from the assessment there is really no point in giving it - just give the end-of-year state assessments and record those mysterious lexile scores for parents (they won't know what they mean anyway). And to answer another one of your questions, I think it is absurd that there is not a common tool - whether it be Rigby or DRA or any other measure - it should be the same for all grade levels. If the teachers are this confused, how can the parents be getting any consistent reports on their children's' progress What is the purpose of the assessments you are asked to give 3 times a year? They should be used to guide instruction - and I would ask the literacy facilitator to provide the necessary in-service so that can happen. All of our teachers give the DRA 3 times a year - I meet with grade level teams to help them evaluate their results (the DRA has forms and checklists to help with this). We maintain an assessment wall for all grades and I also keep a spreadsheet to track each student's progress. This info is very helpful when our CARE team (that's what we call it - team that meets to provide assistance to teachers for individual students who may be struggling) meets on a kid and when a student qualifies for RtI services. Wow - didn't mean for this to get so long - I get a little passionate about the DRA and its purpose :) Oh yeah, the DRA 2 kit (4-8) also has bridge level texts for students reading below grade level. -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of quin...@comcast.net Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:06 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Angela- It certainly sounds like your adminster Literacy Fac. were�extremely confused. I'm a third grade teacher and I use DRA as an assessment three times a year. I test in October (i'm looking for level 30, which would be on level if they did so successfully in the independent category), March (i'm looking for 34), and June (38). Any number above would be considered above level and below-below level. Hopefully this helps. The fifth grade teacher should have a training DVD that came with her kit. Check it out... Gwen Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:54:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. �My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. �That was it. �No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. �I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. �I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. �My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. �I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. �That said, our leveled readers only
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Fountas and Pinnell have a wonderful assessment kit. The first one is for K - 2, and then there is one for 3 - 8. We had been using the PM Benchmark kits, but our teachers love the FP kits because they give a more comprehensive picture. Some of our teachers even use the assessments for reporting to parents, and we have gotten good feedback from this. Our District is now trying to purchase these kits for teachers as the response has been so good. The District is looking to provide training for a couple of teachers in each school on these kits and they will become the 'resident experts' for each school. Our school had already purchased 2 kits for each level, so we have been using them for a couple of years. They do provide a very comprehensive picture of student growth which our teachers like. Lois ledouxsm...@embarqmail.com 06/23/09 11:36 PM It sounds to me like the levels you've been given are not necessarily DRA levels. It's been a few years since I've used the Rigby Benchmark kit, but I think the levels are different from DRA. The first clue is that there is no level 32 in the DRA kit. The DRA level for 4th grade would be a level 40. There is no distinction between beginning of year 4th grade and end of year 4th grade. It's just a 40 for 4th, 50 for 5th, 60 for 6th - you get the idea. It will go up to a level 80. The lower levels are broken down because there is more development happening at those levels. The growth you would hope to see for 4th grade would be moving across the scoring guide (intervention, instructional, independent, advanced). Of course, going up to level 50 would also be good, but be careful not to move kids too easily. There is a reason they don't want you to go on (as directed on the protocol) until the student is advanced. By 4th grade and on up, deep comprehension is the goal - you know the saying: In K-3 students learn to read, after that they read to learn. This is hard for some of our teachers to grasp - they want to assign a student a level and be done with it. If you don't use the information from the assessment there is really no point in giving it - just give the end-of-year state assessments and record those mysterious lexile scores for parents (they won't know what they mean anyway). And to answer another one of your questions, I think it is absurd that there is not a common tool - whether it be Rigby or DRA or any other measure - it should be the same for all grade levels. If the teachers are this confused, how can the parents be getting any consistent reports on their children's' progress What is the purpose of the assessments you are asked to give 3 times a year? They should be used to guide instruction - and I would ask the literacy facilitator to provide the necessary in-service so that can happen. All of our teachers give the DRA 3 times a year - I meet with grade level teams to help them evaluate their results (the DRA has forms and checklists to help with this). We maintain an assessment wall for all grades and I also keep a spreadsheet to track each student's progress. This info is very helpful when our CARE team (that's what we call it - team that meets to provide assistance to teachers for individual students who may be struggling) meets on a kid and when a student qualifies for RtI services. Wow - didn't mean for this to get so long - I get a little passionate about the DRA and its purpose :) Oh yeah, the DRA 2 kit (4-8) also has bridge level texts for students reading below grade level. -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of quin...@comcast.net Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:06 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Angela- It certainly sounds like your adminster Literacy Fac. wereextremely confused. I'm a third grade teacher and I use DRA as an assessment three times a year. I test in October (i'm looking for level 30, which would be on level if they did so successfully in the independent category), March (i'm looking for 34), and June (38). Any number above would be considered above level and below-below level. Hopefully this helps. The fifth grade teacher should have a training DVD that came with her kit. Check it out... Gwen Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:54:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Hi I think that the first question you have to get an answer for, Angela, is what is the purpose for taking running records? Are you finding appropriate reading levels for instruction? If your school is using it in a formative way, then it doesn't really matter what leveling system is being used. Are you trying to monitor student progress? Are you trying to see if kids are reading on grade level? Are you benchmarking progress? Then you do need some consistency... it ought to be a discussion first at each grade level and then at the school level...what do we expect from our kids at each grade? How do our expectations meld across the grades? My personal belief is that running records are best used for formative assessment purposes. You can use them to see approximately where the instructional level is for each kid...but I would argue, more importantly, you can watch to see how the child processes text. Does he read for meaning? Are the miscues visual or meaning based? Is he attending to punctuation? Phrasing properly? Self-correcting? Knowing these kinds of things help you teach that child in a more deliberate way. Jennifer In a message dated 6/23/2009 9:53:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us writes: I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? **Check all of your email inboxes from anywhere on the web. Try the new Email Toolbar now! (http://toolbar.aol.com/mail/download.html?ncid=txtlnkusdown0027) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Lois Our district assessment committee looked at all the available running record kits last summer and decided that Fountas and Pinnell was the best of the group...more tools for less money...we also liked how there was fiction and non-fiction in each level. Jennifer In a message dated 6/24/2009 5:54:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lmad...@edu.pe.ca writes: Fountas and Pinnell have a wonderful assessment kit. The first one is for K - 2, and then there is one for 3 - 8. We had been using the PM Benchmark kits, but our teachers love the FP kits because they give a more comprehensive picture. Some of our teachers even use the assessments for reporting to parents, and we have gotten good feedback from this. Our District is now trying to purchase these kits for teachers as the response has been so good. The District is looking to provide training for a couple of teachers in each school on these kits and they will become the 'resident experts' for each school. Our school had already purchased 2 kits for each level, so we have been using them for a couple of years. They do provide a very comprehensive picture of student growth which our teachers like. Lois **Check all of your email inboxes from anywhere on the web. Try the new Email Toolbar now! (http://toolbar.aol.com/mail/download.html?ncid=txtlnkusdown0027) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Jennifer The fiction/non-fiction split was definitely seen as an advantage by our teachers too! Particularly for some of our boys, this allowed a clearer picture to emerge. In the Grade 6 class that I share with the VP, we made the students aware of what their level was, worked with the teacher librarian to identify books we had at the various level, and she challenged the kids to read at their level, and try to improve for each reporting period. The students enjoyed this, and found it helpful for taking books out of the library! Lois cnjpal...@aol.com 06/24/09 9:12 AM Lois Our district assessment committee looked at all the available running record kits last summer and decided that Fountas and Pinnell was the best of the group...more tools for less money...we also liked how there was fiction and non-fiction in each level. Jennifer In a message dated 6/24/2009 5:54:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lmad...@edu.pe.ca writes: Fountas and Pinnell have a wonderful assessment kit. The first one is for K - 2, and then there is one for 3 - 8. We had been using the PM Benchmark kits, but our teachers love the FP kits because they give a more comprehensive picture. Some of our teachers even use the assessments for reporting to parents, and we have gotten good feedback from this. Our District is now trying to purchase these kits for teachers as the response has been so good. The District is looking to provide training for a couple of teachers in each school on these kits and they will become the 'resident experts' for each school. Our school had already purchased 2 kits for each level, so we have been using them for a couple of years. They do provide a very comprehensive picture of student growth which our teachers like. Lois **Check all of your email inboxes from anywhere on the web. Try the new Email Toolbar now! (http://toolbar.aol.com/mail/download.html?ncid=txtlnkusdown0027) ___ 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. - Statement of Confidentiality This message (including attachments) may contain confidential or privileged information intended for a specific individual or organization. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not authorized to use, disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on this email, and should promptly delete this email from your entire computer system. D?claration de confidentialit? Le pr?sent message (y compris les annexes) peut contenir des renseignements confidentiels ? l'intention d'une personne ou d'un organisme particulier. Si vous avez re?u la pr?sente communication par erreur, veuillez en informer l'exp?diteur imm?diatement. Si vous n'?tes pas le destinataire pr?vu, vous n'avez pas le droit d'utiliser, divulguer, distribuer, copier ou imprimer ce courriel ou encore de vous en servir, et vous devriez l'effacer imm?diatement de votre syst?me informatique. - ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
In a message dated 6/24/2009 8:13:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time, cnjpal...@aol.com writes: Lois Our district assessment committee looked at all the available running record kits last summer and decided that Fountas and Pinnell was the best of the group...more tools for less money...we also liked how there was fiction and non-fiction in each level. Jennifer Jennifer, Can you compare the Fountas and Pinnell kit to DRA2? Thanks! Jane in SC :-) (The state with the runaway Governor!) **Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood0004) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Our district adopted districtwide benchmark levels three years ago but until that point, we were pretty much doing our own things. Our benchmark expectations change as the school year progresses. We expect that our fourth graders reach a level 40 to demonstrate proficiency and they may be tested to a 50 ( our benchmark kits are DRA and there is no in-between) to demonstrate an advanced achievement. Not beyond this. I think you need to be as concerned with the means of assessment, which seems so inconsistent, as with the wild bouncing in levels. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 7:54 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our principal decided everyone should have a kit for doing running records. He polled each teacher. K-1 had one kit (not sure of which one), 2-3 had Rigby, I (fourth grade) had my own make-shift kit, and fifth grade had a DRA kit. One was ordered for me. It was Rigby. It only goes up to Level 30 so this year I could have used it on a total of 2 students. I became very confused and began researching. Everything I have seen, says that students should be reading at a Level 38 by the end of third grade. I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? I know all of this is very elementary and I should have probably figured this out before now. However, I am very confused about all of this (as you may be able to tell in my ramblings) and have asked all of this to our Literacy Facilitator who keeps telling me to just keep doing what I've been doing. Please help me understand this! If you have any great books, websites, or other resources, I don't mind learning on my own. I just need some guidance because I just can't seem to wrap my mind around this! Angela Hatley Almond, NBCT Fourth Grade East Albemarle Elementary School All email correspondence to and from this address is subject to North Carolina Public Records Law which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Hi Angela - The only thing I can say - from experience- is that most schools are this confused when it comes to assessments! Don't let it get the best of you. I currently teach 5th grade. We give the DRA2 once a year - at the end, for students who are 'at grade level'. Those who fall below are given the assessment twice a year. Our goals are by the end of grade 3 - level 40; by the end of grade 4 - level 50; end of grade 5 - level 60. We have higher expectations than the state goal, and most of the students in our school meet this goal. Those who don't meet it are monitored more carefully the following year and their progress is documented by a team of teachers and administrators. I also do running records once a month using their independent books - it is very informal and used basically to check that they are reading just right books. I administer these during my one on one conference times and use them to talk with the kids about how well they are choosing their books. I also administer Fountas and Pinnel assessments every 6 - 8 weeks for my mid and lower kids. I use this to check their comprehension. We will test up to a level W - then stop. I hope this helps. From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org on behalf of Angela Almond Sent: Tue 6/23/2009 9:54 PM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our principal decided everyone should have a kit for doing running records. He polled each teacher. K-1 had one kit (not sure of which one), 2-3 had Rigby, I (fourth grade) had my own make-shift kit, and fifth grade had a DRA kit. One was ordered for me. It was Rigby. It only goes up to Level 30 so this year I could have used it on a total of 2 students. I became very confused and began researching. Everything I have seen, says that students should be reading at a Level 38 by the end of third grade. I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? I know all of this is very elementary and I should have probably figured this out before now. However, I am very confused about all of this (as you may be able to tell in my ramblings) and have asked all of this to our Literacy Facilitator who keeps telling me to just keep doing what I've been doing. Please help me understand this! If you have any great books, websites, or other resources, I don't mind learning on my own. I just need some guidance because I just can't seem to wrap my mind around this! Angela Hatley Almond, NBCT Fourth Grade East Albemarle Elementary School All email correspondence to and from this address is subject to North Carolina Public Records Law which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. ___ 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
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Our district has used both Rigby, Fountas Pinnell and the DRA. (Don't ask me why; but teachers in this district have A LOT of autonomy.) First grade teahers wanted to stick with Rigby even though we needed the higher levels that are offered in the DRA kit. Then when F P came out, I asked some teachers to pilot it because we used the F P leveling system in our guided reading room. You are absolutely correct in that ONE system should be used. I hoped we could get to the point where a committee comprised of teachers who used each of the leveling systems could come together to identify ONE assessment for the district that would be admnistered two or three times each year. I hoped that would be reported to the district, but, alas, it wasn't. So, teachers really used the data for the classroom which was great for the teachers, but the district couldn't identify trends. Jennifer is correct, though, in stating that the district needs to identify how the data will be used. If it is just for the teacher, then it doesn't really matter. However, if it is to track progress for the district, then it is extremely important for the district to have one system in place. We found great differences in the three assessments. Also, I can't emphasize enough the importance of staff development. We had first grade teachers who would assess the students just on the running records and kind of ignore the comprehension part. When the students entered second grade, there was a big discrepancy (even after teachers took the loss of reading over the summer) between the comprehension of the students. That's why I liked the F P--it had both fiction and non fiction and gave specific comprehension questions with points for possible answers. Now, however, we have a new administrative team in place. Teachers will only be allowed to use the adopted basal testing program (Don't get me started!) Also, the district uses MAPS for grades 2 - 8. To the teachers' credit, they want to continue using running records because it offered them so much information. (I retired because of the basal issue.) Carol - Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 8:54:26 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our principal decided everyone should have a kit for doing running records. He polled each teacher. K-1 had one kit (not sure of which one), 2-3 had Rigby, I (fourth grade) had my own make-shift kit, and fifth grade had a DRA kit. One was ordered for me. It was Rigby. It only goes up to Level 30 so this year I could have used it on a total of 2 students. I became very confused and began researching. Everything I have seen, says that students should be reading at a Level 38 by the end of third grade. I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? I know all of this is very elementary and I should have probably figured this out before now. However, I am very confused about all of this (as you may be able to tell in my ramblings) and have asked all of this to our Literacy Facilitator who keeps telling me to just keep
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
I have taught third for the past five years and our district started using DIBELS for 3-5 students. K-2 may use them also, but I am not really sure. My biggest beef is that students entering third grade are never really reading on grade level yet they are according to the state's K-2 assessment (NC). I always have students who are at level 31-32 when they level second and yet when they test on the pre-EOG many of them are below grade level. (Until recently I had no idea that the K-2 assessment allowed teachers to prompt the students, etc. No wonder it doesn't correlate with a standardized test given in the first two weeks of school with no assistance of any kind!) We were also required to do a Critchlow Vocabulary assessment and several group assessments on spelling and comprehension. I am not sure how to answer the question of what we do with all this information. We record it in several different places and use it to make decisions involving retention, further testing, etc. Rosie -Original Message- From: hccarl...@comcast.net To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 9:40 am Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Our district has used both Rigby, Fountas Pinnell and the DRA. (Don't ask me why; but teachers in this district have A LOT of autonomy.) First grade teahers wanted to stick with Rigby even though we needed the higher levels that are offered in the DRA kit. Then when F P came out, I asked some teachers to pilot it because we used the F P leveling system in our guided reading room. You are absolutely correct in that ONE system should be used. I hoped we could get to the point where a committee comprised of teachers who used each of the leveling systems could come together to identify ONE assessment for the district that would be admnistered two or three times each year. I hoped that would be reported to the district, but, alas, it wasn't. So, teachers really used the data for the classroom which was great for the teachers, but the district couldn't identify trends. Jennifer is correct, though, in stating that the district needs to identify how the data will be used. If it is just for the teacher, then it doesn't really matter. However, if it is to track progress for the district, then it is extremely important for the district to have one system in place. We found great differences in the three assessments. Also, I can't emphasize enough the importance of staff development. We had first grade teachers who would assess the students just on the running records and kind of ignore the comprehension part. When the students entered second grade, there was a big discrepancy (even after teachers took the loss of reading over the summer) between the comprehension of the students. That's why I liked the F P--it had both fiction and non fiction and gave specific comprehension questions with points for possible answers. Now, however, we have a new administrative team in place. Teachers will only be allowed to use the adopted basal testing program (Don't get me started!) Also, the district uses MAPS for grades 2 - 8. To the teachers' credit, they want to continue using running records because it offered them so much information. (I retired because of the basal issue.) Carol - Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 8:54:26 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
I can share with you some info on reading levels that we do in Cobb Co in Georgia. Email me at susannelee...@yahoo.com and I can send you a few things. --- On Tue, 6/23/09, Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us wrote: From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2009, 9:54 PM I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our principal decided everyone should have a kit for doing running records. He polled each teacher. K-1 had one kit (not sure of which one), 2-3 had Rigby, I (fourth grade) had my own make-shift kit, and fifth grade had a DRA kit. One was ordered for me. It was Rigby. It only goes up to Level 30 so this year I could have used it on a total of 2 students. I became very confused and began researching. Everything I have seen, says that students should be reading at a Level 38 by the end of third grade. I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? I know all of this is very elementary and I should have probably figured this out before now. However, I am very confused about all of this (as you may be able to tell in my ramblings) and have asked all of this to our Literacy Facilitator who keeps telling me to just keep doing what I've been doing. Please help me understand this! If you have any great books, websites, or other resources, I don't mind learning on my own. I just need some guidance because I just can't seem to wrap my mind around this! Angela Hatley Almond, NBCT Fourth Grade East Albemarle Elementary School All email correspondence to and from this address is subject to North Carolina Public Records Law which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Thanks Lori, if you find out the title let me know! - Caitlin On Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 10:23 PM, Ljackson ljack...@gwtc.net wrote: Hmmm... there is this terrific book out there that uses visual art to teach thinking strategies but everything we own is pretty much in boxes right now...anyone know the book? Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: caitlin fairclough caitlinann...@gmail.com To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:54 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I am a huge advocate for incorporating art in the classroom as much as possible. I don't feel that students have enough exposure to the arts. ...Art is my passion..How can you bring art and literacy together?? Thanks -Caitlin ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Hello Eveyone, My name is Caitlin and I am a graduate student in New York with dozens of questions about teaching! My only experience so far has been, subbing Kindergarten, Second grade, and a teacher's assistant at a local art center. My question is how do you address the problem of literacy with such a diverse group of students in classroom? How do you handle all of the different levels of learning in your classroom during your literacy block? Thank you and I hope to hear from anyone who has any comments or advice for a soon to be graduate student!! -Caitlin On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 9:54 PM, Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.uswrote: I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. That was it. No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our leveled reader library only went to Level 40. Also, she told us to formally assess the students every month. Suddenly, halfway through this school year, our principal decided everyone should have a kit for doing running records. He polled each teacher. K-1 had one kit (not sure of which one), 2-3 had Rigby, I (fourth grade) had my own make-shift kit, and fifth grade had a DRA kit. One was ordered for me. It was Rigby. It only goes up to Level 30 so this year I could have used it on a total of 2 students. I became very confused and began researching. Everything I have seen, says that students should be reading at a Level 38 by the end of third grade. I guess my questions are: Is it normal for schools to be so haphazard with what assessment they are using? What (if they exist) are standard expected levels for each grade? I am unfamiliar with DRA but the DRA kit that fifth grade uses has Level 24, 28, 34, 38, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80. What about the in-between levels? Our North Carolina End-Of-Grade tests are lexiled. Shouldn't the levels we expect our kids to be reading at match the state tests? I know all of this is very elementary and I should have probably figured this out before now. However, I am very confused about all of this (as you may be able to tell in my ramblings) and have asked all of this to our Literacy Facilitator who keeps telling me to just keep doing what I've been doing. Please help me understand this! If you have any great books, websites, or other resources, I don't mind learning on my own. I just need some guidance because I just can't seem to wrap my mind around this! Angela Hatley Almond, NBCT Fourth Grade East Albemarle Elementary School All email correspondence to and from this address is subject to North Carolina Public Records Law which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
It sounds to me like the levels you've been given are not necessarily DRA levels. It's been a few years since I've used the Rigby Benchmark kit, but I think the levels are different from DRA. The first clue is that there is no level 32 in the DRA kit. The DRA level for 4th grade would be a level 40. There is no distinction between beginning of year 4th grade and end of year 4th grade. It's just a 40 for 4th, 50 for 5th, 60 for 6th - you get the idea. It will go up to a level 80. The lower levels are broken down because there is more development happening at those levels. The growth you would hope to see for 4th grade would be moving across the scoring guide (intervention, instructional, independent, advanced). Of course, going up to level 50 would also be good, but be careful not to move kids too easily. There is a reason they don't want you to go on (as directed on the protocol) until the student is advanced. By 4th grade and on up, deep comprehension is the goal - you know the saying: In K-3 students learn to read, after that they read to learn. This is hard for some of our teachers to grasp - they want to assign a student a level and be done with it. If you don't use the information from the assessment there is really no point in giving it - just give the end-of-year state assessments and record those mysterious lexile scores for parents (they won't know what they mean anyway). And to answer another one of your questions, I think it is absurd that there is not a common tool - whether it be Rigby or DRA or any other measure - it should be the same for all grade levels. If the teachers are this confused, how can the parents be getting any consistent reports on their children's' progress What is the purpose of the assessments you are asked to give 3 times a year? They should be used to guide instruction - and I would ask the literacy facilitator to provide the necessary in-service so that can happen. All of our teachers give the DRA 3 times a year - I meet with grade level teams to help them evaluate their results (the DRA has forms and checklists to help with this). We maintain an assessment wall for all grades and I also keep a spreadsheet to track each student's progress. This info is very helpful when our CARE team (that's what we call it - team that meets to provide assistance to teachers for individual students who may be struggling) meets on a kid and when a student qualifies for RtI services. Wow - didn't mean for this to get so long - I get a little passionate about the DRA and its purpose :) Oh yeah, the DRA 2 kit (4-8) also has bridge level texts for students reading below grade level. -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of quin...@comcast.net Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:06 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) Angela- It certainly sounds like your adminster Literacy Fac. were�extremely confused. I'm a third grade teacher and I use DRA as an assessment three times a year. I test in October (i'm looking for level 30, which would be on level if they did so successfully in the independent category), March (i'm looking for 34), and June (38). Any number above would be considered above level and below-below level. Hopefully this helps. The fifth grade teacher should have a training DVD that came with her kit. Check it out... Gwen Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:54:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. I have been teaching for 6 years. �My first year I was told I needed to complete running records on each student. �That was it. �No kit (didn't even know there was such a thing at the time) and no benchmarks or goals as to what fourth grade students should be reading at. �I went into the Literacy Lab and made my own kit, pulling books from the leveled reader library. �I did running records on each student 3 times that year with no clear purpose or goal. �My second year, a Literacy Facilitator was hired. When I asked her about it, she told me my kit was fine and gave me a guide as to what levels were expected at each grade level. �I was told that fourth grade needed to be reading at a level 40 by the end of fourth grade. �That said, our leveled readers only went up to Level 40. �So I've never been exactly clear as to what was expected of fifth grade. A few years ago, we got a new Literacy Facilitator. �She made new levels. Third grade students should be reading at a Level 32 by the end of the year, fourth grade a Level 36, and fifth grade a Level 40. �Once again, I thought this was terribly convenient, since our
Re: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s)
Angela, I did a few webinars with Pearson for DRA2 training. It worked great for me. I was able to ask questions as we went along. They won't have any until July, but maybe you could take a couple of them and have your questions answered as I did. Here's a link: http://mypearsontraining.com/products/dra2/webinars.asp Hope this helps. KK - Original Message - From: Angela Almond angela_alm...@scs.k12.nc.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:54 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] Running Record/Reading Level Question(s) I apologize in advance for this very lengthy and somewhat rookie question. and disclosure ___ 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.
