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What is a running
record?
It is a recording of what a child says as he reads about a
l00 words of text for you.
It is used to measure decoding skill (what strategies the student
uses when reading).
It tells you what book levels are easy, medium, or too hard for the
student.
Marie Clay's version of the running record is most often used in
today's classrooms. Source:
Reutzel & Cooter, 2003
In RDG 318, we will be learning to take a running record similar
to Marie Clay's version. We will also learn to do a miscue analysis and
to check fluency rates.
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In GENERAL, how
do you take a running record?
Ask the child to select a book or a page he can read and
ask him to read it for you. If you have time before he begins reading,
make a copy of the text he will read so you can mark on it to show what
he did when he read for you. You will use some kind of shorthand so
you can mark quickly. Your goal is to write in the words he makes mistakes
on so later you can look at them and ask yourself "why did he read it that
way?" Your goal is to "recreate" what the child said using your own
text copy and shorthand. The mistakes (miscues) the student makes tell
you alot about how well the child can read and how you can help him become
a better reader.
If you don't have time to go make copies, pull out a sheet of blank
paper and begin making check marks for every word he pronounces correctly.
When he miscues (makes a mistake), write in what he says.
When taking a running record, always indicate whether the text was
a "cold reading" or whether the child was already familiar with the text.
Always add this information:
Your name, date, student name, grade level, text level or title &
page.
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What are the conventions
I should use when taking a running record?
Some people mark on the text copy and use this kind of shorthand.
Others make little check marks on blank sheets of paper
so they don't have to make copies.
Many use tape recorders for backup "just in case" they
miss something, especially with the faster older reader.
It is a good idea for everyone to use the same conventions so teachers
can share this important information with other educators involved in
planning for students in the same school.
Here are the markings
we will be using in class.
http://www.education.sfasu.edu/ele/classes/abel/318rrcode.html
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HOW do you take
a running record?
Here is a PPT
http://www.reading.ccsu.edu/kurkjian/RDG315WED2003/RunningRecords.pps
Try taking a running record where a child makes a
substitution. Ask a friend to read a page and
change a few of the words. Practice making the check marks and writing
in the "substituted" words.
Repetitions
Try taking a running record when the student repeats a word or
phrase.
We do not count "repetitions" as errors but we still mark them.
Repetitions indicate the child is thinking and trying to figure out
a word ahead. Once he makes a decision, he will back up, re read to collect
his thoughts, and then go on reading.
Self-Corrections
Try taking a running record when the student self-corrects.
Self corrections are recorded but we do not count these as errors
either.
Self corrections indicate the child is thinking as he reads.
This is good. Often kids find it hard to read and think at the same
time. When the child self corrects, it is obvious he is monitoring
his reading (taking charge of it). In the end, the child "got it
right," so we do not count it as an error even though we still mark it on
our paper to show what he did while reading.
Try several at a time
Try taking a running record when the
student does more than one thing.
You may want to take a peek at the many conventional markings you
will be using before you begin.You may have to try this several
times before you begin to get good at it. Practice makes perfect
in all we do. Taking running records is no exception.
Now try
Omissions, Insertions, Appeals,
and what to do when the
Teacher Tells the word to
the student.
More Practice
If
you would like more practice, check out the audio tape placed on reserve
in the library called, Running Records Self Study Tutoring
Guideby P. Johnston www.stenhouse.com ISBN 1-57110-321-X. Although we will only touch on
general basic running records in this class, it will be helpful for you
to know the extent to which running record taking can go. You will
be using this in future SFA classes and in your own teaching one day.
Begin
practicing on your friends TODAY. Ask them to read slowly for you
and to make one kind of miscue at a time. Later, your friend
can speed up and make several kinds of miscues in one reading. Like
anything, with practice, you'll get better and better.
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How do I interpret
the results of my running record?
What we learn tells us how to help. Assessment informs instruction.
Calculating Text difficulty
To calculate text difficulty,simply divide the total number of
words the child read correctly by the total number of words he read (we
count the following miscues as errors: substitutions, reversals,
mispronunciations, omissions, long pauses, insertions)
# Correct (divided
by) #Total words
There
are three levels of difficulty for kids when reading books:
Easy........Independent......95%-l00% accuracy (l00%
= missed no words at all)
Medium....Instructional.......90-94% accuracy (best
with teacher coaching student)
Hard.........Frustrational......below 90% (90%
= missed l in every 10 words)
This information tells us how difficult the text is for that
child.
It helps us identify what level to send home as homework and
the right level for testing in class (Independent level).
It tells which level is best for the student when working with
the teacher (instructional / where he will make a few mistakes but
not too many / this way, the teacher can be right there to 'make her point'
when the miscue occurs). The teacher coaches or "guides" the student at
this level to 'fine tune' his reading and to help break any 'bad reading habits.'
It tells us which level for the student to avoid (frustrational)
since it may turn off the reader. Frustrational levels are sometimes
salient for students on certain occasions (when seeking something important
to learn for that moment), but it should be the student who pushes himself
into frustrational level text, not you.
Listening Level - It is interesting to notice that a younger
child can usually "listen" above the level he can read and speak.
When we read to kids above their reading and speaking levels, we can improve
their vocabulary.
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Miscue
Analysis
What do his errors (miscues) mean?
The miscues tell you what "tools" the student is using when he comes
to a word he doesn't know. They also tell you which "tools" he isn't
using when he finds such a "road block." This information is helpful
to the teacher. It tells the teacher the student's strengths and it tells
the teacher where s/he can help the student improve reading.
As discussed in class, readers mainly use 3 cueing systems (tools)
for unlocking difficult words.
For instance, a child may be reading this page.
He may be doing fine until he comes to a word he doesn't know.
He will have to do something to figure out the unknown word.
Teachers watch closely to see what the student will do.
The strategy the student uses tells the teacher how many "tools"
the student has at his disposal for reading the page.
Teachers are watching to see which of these 3 "tools" (strategies)
the student is using to figure out the unknown words:
M
= semantics.............(meaning)
what word would make sense here?
read it the way the child read it / does it make sense?
S = syntax.....................(language / sentence
structure)
read it as the child read it / does it sound like the child would "talk"?
did the child furnish a noun, adjective, or an -ing word?
we sometimes use language and are unaware of it
V = grapho-phonics...(letter-sounds)
did he try to "sound it out?" even if he only got
the first letter-sound right
does it "look" like the word (beginning, middle, and/or end)
Let's look as some examples: Answers
What tools (cueing systems) is these students using/not using?
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How do I check
fluency rate?
Simply place a mark on your paper while taking your running
record to show when 60 seconds are up. Count the words he read correctly
in 60 seconds and you will have _____wcpm (words correct per minute).
Errors
Please note: we do NOT count insertions as errors or it
would mess up our calculations too much. Otherwise, it is basically the
same as for running records.
# Correct (in
1 minute)
We like to
see the end of first grade kids read 60 wcpm.
We like to see the end of 2nd grade kids read 80-90 wcpm.
We like to see the end of 3rd grade kids read around l00 wcpm.
When a child reads for more than one minute:
#Correct x .60 (divided by) #Total
minutes
What
is fluency?
speed + accuracy +expression (prosody)We're
not running a race. Nor are we turtle-reading. We need to read
with a certain amount of speed in order to remember what we read.
If we read too slowly, we are probably too busy trying to figure out the
words and usually forget what we read. If we read too quickly, we
may miss some things. Fluent readers are super expressive accurate
readers--the kind of reading you do when you read a book you enjoy to a child
who is loving every minute of it!
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Answers
Is
he using:
M - yes
(could make sense)
S - yes (both are nouns)
V - no (no attempt to 'sound out' the
word, not even the begininng sound is the same)
How to Help:
This student is "reading for meaning." He probably
loves his books and happily discusses their content with you. But,
he is not attending to print. We might say he is relying on semantics
at the expense of grapho-phonics.
A teacher might ask this student to look again at this sentence.
She might point to the beginning sound and ask the child what the word
might be....one beginining with the /s/ sound.... She would encourage him to "sound it
out." She might put him in texts that have more "decodable" words
to better focus his attention on using his alphabetic principle (phonics
skills). She might encourage him to write more where he would have
to look more closely at how words are spelled. She might ask him which page
he likes best and then re-write one of those sentences on a sentence strip,
have him read it, then chop it up and mix the words around to see if he
can reassemble the words into a sentence (keeping it game-like and fun).
Is
he using:
M - no
(houses don't trot away!)
S - yes (both are nouns)
V - yes (look similar / beginning sound
is same / although he obviously isn't very good at decoding, he is attempting
to use this cueing strategy and we must give him credit for trying to
use it.)
How to Help:
This child seems to be relying on visual cues
at the expense of meaning. He is not using semantics. We might
say to him, "Let's re-read that sentence....you said___, does that make
sense?" Keep it light and fun. Don't make the reader feel
bad. It is a risk-freesetting.
We are all in a learning mode. But we DO want to draw this student's
attention to "making sense" as he reads.
By the way, he seems to be using syntax at an unconscious level but
as with any miscue analysis, it is best to have more than one example so
you can look for and identify "patterns" of behavior to really "know" what
the student is doing in order to best help him.
Is
he using:
M - no
(nonsense words do NOT make sense)
S - no (usually if nonsense word, usually syntax not being used either)
V -yes (he is trying to 'sound it
out' using the decoding strategy even if he still needs to look a little
more closely)
How to Help:
Similar to the one above. A teacher might say to
this child, "Let's re-read that sentence...You said____, does that make
sense?" You can clearly see here that this student could use some
more reading "tools" in his toolbox. This child is over-relying on
phonics; he needs to begin using semantics and syntax so that he can identify
that word more quickly and move on.
Is
he using:
M - hum....????
possibly / use your BEST judgement
and
be able to tell why you made that informed decision.
Teachers do not always agree but they are usually close
and
they try very hard to stay consistent from child to child.
S - yes
(notice the -ing /seems to be some attempt)
V - yes (begins with "s" and ends
with "ing" /indicates some use of decoding or letter-sound strategy)
How to Help:
A teacher might draw this student's attention to the beginning
of the word, looking more closely and noting the word begins with "sh"
/ she might also point out that the sentence doesn't sound quite right....
or she may wait till this reader comes to another "roadblock" where it may
be more obvious the reader is not using semantics before she makes her point.
Teachers are selective about when best to make their move.
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What is a Retell?
According to Reutzel and Cooter (2003), retellings are
ideal for finding out if a child understands the story he just read. Simply
pull out a pupet or stuffed toy from a hidden box and ask the child to
tell the story in her own words to the puppet who has not heard the story.
You can ask questions and, generally, if the child can answer approx.'ly
75% of them, he has understood what he read. We must be careful not
to equate "memory" with understanding as one reads. This is why
that figure is not l00%.
There are two kinds of questions you can ask the child:
Implicit - literal, obvious and
"stated in the book" kinds of questions.
Examples:
What color was the wagon?
What did the boy do first? What did he call his mother?
Explicit - inferential, "hidden
meaning" kinds of questions (much harder)
or higher-order "what if" kinds of questions.
Examples:
Why do you think the boy was sad (what makes you think that?)
What could the little boy have done to make things easier on his friend?
Things
to noticewhen children retell their stories:
Can they summarize, give you the general "gist" of what they read?
Are they beginning to include story grammar (setting, main characters,
plot....)?
How is their language and speech development?
Do they have "sense of audience" or do they retell it as if the puppet
had read it?
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. . . optional reading
Too much work. . .can
technology help?
Maybe
it's on its way!
http://www.wirelessgeneration.com/web/readingProducts.html
http://www.uth.tmc.edu/uth_orgs/cars/development/tpri/watch/g1rct0r.htm
General Expectations
End of lst grade...........Reading
Rec level 16.......... 60 wcpm
End of 2nd grade.........2nd
grade texts................... + 20 - 30 wcpm
End of 3rd grade..........3rd
grade texts.................... + 20 - 30 wcpm
More INFO on Taking Running Records
http://www.readinga-z.com/assess/runrec.html#whatis
Leveled books
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/lexile/
Decodable Texts
http://www.readinga-z.com/samples/index.html
Books Online
Early readers online / Order FREE - http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/index/play.htm
Book Lists
K-2 http://teacher.scholastic.com/newteacher/readers/assesmentbooklistk_2.htm
3-6 http://teacher.scholastic.com/newteacher/readers/assesmentbooklist3_6.htm
Samples
Grade 2 http://www.reading-comprehension-expert.com/reading-level-tests-2.html
Grade 3 http://www.reading-comprehension-expert.com/reading-level-tests-3.html
Grade 4 http://www.reading-comprehension-expert.com/reading-level-tests-4.html
Word Lists http://www.literacyconnections.com/Dolch.html
Reading Assessments
http://www.reading-comprehension-expert.com/informal-reading-assessments.html
http://www.education.sfasu.edu/ele/classes/abel/quicktests.html#wholekit
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