Structured External Assignment

Formal and informal reading diagnostic assessments are used to evaluate students reading ability by comparing their strengths and weaknesses to other students. Formal evaluations are based off of conclusions from student’s tests and statistics, whereas informal evaluations are based off of student’s performances during an activity. Some examples of these assessments include the Basic Reading Inventory, Slosson Intelligence Test, Slosson Oral Reading Test, Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test, Test of Visual Discrimination, and the Test of Psychological Process of Reading. Each of these assessments is used to assess a different component of reading literacy comprised of their own individual weaknesses and strengths.

Formal and Informal Reading Diagnostic Assessments:	Purposes:	Strengths:	Weaknesses:	Appropriateness:
Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT)	-Used to measure intellectual abilities of a child.   -Predicts an individual’s reading achievement.	-Quick and easy to administer   -Gives an idea of an individual’s cognitive ability at a fairly early age before the child enters into the education system.	-Is used on Children ages 4 and older, so children younger can’t have this assessment used on them.   -It doesn’t assess all multiple intelligences, just measures IQ.   -Follow up assessments are needed to verify results	-Use at the beginning of a school year to aid in the planning of what educational program is best suited for a child based on their cognitive function ability.
Slosson Oral Reading Test (SLOT)	-Used to determine an individual’s level of oral word recognition and reading level.   --Can be used to evaluate student progress over the years and determine their reading grade level.	-Quick method to assess an individual’s reading level, only takes 3 to 5 minutes.   -This can assist teachers in accommodating students who are not on grade level for reading by providing adequate materials.	-This diagnostic does not measure an individual’s knowledge of words or word comprehension.   -Some individuals are not oral learners.	-This assessment can be used in grades 1-12 at the beginning of the school year.
Basic Reading Inventory (BRI)	-Used to determine an individual’s reading grade level through sight word analysis, reading fluency passages, and comprehension questions.	-The results show what weaknesses and strengths an individual possesses, so you can specifically work on their areas of weakness.   -Permits one to acknowledge where the individual made an error, so that this error can be correct through remedial reading activities.	-Takes longer to administer than some of the other reading diagnostic assessments.   -Students may lose interest and focus due to the length, which can interfere with the results.	-Use at the beginning of the school year to generate a basis of where an individual is and set goals for that student to achieve, then at the end of the year administer the test again to observe what improvements have been made regarding the individuals reading level for each component of the BRI.   -Can be used in kindergarten until 12th grade.
Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination  Test	-To assess if an individual lacks the necessary phonemic awareness critical to reading literacy.   -To have an individual recognize the fine phonemes used in the English language.	-The test can be administered and scored within five minutes, providing a quick and easy assessment of   -Many different ADT’s are available to an individual who is slower than average in developing auditory discrimination.	-ADT’s cannot be used to predict specific learning disabilities in an individual and the results may not always be accurate.	-Can be given to students of all ages.   -It is best suited to be given at the beginning of the school year to pre-assess an individual’s knowledge of phonics.
Test of Visual Discrimination	-To assess if an individual can perceive letters   -Observe the differences in objects that are similar.	-Relatively short, quick assessment.   -Can be used with students who have been diagnosed with disabilities, as well as those who haven’t.     -Use black lines on a white background making it easier to see.	- Some VDT’s scoring methods can be confusing and difficult.   -The individual needs to possess good receptive language skills.	-Can be given to students of all ages.   -It is best suited to be given at the beginning of the school year to pre-assess an individual’s knowledge of visual perception.
Test of Psychological Process of Reading	-Determines the psychology relating to ways the brain processes how to read.   -Used to find the areas where there could be information processing errors pertaining to reading fluency or comprehension.	-Helps determine if there is a psychological processing problem that is affecting an individual’s ability to comprehend and read fluently.   -Able to determine if an individual can mentally recognize and combine letters to form words, then string words along to create sentences and phrases.	-Needs to be administered by a credible individual, who has been properly trained.   - Very long, arduous assessment that requires extensive methods of producing results.	-Can be given to students of all ages.   -It is best suited to be given at the beginning of the school year to pre-assess an individual’s mental process of information regarding reading.

 

               

How Children Learn to Read

Children are not born knowing how to read, this is a skill that has to be taught early in the child’s life to enhance their reading development. Learning to read is an ongoing process that starts with birth and continues into adulthood. There are 5 stages of reading development that are built upon one another to ensure that children grow in their literacy development. It is essential that children understand and meet the criteria for each stage before they move onto the next stage. Otherwise they will struggle with their reading and writing skills in the future.

Stage 0: Pre-reading

This is the first reading development stage after birth until age six when children begin learning and developing their language, as well as vocabulary. Children start to grasps the concepts of sounds and word formation, such as some words have the same beginning sound. This is also when children learn to print their names and start to understand some of the letters in their name. They may pretend to read books by holding up the book and looking at the pages. This offers children an opportunity to learn more about pre-reading knowledge to aid in their further development of reading skills.

Stage 1: initial Reading/Decoding

This stage occurs when children are in grades one and two during this time they acquire phonic awareness education. Children develop knowledge of reading by understanding letters and the sounds that they indicate. At the stage they are also able to decode by putting together their knowledge of letters and sounds to blend together one word. Once they are able to recognize multiple words then they will begin to understand the meaning of these words. It is critical that teachers focus on teaching of decoding skills to help children in this stage receive effective reading instruction.

 

 

Stage 2: Confirmation, Fluency, Ungluing from Print, Automaticity

This stage applies what knowledge was acquired in stage one for children in second and third grade. Children are able to take their decoding skills to the next level by reading multiple words and stories. The complexity of the words and stories increases as they learn to read and understand phonic elements. Their fluency also increases as they begin to orally read stories and have more confidence in their reading ability.

Stage 3: Reading for Learning “The New Stage”

This stage occurs in phases from fourth grade until eighth or ninth grade. Children are able to take the knowledge they have acquired and develop this knowledge. During this stage children are learning new information and reading experiences. They begin to select different reading materials, such as magazines and textbooks, while expanding their interests. These students have transitioned from learning to read to reading to learn new information, facts, and ideas. During the beginning phases the students are limited in their vocabulary and contextual knowledge, but as they progress to the later phases their exposed to different viewpoints and being to analyze these viewpoints based on what material they have read.

Stage 4: Multiple Viewpoints

This stage refers to high schools students that are being exposed to different viewpoints that are presented to them through their more complex textbooks. These textbooks provide a greater insight into multiple interpretations of theories and ideas that these students will analyze and critique. They will learn to how to acquire these multiple points of view through different resources and materials. During this time it is important for students to develop effective study skills that will help them understand the complexity of the information presented to them.

Stage 5: Construction and Reconstruction

This stage occurs in adulthood and is the highest stage of reading development. At this stage adults should comprehend the complexity of the materials that they are reading. The reader is able to know what material to read and what not to read based on the information the reader is striving to acquire. They are also able to analysis what the author has written, but make their own ideas about the topic being discussed. It is imperative for readers to understand what they are reading, as well as to interpret that reading and make judgments based on what they read.

These stages model the important criteria that need to be met in order for a child to move onto the next stage of literacy development. The knowledge acquired through each stage helps teachers determine what concepts are critical for students to grasp at what time. The reading that is developed is a direct result of the instruction the child is given at the approximate ages. At each stage it is necessary to assess what level of development the child is at and how as a teacher or parent you can help get them to the next stage of reading development.

BRI/Case Study

Student History

Due to legalities I was unable to acquire a large amount of information regarding his school progress and personal information. I spent quite some time getting to know him through daily conversations by asking him questions, and vice versa. He is a very verbal student and became engaged in conversation once he felt comfortable with me working one-on-one with him. I found that the student I worked with loves reading Dragon Blood books at school, but he doesn’t read as much at home. He said he would read more if he could get the Dragon Blood books and download them on his nook. He loves to play for hours a day outside, running around, playing football and soccer, as well as staying in and watching television. He has a very charismatic personality that made this experience enjoyable, even when asked if he could only read really short passages.   

Name: Josh                                        Date of Birth: August 4^th                               Grade: 4th

Reason for Referral:

This student was referred to me by my mentor teacher because she had observed that he struggles with reading at the same speed as some of the other students in his grade.

Case History:

I was also unable to get an interview with his parents, but they were aware and very supportive of my efforts. He lives with both of his parents, his mother is American and his father is Mexican. His mother helps translate because she teaches Spanish at a school. He prefers to speak English at home and even if his parents ask him a question in Spanish he answers in English. Growing up in a bilingual household may have had an effect on his phonological awareness.

School History:

Due to legalities I was unable to acquire a large amount of information regarding his student records. According to his teachers he has been struggling with fluency and decoding. They also said he typically struggles with his reading class, more so than math and social studies.

Data Collection:

Josh seemed to speed though the reading passages and had a hard time sitting still during his readings. He would cooperate and read, but sometimes he would change the inflection of his voice while reading by reading soft then loud at times in an unusual accent. I could tell that he was starting to get uninterested and restless after I had been administering the Basic Reading Inventory (BRI) pre-test for 30 minutes. During the word list component of the BRI on a second grade reading level he reached an independent level, but on the third grade reading level he reached an instructional level. On a fourth grade reading level word list he barely stayed at an instructional level. This is what grade level he should be reading at, but he seemed to still need help with sounding out the words. I attempted to have him read a fifth grade word list and he reached an instructional/frustration level. The common miscues I found throughout his reading of the passages for grades two and three is substitution of words with other words that still made sense within the passage at an independent/instructional level. Throughout the fourth and fifth grade reading passages he forgot to read some of the words and the words that he did not know he would attempt to say the words, but they were usually incorrect. He reached an instructional level for fourth grade, but an instructional/frustrated level for fifth grade. He would rush through the reading and lose his place often, which is why he forgot to read some of the words in the passages and guess on words he did not know. Josh has strong comprehension skills and reached an independent level for grades two, three, and four with an independent/instructional level for fifth grade. I assessed that his decoding and fluency skills were weak, whereas his comprehensions skills were actually strong. This was confusing since usually fluency and comprehension are correlated, as one improves so does the other, and vice versa.

Problem:

 I as an educator can improve his reading fluency and decoding skills through the use of timed reading passages, reading fluency flashcards, vowel digraphs, and among other engaging reading activities.

Goal:

To improve his reading fluency and word decoding

·         Practice timed reading passages

·         Use a tape recorder to record his reading and play them back to him

·         Modeling the correct way to read a passage and have him imitate how I read

·         Use flashcards to help him practice sight words with vowels in them

I will effectively evaluate these methods through timed reading charts and observe if the number of words read per minute increased over time. I could also observe if he was able to correctly complete the worksheets and identity the correct vowel sounds on the reading fluency flashcards.

Hypothesis/Question:

If I have him practice his reading by reading short passages, poems, and use flashcards to practice vowels sounds, I anticipate that the students’ reading fluency and decoding skills will improve.

Strategies:

 A typical tutoring session with Josh would begin with a warm-up to give me an idea of what the student already knew and information that I would be able to build upon during the lesson activities. Then I would start the learning activities, which ranged from worksheets, to passage readings, to reading games. After the learning activity I would assess whether he got the “big idea” of the lesson through a wrap up or exit ticket. The wrap up would consist of questions that needed to be answered by him to assist me in gathering feedback pertaining to the learning activities or to evaluate his level of fluency or decoding.

See attached lesson plans

Analysis:

 I don’t agree that the results of the BRI post-test accurately reflect the improvement observed throughout the tutoring sessions. During one of the reading passages and set of comprehension questions Josh was being videotaped and I think this may have made him nervous. In general people don’t tend to perform well when they are nervous or anxious about something. He remained the same level on the second grade word list, improved one level on his third grade reading list, but decreased a level on the fourth and fifth grade word lists. He didn’t try to sound out many of the words that he did not know, instead he would say pass. Throughout the reading passages on a second and third grade level he still remained on the independent/instructional level with minor miscues, such as omission and substitution. The reading passages on a fourth grade reading level he had more significant miscues where he would change the word and it would change the meaning of the content, but remained on an instructional level. During the fifth grade reading passage he reached a frustration level and I could sense that he was giving up.  

Reflection/Discussion:

I believe that the reading strategies I implemented made a slight difference, but not enough evidence was shown, according to the data recorded on the BRI post-test. Some minor improvements were made, but overall the results were similar to those of the BRI pre-test. I think if I was able to spend more one-on-one instruction time with Josh, then he would be able to improve his decoding and fluency skills. I also think that I could have taught him more beneficial reading strategies, such as what to do when you don’t know a word. I attempted to incorporate his interest of dragons into the tutoring sessions, which seemed to go over well and his reading rate slightly increased. I would also spend more time on teaching Josh more phonemic awareness through digraphs and elkonin boxes that assist in segmenting words by breaking down syllables. This would be beneficial because when he didn’t know a word he would say another word that was either too many or too little syllables to be that word. I have learned exactly what teaching reading entails and how I can incorporate basic reading strategies in my classroom, as a future science educator. Reading is an ongoing process that can continually be improved through the use of learned reading strategies.   

Action Plan:

It would be beneficial for Josh to receive additional one-on-one instruction to bring him to an independent reading level for fourth grade. I also think that enhances his strategies for words he comes across during a reading passage that he does not know, such as cover-ups and cross checking. I would also start out with shorter reading passages on topics that he is interested in, then gradually extend the length of the passages.

Research Article Summary/Reflection

The article “Every Child, Every Day” by Richard L. Allington and Rachael E. Gabriel suggests that research studies support that effective Language Arts instruction can be implemented in any school setting by using six elements of reading instruction that do not require a costly amount of resources. If research-based strategies are applied to reading instruction in the classroom, students will become more engaged and successful readers. These research-based reading strategies are used to enhance the achievement of successful readers and motivate struggling readers to accomplish the goal of reading instruction, which is that every child has the ability to read.

The first element of effective reading instruction states that students are more eager to read and understand what they have read if given the opportunity to make their own reading selections.  The two main components of reading instruction that can improve student motivation, as well as reading comprehension is to create student access to reading material and allow the students to select their own reading material. This approach to reading instruction can motivate students through the personal experience of choosing a book they are interested in and can help them further develop the skills needed to choose a book that is appropriate for their reading level. If students choose reading material that matches their reading level they will be able to understand what they are reading and be more likely to read outside of school because of successful in school reading experiences.

The second element mentioned in this article claims that if a student’s reading accuracy is above ninety percent they are able to improve their word recognition, decoding, and analysis of words skills. In order to ensure that a student progresses in their reading accuracy is to have them read and reread language arts material. The more time spent on reading helps accelerate reading accuracy, but students will only benefit from reading material that they understand, therefore they will enjoy reading. Struggling readers are more likely to become frustrated when they encounter words that they don’t understand and begin to lack confidence in their reading accuracy, which will affect their word recognition skills and decoding skills.

The third element stems from the previously mentioned idea that students are more willing to read material that they understand and is appropriate for their reading level. It has been proven in research studies that when working with struggling readers the focus should be on reading comprehension and not basic isolation reading skills. This evidence was observed through the changes in the structure of the brain’s white matter, which showed an improvement in reading ability when struggling readers were exposed to numerous readings and rereading of texts that they comprehended.

The fourth element involves students writing about meaningful topics that can improve their reading skills. When students are able to write about something they are passionate about they take time to address how they want to communicate their ideas, so other people are able to understand what they are attempting to say. This helps students develop and organize their ideas by allowing them to write something they know about and want to communicate what they know to others. Then the student is able to read, reread, and analyze what they have just written to ensure it conveys to other readers the main idea of what they were trying to communicate.

The fifth element of effective reading instruction proposes that students become more effective readers when they converse with peers about what they have just read. Students will become more engaged in the reading when they work with a partner to answer questions and think about what they have just read. This gives students an opportunity to analyze, comment on, and to highlight the important information from the reading. It is more helpful for struggling readers to be engaged in a conversation with a peer about what they have just read instead of answering literal questions to see if they understood the reading. This type of instruction incorporates reading, listening, and speaking skills, which many students who struggle with reading difficulties can benefit from.

The sixth element states that students reading fluency and comprehension of reading are likely to increase when an adult reads aloud to model fluent reading. This method of reading instruction can also aid students in the expansion of their vocabulary, background knowledge, and components of a story. It is a suggested that the teacher reads aloud to their student’s every day, even if only for 10 minutes as a way to use class time more effectively and it doesn’t require any special materials to implement this strategy.

                As a teacher it would be beneficial to all students to invest in a classroom library, so that students have access to reading material that range from lower level to higher level texts. The six essential elements of reading instruction aid in the improvement of reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. This is accomplished though reading strategies that allow self-selection of texts, read-alouds, as well as conversing with peers.

                                                              Reference

Allington, R., & Gabriel, R. (2012). Every child, every day. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num06/Every-Child,-Every-Day.aspx