Sample End-of-Year Reading-Level Targets for …

1 The Running RecordRunning records can show teachers behavioursthat the reader is using successfully to compre-hend the text, as well as those that inhibit a fluentreading of the text or that indicate a lack of com-prehension. While running records will revealsome knowledge of how well most students havecomprehended the text, teachers should ask stu-dents questions after the record has been taken toensure that the information on the student s levelof comprehension is of the behaviours running records canreveal include whether the student: repeats words or phrases in order to self-cor-rect ( , knows what the word is); rereads a phrase to acquire additional informa-tion ( , doesn t know the word), to attempt anew word again, or to confirm that he or sheread the word accurately.

2 Attempts a word before appealing for assistanceorappeals to the teacher before trying a word; frequently becomes confused and unable tocontinue, requiring the teacher to tell him orher a word and record a told (see page ); makes comments about the story that indicatean interest in and understanding of it; frequently checks the pictures for assistance orconfirmation of his or her understanding; efficiently orinefficiently uses the sounding-outstrategy to decode new words; points at words or phrases with a finger; reads in a phrased and fluent manner; uses appropriate intonation and expression; neglects orpays obvious attention to a student s reading behaviours alsoprovides the teacher with insight into the reader sthinking processes.

3 In trying to determine whatthe material says, the student uses, primarily,three sources of information provided by the textitself. These are the three cueing systems: seman-tic (meaning) cues, syntactic (structural) cues, andgraphophonic (visual) cues (see glossary; see alsoChapter 6: Guided reading for a full discussion ofthe three cueing systems). Sample End-of-Year Reading-Level Targets for Each Grade (using PM BenchmarkAssessment, DRA, and Fountas and Pinnell text levels )PM BenchmarkDevelopmental Fountas and PinnellAssessmentReading Assessment(1996)Grade LevelText Level(DRA) Text LevelText LevelSenior3 53 5B CKindergartenGrade 115 1616 18 IGrade 221 2224 28L/MGrade 326 2734 Guide to Effective Instruction in reading , Kindergarten to Grade 3 The teacher should look at every error in the run-ning record and ask, What led the student tomake that error?

4 For each error, the teachershould consider the following questions:1. Does the error have a semantic (meaning)basis? Does the error make sense? Does thestory line support the error? Does the illustra-tion support the error? Did the student bring adifferent meaning from his own experience tothe text? Consider the following examples:2. Did the structure, syntax, or grammar of thesentence up to the point of error support theerror? Does this student frequently make thiskind of structural, syntactical, or grammaticalerror? Consider the following examples:3. Does the error have a graphophonic (visual)basis? Does it look right? Could visual cueshave triggered, or do they support, the error?

5 For example, did the student respond to the ini-tial letter, the size of the word, an ending, areversed word, and so on? Consider the follow-ing examples:The recording sheet should have an analysis column that is divided into two sub-columns( Errors or E and Self-Corrections or SC (see page ). Beside each error, in the E columnof the recording sheet, the teacher should writethe letters M S V to represent the three cueing diedtiedwent orwantatortorunnedransaid orshoutedDaddyPapaball orfootballsystems: M (meaning/semantic), S (structure/syn-tactic), and V (visual/graphophonic). If the stu-dent s error mayhave derived from one or more ofthese kinds of cues, the teacher circles the appro-priate letter or letters.)

6 In determining the influ-ence of the cueing systems, it is important toconsider the text only up to the point where thestudent made the error. Although the teacherknows what comes next in the text, the studentmay 1:In example 1, saidmakes sense in the story,sounds right structurally, and starts with the sameletter as the correct word. The student may haveused all three sources of 2(picture-supported response):In example 2, sleptmatches the picture of a yawn-ing child with closed eyes, lying down. The wordtherefore makes sense. It sounds right in the sen-tence, but because there is no visual similaritybetween the words sleptand yawned, the wordsleptdoes not look right.

7 The student appears tohave overlooked the visual 3:In example 3, wentdoes not make sense in thesentence, nor does it sound right syntactically. Itdid however, appear to look right to the studentwho is just learning high-frequency of information neglected, and so on, asfollows: Does the student use two or three cues(sources of information) together? Consider thefollowing example: Does the student cross-check an attempt byusing other kinds of cues? Consider the follow-ing example: Does the student tend to rely primarily on onekind of cue? For example, does the studentsound out and accept words that are meaning-less or that may not be real words?

8 Does thestudent make up text using pictures (meaningcues) to provide information about the story? If the teacher totals the number of errors andself-corrected errors that depend on each typeof cue ( , How many times was M used? S?V?), is there a balance? Does the student tendto rely on one cueing system? Does the studenttend to depend on M and S cues when he orshe makes an error, and V cues to self-correct(or the reverse)?At the top of the running record sheet, the teachersummarizes what he or she has learned from theanalysis. The teacher then uses this information todetermine future instructional practices. The goalis to help each student develop effective readingbehaviours and reading skills and become a fluentreader.

9 [looks at picture]SCblackbluehousehomeNext, the teacher should look at the teacher should first analyse the original error,and then ask what cueing systems the studentappears to have used to correct the error. The cueor cues used by the student are recorded in the Self-Correction or SC column of the recordingsheet (see page ). Note that in the followingexamples, the E column analyses from the aboveexamples are shown as well as the SC 4: In example 4, when self-correcting, the studentcontinued to use the meaning and structural cuesbut also recognized the visual cues (probably ini-tial and final consonants).Example 5:In example 5, the student appears to have paidattention to visual cues (both words begin with w-e) but makes an error (went) that does not havemeaning within the context of the sentence andthat does not fit the structure of the reading further and taking into account themeaning and structure cues, the student realizedthat wentdid not make sense (M) or sound right (S),and self-corrected the next step is to consider the pattern ofresponses.

10 During the analysis of running records,the teacher should not spend much time on indi-vidual errors, but instead should look for patterns,wentSC ! ! !RwesleptSCyawedESCMSVMSVMS V MS VESCMSVMSVMS V MS Guide to Effective Instruction in reading , Kindergarten to Grade 32. If the student did not note the pattern or wasunable to hold the pattern through the entirebook, select a new book and read the entirebook to the student. Then ask the student toread the book. Did the student hold the pattern for theentire book? With support and more experi-ences with patterned books, the student willbecome ready to learn about matchingwords in text with spoken words, high-frequency words, and so on Did the student hold the pattern briefly,then begin to invent text?