Placement Packet. Read Naturally - LCSC

1 Placement EditionME2nd Edition Read Naturally , Paul, MinnesotaPhone: : : 2004 2008 Read Naturally , Inc. All rights Naturally permits classroom teachers to reproduce the printed stories for use in their classrooms only. The printed stories cannot be reproduced as audio cassettes or CDs. No part of the audio recordings may be reproduced orcopied in any form. These copyright provisions are for the protection of Read Naturally and the authors of the of ContentsUsing This Packet ..1 16 What Is Placement ? ..1 What levels are available?..2 What curricula are available? ..2 Sequenced Stories ..2 Spanish Translations/Versi n en Espa ol ..3 Phonics Stories ..4 American Manners and Customs is a reading rate goal? ..8 Steps for Initial Placement worksheet ..10 Conducting a Placement Beginning Readers ..13 Placing Students in Spanish Questions About the Placement Process ..15 Placement 44 Level ..Giraffe ..21 Level ..Hot Air Balloons ..23 Level ..Gorilla.

2 27 Level ..Ice Cream Sodas ..29 Level ..Hank Aaron ..31 Level ..Fried to Perfection ..33 Level ..George Washington Carver ..35 Level ..Mount Vesuvius Erupts ..37 Level ..Flathead Lake Monster ..39 Level ..Machu ..Golda Meir ..43 Answer Key for Placement 46 Copyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionPlacement PacketiiCopyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , Naturally Masters EditionUsing This PacketYou can use this packet to initially place your students in the appropriate Read Naturally material when they begin the program. In addition, you can use this packet to preview the ReadNaturally materials. The packet includes a full-sized copy of each story needed for placementtesting and reduced-size samples of stories in other Read Naturally curricula. What Is Placement ? Placement is the process of selecting reading materials and setting an initial goal for a studentwho is about to begin using Read Naturally . Placing a student in the Read Naturally programinvolves determining the following: Level Which level of material is most appropriate for this student?

3 Curriculum Which curriculum would most benefit this student? Goal What initial goal rate will challenge but not frustrate the student?Correct Placement is crucial to success in Read Naturally . When working in Read Naturally , theteacher must select a combination of reading material and goal rate that will challenge thestudent without being discouraging. The reading material and the goal rate need to be difficultenough to require the student to practice reading the story several times to reach his or her goal,even though the student listens to audio recordings of the story first. However, the level andgoal should not be so difficult that the student gives up because of the steps for Placement outlined in this packet will help you determine theappropriate level, curriculum, and goal rate for each of your !You may have already assessed the student using a fluency assessment tool such asReading Fluency Benchmark Assessor (RFBA). Do not attempt to use these assessmentresults to place students in Read Naturally .

4 To appropriately place a student, you mustseparately test the student for Placement using the passages in this 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionWhat levels are available?Read Naturally stories are grouped into levels based on their degree of difficulty. ReadNaturally assigns levels to its materials based on several readability Naturally levels range in difficulty from a first-grade through an eighth-grade readinglevel. Because struggling readers can rarely make full-year leaps as they progress, levels areavailable at almost every half curricula are available?For many of the Read Naturally levels, you have a choice of curricula. Regardless of thecurriculum you choose, the primary purpose of Read Naturally is to build fluency in developingand struggling readers. Each curriculum additionally works on other areas of development. Thefollowing curricula are available: Sequenced Phonics Idioms Spanish translations American Manners and Customs MulticulturalSequenced StoriesLevels , , , , , , , , , , , , 24 stories/bookFormats available: audio CDs, cassettes, and softwareThe Sequenced stories comprise the basic curriculum and are appropriate for any developing orstruggling reader.

5 This curriculum spans first- through eighth-grade reading levels. TheSequenced materials build fluency and support comprehension and vocabulary sample Sequenced story Level Packet2 Copyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , Naturally Masters EditionSpanish Translations/Versi n en Espa olLevels , , , , , stories/bookFormats available: audio CDs, cassettes, and softwareFor the most part, the Spanish stories are word-for-word translations of the correspondingstories in the Sequenced curriculum. Native Spanish speakers may wish to read along with theSpanish version first to gain an understanding of the story content and vocabulary beforeworking through the story in English. Some teachers also use these passages to support studentswho are learning to read in sample Spanish translation of a Sequenced story Level see more sample Sequenced curriculum: Look at the Placement stories that appear later in thisplacement packet to see an example of a Sequenced story at each level offered.

6 All curriculum: Visit the Read Naturally website to see a sample story at each levelfor every curriculum 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionPhonics StoriesLevels .8, , , , , stories/bookFormats available: audio CDs, cassettes, and softwareLike the Sequenced materials, the Phonics materials are primarily designed to build fluency. Inthe Phonics series, each story and its supporting activities focus on the decoding of a featuredphonics pattern, as follows:Level .8 Short vowelsLevel vowelsLevel vowelsLevel vowelsEach story includes many words with the featured pattern, a short audio phonics lesson, and aword list activity to support the development of phonics sample Phonics story Level .8 (short vowels) Placement Packet4 Copyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , Naturally Masters EditionAmerican Manners and Customs StoriesLevels , , , stories/bookFormats available: audio CDs, cassettes, and softwareThis curriculum is designed to acquaint English Language Learners with some Americanmanners and customs as they work on reading fluency and comprehension.

7 The stories haveextra audio and vocabulary support to help students who are new to the English sample American Manners and Customs story Level 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionIdioms StoriesLevels , , , stories/bookFormats available: audio CDs, cassettes, and softwareUsing this curriculum, both native English speakers and English Language Learners can learncommon American idioms as they work on reading fluency. Like the American Manners andCustoms materials, these stories include extra audio and vocabulary sample Idioms story Level Packet6 Copyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , Naturally Masters EditionMulticultural StoriesLevel African American History12 stories/bookLevel Mexican American History12 stories/bookFormats available: audio cassettesStudents reading these stories learn about African American or Mexican American history asthey build fluency. Extending activities support mastery of the story content. For variety, youmay wish to intermix these stories with stories in the Sequenced sample Multicultural story Level Mexican American HistoryCopyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionWhat is a reading rate goal?

8 In addition to selecting a level and curriculum, the teacher must set an individualized,developmentally appropriate goal rate for each student. This goal is the number of words astudent must read correctly in one minute to pass a story. The goal needs to be sufficiently highto require the student to practice reading the story many times before achieving the goal rate butnot so high that the student becomes frustrated. Changing the level of material or the goalAfter placing a student, allow him or her to read in the same level of material and at thesame goal rate for at least six stories (typically about two weeks), unless it is obvious thatthe student was placed inappropriately. As he or she continues to work in the program,you will adjust the level of the reading material or the goal but not both at once to meetthe changing needs of the more information on adjusting levels and goals, refer to the Read Naturally MastersEdition Teacher's Manual, which is available to download from the Document Center onthe Read Naturally website ( ).

9 Placement Packet8 Copyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , Naturally Masters EditionSteps for Initial the reading levelof the student based on test scores and classroom the Placement storyin this packet that matches your the studentfor one minute while he or she reads the story. Count the student's errors(see Conducting a Placement Timing on page 11). the number of wordsread correctly by subtracting the number of errors from thenumber of words read. Record the score on the Initial Placement worksheet (page 10). whether the level at which thestudent read is appropriatefor the student. Thelevel is a match if the number of words the studentread correctly falls within the range listed in theplacement table . 6. If the level is not a match, continue to testthestudent on additional stories in this packet untilyou find the level at which the student reads withinthe corresponding range in the a student's scores fall between the ranges (for example, a student scored 61 when tested onlevel but scored 55 when tested on level , so neither level is an exact match), or if thestudent reads stories from two or more levels within the appropriate range, then you mustdecide on a level based on the student's age, background knowledge, and a curriculum and levelfrom the table below that matches the student's placementtesting level and educational needs.

10 Circle your selection on the Initial Placement an initial goalusing the following guidelines, and record it on the worksheet : Grades 1 4:Add 30to the Placement score for the level selected, and round to the nearest 5. Grades 5+:Add 40to the Placement score for the level selected, and round to the nearest OptionsSequencedSequenced Spanish TranslationPhonicsAmer. Manners & short long short long testing levelScores in this range indicate a potential to 60 to 80 to 100 140 WCPMWCPM = words correct per minutePlacement TableDetermine LevelSelect CurriculumSet GoalCopyright 2007 2008 Read Naturally , PacketRead Naturally Masters EditionInitial Placement WorksheetStudent Name:..Date:..Grade:..Instructions(For full Placement instructions, refer to the Placement Packet.)1 Estimate the student's reading level. Time the student reading theplacement story at that level for one minute. Count For the level tested, record the number of the last word read (A) andthe number of errors (B).