Week 5-Assignment 4

Mary was able to recall the ideas that fish and whales are alike and different. She remembered that they are born in different ways and mentioned that they are different sizes (not written in passage). She was also able to recall that fish get food on their own as opposed to whales that get milk form their mothers for the first year. She also said that both have fins. I calculated that the total number of ideas was 16. Mary was able to answer the first implicit question about what the passage is mainly about. She was partially able to answer the second question about the explicit ways that whales and fish are different. I did not see her answer the rest of the questions so it is hard to determine the exact level that she is on. Presumably though I would think that since she answered 3/4 questions correctly and based on her previous answers I think she would answer the following questions correctly, I think this passage is instructional.

I feel that Mary has strong word identification and is a fluent reader. I feel that it would be beneficial for her to work on her comprehension and her prior knowledge

Week 5-Assignment 3

Using QRI5 to to estimate individual reading level, to indicate growth and monitor individual progress, and to describe specific reading behaviors as a guide for intervention instruction (RTI). 

Mary is a third grade ELL student. When these tests were administered she was in the fourth quarter of the year. After hearing Mary reading the word lists, then the assessment of prior knowledge, oral reading miscue analysis, and recall, I gathered the following information. The level two word list that Mary read seemed to have been at an instructional level since her scores were between 70%-80%. She seemed to be able to automatically identify 80% of the words and only needed to sound out one of the 20 words. Although she had to skip 3 words she seemed to have read the list fairly well.

When Mary read the level 3 list of words however, her level of reading was significantly lower. Having only read four out of the twenty words correctly, three of which that were automatically identified and one correctly identified, it was clear that this list was at her frustration reading level. The words that she was able to identify were lunch, believe, motion and worried. The word lunch seems to be a word that she sees regularly and can be considered a high frequency word. I would think that the other words on the other hand are not as common and am impressed that she was able to read them. Each of these words are two syllable with only one onset and rime so it could be that Mary is able to break up words into onsets and rimes in order to read them. Although I am not sure how strong Mary is in this area since the rest of the sixteen words were not read at all.

In regard to Mary’s assessment of her prior knowledge of the expository level two passage, she did not seem to have a lot of background knowledge on whales. This could be attributed to cultural background or just a lack of interest in whales and fish in general. Mary’s oral reading miscue analysis showed that the passage was appropriate for instructional level. Based on my results of this test from last semester (EDLI 635) her accuracy rate was 94%, and her self correction rate was 1:4 which is indicative that she monitors herself while she reads. Mary’s recall was very interesting in the sense that the first thing she recalled was not in the story which is indicative that she was speaking based on prior knowledge and not based on the reading. Additionally, the other points that Mary mentioned were written at the end of the passage which leads me to believe that she was only able to absorb the end because she was too busy focusing on the technical aspect of reading at the beginning.

This being the case I would think that this student needs intervention in the area of comprehension. Suggested intervention activities could be directed reading-thinking activity, visual imagery, KWL, reciprocal teaching, thinking aloud, discussion cards etc. Additionally it seems that it would be helpful for this student to work on retelling narrative text and organizing her retelling. Also, because Mary does not seem to have the strongest prior knowledge it would be helpful for her to do activities such as determining critical concepts and building a knowledge base. Mary seems to have strong phonological awareness and can identify words accurately. In addition Mary seems to be a fluent reader who can read words automatically.  

 

 

 

Week 5-Assignment 2

Mary's Level 3 Word List:


Total Correct Automatic: 3/20=15%
Total Correct Identified: 1/20= 5%
Total Number Correct: 4/20=20%

Week 5-Assignment 1

Mary's Word Identification Scores:


Total Correct Automatic: 16/20=80%
Total Correct Identified: 1/20=5%
Total Number Correct: 17/20=85%

Week 4-Assignment 2

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x0qvk41yedniznr/AJ_cSryFWp


Above is the link to the powerpoint-enjoy:)

Week 4-Assignment 1 a

My understanding of RTI is that this is a screening process to ensure that really no children fall through the cracks and that every student receives the proper instruction at the proper time. As explained in the video, literacy instruction is three tiered. Most children fall under the biggest tier and they receive at least 90 minutes per day of literacy instruction including phonics. This instruction is monitored and adjusted by the teacher to meet the needs of her students. The next tier is for a smaller portion of students who need extra help in grasping literacy but do not fall under the category as special ed. These children get at least thirty minutes of extra instruction on top of what they are learning in class. This is an important point since this extra time is meant to reinforce what these students are receiving in class, not to replace that time. The third tier is for an even smaller group of students who would fall under a special education category and receive special services.


It seems like RTI comes with all of the tools that teachers need to teach literacy effectively. Not only is the method successful but because it is user friendly and requires little extra work outside of class it seems to be a favorite among educators. Teachers however need to be constantly aware of their students' status and gather evidence of their students' work. I wonder if this is challenging for teachers to have to keep track of the individual state of each of their students. I also wonder if there are other effective assessments and literacy techniques that teachers implement successfully. I truly hope that through RTI that every child really receives the literacy instruction that he needs but I find it hard to believe that no one falls through the cracks. I am looking forward to learning more about the subject and implementing it in my classroom.

Week 3 Assignment 3

What is QRI5?
QRI5 is an informal reading assessment that is used to determine a child's word identification, comprehension, and the circumstances where students can read and understand fluently. The system was developed over many years and was researched thoroughly. There are passages that are appropriate for different grade levels from first grade through high school. Along with these passages are word lists and questions that asses literal and deeper meaning of the material.

What is the purpose of using QRI5?

The purpose of using QRI5 is for the teacher to be aware of her students' reading abilities and be able to plan accordingly. Based on the results of this test, the teacher can choose appropriate reading material for her student, focus more on a skill that seems to be lacking etc.

Have you seen similar assessment activities like QRI5? What are they?

I am not so familiar with the proper names of the assessments. However when I was a teacher's assistant in a first grade classroom I remember the teacher reading through different passages with the children and testing the correct words per minute that the children read from a word list.

What is your impression of QRI5?

My impression of QRI5 is that it is a thought out process that really comes with all of the tools for teachers to implement the assessments successfully. Honestly straight after I read about QRI5 I thought "what a great business to be able to market assessment packages to schools!". It seems that this tool is fully loaded with all of the materials to make teachers lives easier. An effective and easy way to asses our students-what could be better?