Module 3: PowerPoint Review

Overview of Assessment: This PowerPoint helped put into perspective some assessment terms and vocabulary that I was unfamiliar with. As scary as this might sound, the information and difference regarding formative and summative assessments was cleared up through this presentation. I have always had difficulty remembering what information was assessed with a formative assessment vs. summative. The way I will be remembering this difference is summative assessment “summarizes” what the students have already learned, where as the formative assessment helps guide instruction. This year I have assessed my students with both assessments, as a ticket out the door or a 3-2-1 are very informative and eye opening. For example, we are studying multiplication and division using the standard algorithm in fifth grade, and by giving my students problems to solve, I was able to easily see who knew what they were doing and who had never been exposed to this math concept before. I am being more intentional with my assessments this year, as they are what tend to drive your instruction.

Also, when it comes to keeping parents informed about their student’s behavior and academic progress (or lack of), I send home graded assignments every week. Biweekly, I send home a behavior progress report in which states the recorded grades for each subject that parents have the option to average. My goal is to have no surprises when it comes to report cards and conferences. I believe that with adequate parent communication, students have the means to make growth across the board.

Phonics Evidence and Strategies- I loved how this presentation gave us ideas of what things to look for in our struggling readers and how to help them better. I initially thought that the skills listed and explained were more geared toward primary grades, but the one that stuck out to me the most was syllabication. The student I am tutoring has difficulty with this reading strategy. When he reads, he is more focused on each individual sound, verses using blends and chunks. I found it very helpful to see the six different kinds of syllables, as I never knew there was a difference. I think it would be a good idea to look into what kind of syllable types my student and others are having the most difficulty with. 

Module 3: Video Analysis (2)

 The activities portrayed in these two videos showed ways reading can be assessed and hands-on. In one of the PowerPoints from this module, it stated how we as teachers must be careful not to teach reading from only worksheets. These activities supported simple and easy ways for students learn to like reading while also giving the teacher a solid idea of the student’s current understanding. As stated in the first video, I agree that phonemic awareness is crucial in developing reading skills, fluency and accuracy. Without these foundational skills, students are likely to fall behind in their early years of reading. Often times, it is hard for a student to get “caught up” if their fundamental skills are never developed. It is my goal, as a teacher, to teach reading in a hands-on way, in hopes that students understand that reading is much more than simply reading the words on a page.  

Module 3: Chapters/Article Reflections

Chapter 7
This chapter was packed with wonderful resources for tracking student progress in reading for primary grade levels. I could see how many of these tools would be useful to help organize and layout the areas a teacher needs to focus on. Figure 7.3 on page 117 was really neat to look at and digest. This print concept assessment would benefit the teacher in allowing them to see where a student is with their current print knowledge. I could also see the students enjoying an assessment/activity like this, as if they are almost on some sort of scavenger hunt. Any time you can make learning engaging and exciting, the students are more apt to jump aboard. As a fifth grade teacher, I enjoyed seeing and reading table 7.5 on page 127, as we use all of the listed reading and writing experiences in our reading and workshop models this. In addition, I believe in using picture books for instruction…even in the upper grades. Table 7.6 on page 129 laid out books that fostered different language elements. I use websites that list books under specific skills such as main idea, theme, characterization etc. to teach my daily mini-lessons. The students love being read to!

Chapter 8

This biggest concept that was reinforced for me in this chapter was the marking and scoring of oral reading assessments. We give the DRA twice a year, and I have the hardest time remembering what the symbols correlate with the various miscues. While I’m listening to a student read, I will find myself getting caught up on marking an error, that I lose track of where the student is, possibly skipping miscues that need to be marked. Also, as the student reads, I find myself marking “codes” and symbols that make sense for me at that given time. At the end of completing a DRA, I will go back and correct any of the miscues I scribbled down for the sake of time. My only concern with this table, (8.2) is that the different reading assessments available for our use, use slightly different coding and markings.


Chapter 12
Figure 12.6 on page 307 reminds me a lot of our reading endorsement class this past summer. We focused heavily on how successful students will read with the big picture in mind, verses reading every individual word and sound on the page. This figure made me realize how much harder students are making it for them when they focus in on letter sounds and words instead of the whole text. The more focused a student is on each individual letter or sound, the more likely they are missing the meaning of the text…which is what reading truly is all about.

"Formative Assessment: Simply No Additives"

This article was absolutely amazing and informative to read regarding the power formative assessment has. I text lifted the following quote as I thought it spoke high volumes of the capabilities of formative assessment. “Formative assessment is a gap-minder because it helps the teacher to stay alert to gaps in individual students’ reading development and to adjust instruction.” I have never heard of the term gap-minder before; however, it makes perfect sense as to why we conduct formative assessments. I also did not realize how much information a teacher can learn about their class by simply conducting a formative assessment. I always wondered why we took the Checkpoint Tests in which included a formative assessment component. Our students always performed poorly on that portion because we had not yet taught those skills and standards. It now makes more sense to me, as to the reasoning why. This data truly helps drive our future instruction, in which helps ensure enough time and not too much time are spent on one specific standard. 

Module 2: PowerPoint Summaries

PowerPoint: Strategies that Support Emergent Literacy by:  Dr. Debra J. Coffey and Dr. Alice F. Snyder

Reflections from the past:

Pre-school: I do not have any memories from this year of school in relation to literacy. I wonder if this was because I was just too young to understand what was going on, or it the impact of literacy was not evident.

Kindergarten/First Grades: I remember being read to a lot, especially gathering in the floor on my piece of tape. We would have visitors come and read books to us as well. As far as writing, I remember writing simple sentences, thus illustrating it afterwards.

Second Grade/Third Grade: This is the year I remember truly learning to read. My teacher would pull us individually, listening to us read and recording notes (probably some sort of reading level test). This is also the year where I remember having to actually write stories/papers.

Predictions:

What would you consider the top three predictors of early success in reading?

1.       I would be looking to see if children liked books and/or reading picture books (even just looking at the pictures).

2.       I would be looking to see if the parents were encouraging reading in the home. Typically when reading is being encouraged, students tend to adapt to that kind of life style as normalcy.

3.       I would be looking for children to make connections/tell stories from pictures or signs they see around town.

How would you rank the top three factors of early success in reading for young children?

Of the above mentioned factors, I believe they would be ranked in this order from most important factor to least: #2, #3, #1, however I really believe all three are great indicators of a successful reader.

I really enjoyed reading about the “Five Essential Elements of Reading” as it is such a good reminder that reading is not all about reading comprehension. In my opinion, all five elements must be present for reading success.

1.Phonemic Awareness/Phonological Awareness

2.Phonics

3.Fluency

4.Vocabulary

5.Comprehension

PowerPoint: Assessment of Reading and Writing Process

From this PowerPoint, I learned how valuable note taking can be. Last week, I had my students take their own notes on constructive and destructive forces. I believe that when students are in control of their learning, they are the ones doing the learning. Students do not learn to their fullest capacity when listening to a teacher. They, the students, must be in control of their learning by being the ones taking the notes and participating in rich discussions.

Also, as I am a fifth grade teacher, I enjoyed reading about the components a writing piece (5^th grade) can be and should be scored according to. When I grade my student’s writing pieces, three things that I check for that were mentioned in this PowerPoint are conventions, ideas and organization. Ideas count double on our writing rubric, as that holds the “meat” of the piece. 

Module 2: Video Analysis

                As I have already completed my tutorial session #1, I was thankful to see this video as a source of confirmation and reassurance. As seen in the video, the teacher/instructor began the tutoring session getting to know their student personally as a reader. It is important to show your student(s) that you care about them and desire to know them inside and out. By taking the time to get to know your student, you gain understanding on how your student views reading and their concerns. Their concerns and frustrations with reading can shed light on underlying problems affecting their reading abilities. The girl in this video voiced her concerns about reading, as did my tutee. I really liked how the teacher was reassuring and gave the student confidence, especially in a subject that causes so much anxiety and frustration. For example, the teacher told the student to say the word lists at a speed that was most comfortable for them. In my first tutorial session, I administered the third and fourth level word lists, in which I now think my student felt was a “timed test”. There were points where I had to tell him to slow down or repeat a few words so I could catch up. I really enjoyed using the QRI5, as it gives me another type of reading assessment to use besides DRA2s that Cobb County requires us to use.