Reading Conferences

After reading chapter 7 in Routman, reading conferences do not seem as hard as I thought were originally. I really like the idea that it can be an informal thing but a good assessment of the student’s reading ability can be gained from it. I have seen my master teacher do informal reading conference and it works so well! She just explains to the kids that she will be asking a few of them to come talk with her about their book that day during independent reading time. She really makes sure they understand that it is just a conversation and NOT an assessment!

With my Juanita buddy, I think I will follow Routman’s guidelines exactly. I think it is important not only to make sure a student understands the book they are reading, but that they think about their choice of book. Asking them to rate the book on how hard it is for them is fantastic! In my main placement, I talked to a girl who chose to abandon her book because she knew it was too hard for her and she didn’t understand what was going on. I think it takes courage to admit that to a teacher! I also agree with Routman when she says that sometimes a short reading prompt is not a good measure of a student’s reading ability. It is much better to sit next to a student with a book and ask them to read aloud while you take an informal running record. Their interest level in the material can really play into how well they read and how hard they are willing to try to understand what they are reading.

I think the overall key to reading assessment is to keep it as informal as possible. There will always be times when a formal district assessment is necessary, but until that time comes, the less pressure there is on a student the better they will do on the assessment.

Spelling Instruction

Templeton and Morris: What aspects of spelling instruction mentioned in this article do you see playing out in your placement? Pick one aspect to describe and discuss how it works with children.

In my placement I have seen students doing word sorts with their spelling words. From what I can tell they are closed sorts because the teacher has given them certain categories to sort their words in to. Students are in three different groups which are based ability level. However, I don’t think the kids know which level they are at because each group is working on different spelling patterns. One group’s words aren’t necessarily harder than another group’s words, they are just different. They do the sorts on their own and they also do them with a partner where they test each other for speed. Also during the week, they pick about 10 words to write in sentences. This helps them learn the meaning of the words and gives them more practice writing the words. When Friday comes and they have their spelling test, the teacher randomly picks about 15 words from their lists plus some words not on the list but that have same pattern they are learning. I like this method because it eliminates the potential for memorization and regurgitation. Students really have to learn the spelling pattern and how to apply it.