Digging Deeper, Part 2: Comprehension and Reading Rate

Digging Deeper, Part 2

• Focus on Comprehension and Fluency in reading.

5 Essential Elements of Reading

• Phonemic Awareness: Recognition of sounds in spoken words.

• Phonics: The relationship between sounds and their spelling.

• Fluency: The ability to read text smoothly and accurately.

• Vocabulary: Understanding and using words effectively.

• Comprehension: The ability to grasp the meaning of text.

Review of Phonemic Awareness

Key Techniques

• Yopp-Singer Phoneme Segmentation: Analyzing sounds in words.

• Bruce Phoneme Deletion: Removing specific sounds from words for analysis.

Early Literacy/Phonics Strategies

• Student-dictated Stories: Helps in practicing phonics within context.

• Phonics and Sight Words: Essential for building recognition.

• Flash and Untimed Tests: Strategies to reinforce learning without pressure.

Review of Vocabulary

Assessment Methods

• Formal Standardized Tests: Standardized measures of vocabulary skills.

• Informal Assessments: Teacher-created tests to assess vocabulary.

• Before and After Knowledge Rating: Assessing understanding pre and post instruction.

• Two Word Method: Associative learning with vocabulary words.

• Make Your Own Assessments: Custom assessments tailored to class needs.

Comprehension – Formal Methods

Types of Assessments

• Standardized Group Survey Tests: Group-administered tests assessing comprehension.

• Group-Administered Diagnostic Tests: Assessment tools used in groups.

• Individually Administered Diagnostic Tests: Tests given to individuals to assess specific comprehension skills.

Critique of Group Survey Tests

• Timed Assessments: May prioritize speed over real comprehension skills.

• Retention Issues: Immediate recall does not reflect long-term understanding.

• Guessing Potential: Multiple-choice formats may lead to guessing.

• Limited Material Scope: Tests often focus on short excerpts, not comprehensive understanding.

Comprehension – Diagnostic Tests

Group Survey Tests

• Measures comprehension in a real-life context post silent reading.

Group-Administered Tests

• TORC – Test of Reading Comprehension: Various components assess comprehension.

• Focus on paragraph comprehension, sequencing sentences, and determining sentence meanings.

Individually Administered Diagnostic Tests

Advantages

• Direct observation of student performance by the assessor.

• Assessing comprehension through oral and silent reading.

• Particularly useful for students with academic difficulties.

Comprehension – Informal Methods

Informal Reading Inventory (IRI)

• Analyzes how comprehension is impacted by word recognition difficulties.

• Compares comprehension after oral vs silent reading; untimed tests.

Teacher Constructed Instruments

• Tailored assessment tools to assess comprehension effectively.

• Development of prompts that cater to student needs and thought processes.

Assessing Types of Prompts Needed

Process

1. Teacher provides reading selections.

2. Students answer questions orally.

3. Incorrect answers trigger prompts and follow-up questions.

4. Responses and prompts recorded for analysis.

5. Identifies knowledge gaps and comprehension strategies.

Higher-Level Questioning Strategies

Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Memory: Recall facts.

• Translation: Paraphrase using own words.

• Interpretation: Relationships among concepts.

• Application: Problem-solving using read facts.

• Analysis: Logic application to problems.

• Synthesis: Creative solutions to problems.

• Evaluation: Making judgments based on information.

Using Free Recalls Plus Probes

Advantages

• Assess recognition of important information.

• Understand short-term memory retention.

Problems to Address

• Surface level understanding may not demonstrate deep comprehension.

Solutions for Effective Retelling Assessments

• Employing teacher probes to deepen understanding of material.

• Recording recalls for further analysis of comprehension levels.

Fluency Overview

Assessing Reading Rate

• Automatic word recognition crucial for fluency.

• Unusually slow or fast reading rates impact comprehension.

Formal Methods of Assessment

• Many tests include reading rate measures with comprehension follow-ups.

• Useful to ascertain understanding at given reading rates.

Reading Rate – Informal Methods

Assessment Process

• Silent Reading: Teacher times reading and calculates WPM.

• Importance of checking comprehension post-reading is emphasized.

Reading Rate Standards by Grade Level

Oral Reading Rates

• 1st Grade: 53 wpm

• 2nd Grade: 89 wpm

• 3rd Grade: 107 wpm

• 4th Grade: 123 wpm

• 5th Grade: 139 wpm

• 6th Grade: 150 wpm

• 7th Grade: 150 wpm

• 8th Grade: 151 wpm

Silent Reading Rates

• 1st Grade: 80 wpm

• 2nd Grade: 115 wpm

• 3rd Grade: 138 wpm

• 4th Grade: 158 wpm

• 5th Grade: 173 wpm

• 6th Grade: 185 wpm

• 7th Grade: 195 wpm

• 8th Grade: 204 wpm

• 9th Grade: 214 wpm

• 10th Grade: 224 wpm

• 11th Grade: 237 wpm

• 12th Grade: 250 wpm

• College/University: 280 wpm

Performance Assessments:

Standardized tests have limitations

• most standardized tests are not designed to evaluate the individualized growth and development taking place in a student.

• Standardized test items approximate actual classroom tasks (barely)

Benefits of performance authentic assessments

›They systematically document what children know and can do based on activities they engage in on a daily basis in their classrooms.

›In addition, performance assessment evaluates thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and interpretation of facts and ideas — skills which standardized tests generally avoid.

›They permit an individualized approach to assessing abilities and performance.

›They are a means for improving instruction, allowing teachers to plan a comprehensive, developmentally oriented curriculum based on their knowledge of each child.

›They provide valuable, in-depth information for parents, administrators, and other policy makers.

›They put responsibility for monitoring what children are learning in the hands of teachers, where it belongs.

Types of Performance Assessments:

• developmental checklist

• summary report

• portfolios

  • all three are necessary!

Benefits of Performance Assessments

›Recognize that children can express what they know and can do in many different ways.

›Evaluate progress as well as performance.

›Involve children in the process of assessing their own growth.

›Establish a framework for observing children that is consistent with the principles of child development.

›Contribute to meaningful curriculum planning and the design of developmentally appropriate educational interventions.

› parents specific, direct, and understandable information about their child.