Using the NC K-2 Literacy Assessment to Drive Personalized Literacy Instruction

1. Using the NC K-2 Literacy Assessment to Drive Personalized Literacy Instruction Closing the Gap Conference March 28, 2006 Pledger Fedora Marnie Ginsberg

2. Agenda • A light-hearted moment • An Evidence-Based Reading Model • Linking Assessment to the Model of Reading • Demonstration of How to Use a Reading Assessment Database • Demonstration of How to Use a Paper-and-Pencil Assessment • Troubleshooting Guide for Driving Personalized Reading Instruction • Two Strategies for Struggling Readers

3. Our Ambitious Goal For every K & 1st grade teacher to be an expert reading specialist, leading every student to success in reading.

4. Have you ever had a student who felt like this about reading?

5. Making the Case for Early Intervention • Conventional wisdom--”They’ll close the gap later.” • Not true!--The gap actually widens. • Juel (1988) study • 88% of 1st grade students who were below grade level at the end of 1st were still below grade level in 4th grade.

6. So what does a reading specialist ask herself? Based on my understanding of what reading is and how reading develops, what is Jalen’s most important instructional need right now?

7. An Evidence-Based Reading Model Word Identification Comprehension Comprehension Vocabulary Word Meanings Fluency Comprehension Motivation and Engagement (based on Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998; NICHD, 2000)

8. Early Components of Word Identification Alphabetic Principle Segmenting (A Phonemic Awareness Skill) Word Identification Blending (A Phonemic Awareness Skill) Phonics Knowledge Sight Word Knowledge

9. What Does the Research Evidence Indicate about Reading Instruction? “[T]he core message concerning reading instruction:…reading instruction [should] integrate attention to the alphabetic principle with attention to the construction of meaning and opportunities to develop fluency.” --from Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, 1998, p. vii.

10. What does this “integration” mean? “‘Integration’ means precisely that the opportunities to learn these two aspects of skilled reading should be going on at the same time, in the context of the same activities, and that the choice of instructional activities should be part of an overall, coherent approach to supporting literacy development, not a haphazard selection from unrelated, though varied, activities.” --Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, p. viii.

11. “There are three potential stumbling blocks that are known to throw children off course on the journey to skilled reading. • The first obstacle, which arises at the outset of reading acquisition, is difficulty understanding and using the alphabetic principle--the idea that written spellings systematically represent spoken words. It is hard to comprehend connected text if word recognition is inaccurate or laborious. • The second obstacle is a failure to transfer the comprehension skills of spoken language to reading and to acquire new strategies that may be specifically needed for reading. • The third obstacle to reading will magnify the first two: the absence or loss of an initial motivation to read or failure to develop a mature appreciation of the rewards of reading.” --Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, p. viii.

12. What is the fundamental, most pressing literacy need for most struggling K-1st learners? “Visual word recognition can flourish only when children displace the belief that print is like pictures with the insight that written words are comprised of letters that, in turn, map to speech sounds.”--Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, p. viii.

13. What is the fundamental, most pressing literacy need for most struggling K-1st learners? “An essential part of the process for beginners involves learning the alphabetic system, that is, letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns, and learning how to apply this knowledge in their reading.” --Report of the National Reading Panel, p. 2-89.

14. Word Identification Development Automatized Word Identification More Sophisticated Word Identification Strategies More Complex Phonics Knowledge Word Identification Strategies Blending Segmenting Letter-Sound Knowledge Alphabetic Principle Sight Words

15. Some Findings about Phonemic Awareness from the National Reading Panel • “Effect sizes [on phonemic awareness] were larger when children received focused and explicit instruction on one or two PA [phonemic awareness] skills than when they were taught a combination of three or more PA skills. • Instruction that taught phoneme manipulation with letters helped normally developing readers and at-risk readers acquire PA better than PA instruction without letters. • Blending and segmenting instruction exerted a significantly larger effect on readingdevelopment than did multiple-skillinstruction.” -- p. 2-4.

16. Fluency Working with Words Rereading for Fluency Language Development, Connecting with Books, & Reading Comprehension • Building Words • Change One Sound • Read, Write, & Say Guided Oral Reading • Look, Say, & Write • Change One Sound • Write & Say • Read, Write & Say Buddy Reading Interactive Read Aloud K-1 Targeted Reading Instruction Continuum 1st K Most Teacher Support Less Teacher Support

17. Why is continual assessment in reading important? Continual assessment in reading provides access to specific, essential information about students’ developing strengths and needs in reading

18. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Word Identification Comprehension Comprehension Vocabulary Word Meanings Fluency Comprehension Motivation and Engagement NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Running Record (based on Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998; NICHD, 2000)

19. Ongoing Running Records Jalen 3/27/06 The Island D √√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√Leopard √√√ Retelling 2

20. Ongoing Running Records Jalen 3/27/06 The Island D √√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√Leopard √√√ Retelling 2

21. Ongoing Running Records Jalen 3/27/06 The Island D √√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√Leopard√√√ Retelling 2

22. Ongoing Running Records Jalen 3/27/06 The Island D √√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√√Leopard√√√95% Retelling 2

23. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Phonics Knowledge NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Assessment of Letter Knowledge (Sounds) Phonemic Awareness Skill NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Phonemic Awareness Inventory, Segmenting Words into Phonemes Word Identification Phonemic Awareness Skill NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Phonemic Awareness Inventory, Blending Onset-rimes Phonemic Awareness Skill TRI Word Work-Recording Sheet Sight Word Knowledge NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary Lists

24. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Oral Reading Fluency NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Running Record Fluency Oral Reading Fluency NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Fluency Assessment Oral Reading Fluency TRI Reading for Fluency Progress-Recording Sheet

25. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Story Retelling NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Retelling Vocabulary Word Meanings Story Vocabulary TRI Word Work and Guided Oral Reading-Recording Sheet

26. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Retelling NC K-2 Lit Assmt: Retelling Understanding Story Events and Sequence Accelerated Reader Tests Making predictions, connections, and inferences Anecdotal notes from discussions during Interactive Read-Alouds Comprehension

27. Linking a Model of Reading with Assessment Word Identification Comprehension Comprehension Vocabulary Word Meanings Fluency Comprehension Motivation and Engagement

28. Demonstrations of Tools for Helping Us Think Diagnostically • A MS Excel Database for storing students’ data, grouping students based on need, and viewing growth over time • A paper-and-pencil example serving a similar purpose

29. Why is continual assessment in reading important? Continual assessment in reading provides access to specific, essential information about students’ developing strengths and needs in reading

30. An example of a kindergarten assessment Ms. Winthrop • Sara • Ann • Leon • José

31. Procedure • Ms. Winthrop assessed students’ ability to write letters from their sound. • No visual cues were provided. • The teacher worked with two students at a time. • Letter sounds were presented randomly. • All 26 letters of the alphabet were assessed in this manner.

32. Student Assessment Sheet

33. Results of Sound-Symbol Knowledge Assessment

34. Results of Sound-Symbol Knowledge Assessment

35. Grouping Strategies • Teacher-directed Small Group Instruction • All four students review letters q, u, w, l, g, and j • Peer-Assisted Learning • One student takes the role of the teacher • Pair Sara and Ann/Leon and José to work on w and g • Pair Sara or Ann/Leon to work on j and l • Pair Sara, Ann, or José with Leon to work on n, v, and i

36. How can the teacher use this information to inform instruction? Lesson Planning • All four students need to work on the letters q and u • Additionally, • Sara and Leon need to work on w and g • Sara, Ann, and José need to work on j • Sara and Ann need to work on l • Leon needs to work on n, v, and the vowel i

37. Questions to ask when planning instruction • What do I want this student or group of students to know or be able to do? • How explicit should the instruction be? • What is the best grouping strategy for this lesson?

38. A Model for Student Success Instruction Continuous Assessment Instructional Planning Based on Assessment

40. Thank You! National Research Center on Rural Education Support www.nrcres.org