Anna Lise Kunkel-Jure Professor Rich ELD 307 Miscue Analysis The purpose of a running record is to determine what

the child knows while reading. They help teachers determine what the student can do easily, what they can do with minimal guidance, and what is too difficult for the student. The information provided allows teachers to determine the appropriate reading level for the student. I observed Neelesh who is a third grader in Mrs. Bowes class. During the day there is a reading period where the students either have reading instruction or have the opportunity to choose a book from the vast classroom library and read independently. When they are reading independently they generally choose books that are on their reading level, however the students occasionally choose books at different levels (generally easier) to read because of their interest value. What I have noticed in the classroom is that Neeleshs books are generally shorter than those that his peers read. He also takes a bit longer to get into the reading process, but once there he will read without stopping during the allotted time. At Wicoff they use the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System. They have short stories that are leveled and there are matching recording forms that have all of the text along with comprehension questions. As Neelesh was reading I recorded any miscues that occurred while he read aloud. As I was recording so was Mrs. Bowes and we compared notes afterward. We also timed him while he read to determine fluency. Neelesh was very accurate while reading and had good fluency. During the reading he only had four miscues. The miscues were minor, the most interesting being that he omitted the multiple times. However, he did not go back to self correct (probably because the sentence still made sense without the the). Even though he had good fluency and few miscues he was not very expressive while reading. His

comprehension however was lacking, he was able to summarize the story pretty well but could not answer any of the other comprehension questions very well. He kept repeating that she was very happy without adding very much detail and gave little evidence from the book why that was. His comprehension was not at the appropriate level, but that can be fixed. With the information provided I would put Neelesh at a Level M (the story was at a Level N). He knew every word, but his comprehension was weak and therefore should be placed on a simpler reading level. This will help him build comprehension and understanding of the stories he reads. Since they read every day soon enough he will be up to the Level N reading level, which is apparently typical level for third graders. Placing him in a reading group of a similar level would also be important so that he could practice expressing what he knows about the book to his peers. During book club he is placed with a bunch of boys that are all at the same reading level. During discussion Neelesh seemed to be really engaged and although I did not listen in the entire time, what I did hear demonstrated pretty good comprehension since he was able to carry on a conversation with his peers and contribute details to the discussion. Both reading at a lower level and having a reading group with peers of the same level will help him improve his comprehension. Allowing this will help him become more confident with independent reading and provide a better foundation before moving into the next reading level.

*you have a copy of the running record, and I circled omitted words (really just the)*