Exit Slips for READ 436

#1 Describe the assessments you will use for instructional level

readers, define the levels (independent, instructional,
frustration), and explain the factors that will influence your
grouping for instruction.

Some assessments you can do for instructional level

readers include reading passages to assess their words read

correct, comprehension, and fluency at the leveled passages.

Additionally, a spelling test would be the next step in evaluating

a student. If a student is independent in a certain level or they

appear to have mastered that specific level, you continue to

move them up in levels until you find their frustration level.

Students have hit their frustration level when they appear to be

making small mistakes or have missed five spelling words in a

row. At some point in between independent and frustration, there

is a level that is considered instructional. Based on the students

instructional level, you will try and place them with other

students who have similar instructional levels. This strategy has

shown to help students improve in their reading more quickly.

#2 Define fluency and describe how you will teach it, including
examples and resources from class.

Fluency is the mastery of reading with expression, speed, and

accuracy. Fluency allows the reader to approach texts and

materials with ease and gets students to a place where they are

fully comprehending the reading.

 Some appropriate ways to begin teaching fluency include choral

reading, readers theater, and read alouds. Read alouds give

students a model on how to read. When they hear an adult read

in a fluent manner, they begin to understand what they end goal

is in terms of their own reading level.

Another way to help students understand what fluency looks like

is to do choral reading with all of the students. This can be done

with a picture big book. These books are essentially larger

versions of normal picture books. They allow students, wherever

they are in the classroom, to see the words and read out loud

with the class. In addition to the larger print, it helps students

when the teacher provides a text with a repetitious pattern.

Students will feel much more welcome to read along with the

rest of the class.

Readers theater also makes students feel welcome to read out

loud to class. Readers theaters give students time to practice

their lines from the chosen book. Students then are able to

work with their own inflection and intonation to create a more

expressive way of reading.

#3 Compare word study to the method used when you learned to

spell.

I vaguely remember learning to spell in a traditional manner.

For example, Mississippi was on one of my second grade spelling tests,

and everyone in my class learned the repetitious pattern of the letters

and sing them all together when we would line up for class.

Word study is an incredibly different approach to learning how to

spell. Students are given families of words, and they begin to learn the

patterns between words and also the oddballs in the English

language. Patterns allow students to build a firm foundation on how to

spell. From that foundation, they are then able to begin to climb up the

five stages of spelling development allowing them to spell harder and

harder words.

#4 Why do we use before, during, and after activities for

comprehension? Name at least one comprehension activity for
each (before, during, and after) with resources from class.

A teacher will use before, during, and after activities for comprehension in

order to pull the student fully into the story they are reading throughout the entire

plot sequence. When a teacher utilizes a before reading activity, they are doing

two different things. The first thing they are doing is motivating students to be

interested in the story they are about to read or hear. They may also be activating

prior knowledge to set the student up for success when they begin reading the

story or nonfiction text. One activity that can activate prior knowledge as well as

motivate students is a picture read through. The teacher may walk the students

through the pictures in the book and try and have them guess what is going on

throughout the story.

A teacher may also utilize during-reading comprehension activities in

order to keep the students engaged and interested in the text as they move forward
in the reading. Doing during-reading strategies also reminds the students to

continue to use comprehension strategies as they hear or read the story. It also

encourages students to make predictions on what might happen during the story

giving them the opportunity to foreshadow. By utilizing during-reading strategies,

the teacher gives students the opportunity to interpret the text, inquire on

characters, foreshadow events, integrate new ideas, make connections, and

visualize the text as they read. One during-reading method is directed reading and

thinking activity, or DRTA. This strategy has the teacher stopping at certain points

in the story in order to ask the students specific comprehension and

foreshadowing questions. This allows the students to see what good

comprehension reading looks like as well as get them thinking about how the

story is going to continue.

Finally, after-reading comprehension activities allow students to fully

summarize and understand what happened throughout the entire plot sequence.

After reading the teacher can provide students with meaningful discussion on the

text, ask for recall, and give students the ability to respond to the information they

just received from the text. By doing this, it allows the students to solidify and

find closure with their reading. One activity that can allow students to do this is a

simple retelling. Retellings can provide teachers a lot of information on the

students reading experience. It tells the teacher how the student organizes the

information in their head, what events they found important during the story, the

characters they found pivotal, and how the plot was sequenced.
 It is important for teachers to utilize before, during, and after

comprehension reading strategies because it allows for prior knowledge

activation, motivation for reading, moments to foreshadow and question the

events, and time to piece together what they just read. Students truly benefit from

all three types of techniques, and it allows students time to try dive deeply into a

piece of text, completely pull it a part, and learn from it.

#5 Compare our writing activities to what you see in practicum.

My practicum experience this year has a been very enriching for

me. I have actually seen a lot of what we do in our course implemented

in my cooperating second grade classroom. My teacher allows children

to utilize their creativity in their writing often. She generally has them

working on a themed journal throughout the week. For example, on the

week of St. Patricks Day, she had them write journals about

leprechauns. Each journal had a specific prompt, but the children were

required to talk specifically about leprechauns.

One thing, we did in our READ course that I would like to see

happen in my cooperating classroom was the picture storytelling,

where we picked an illustration and had to write a story on what we

thought was occurring. I think this could be a fun thing for younger

children to do, because they are currently transitioning out of an

egocentric mindset. So they may be surprised to see how different all

of the stories for the same picture.

 Writing is a fun tool to use in the classroom, and it really allows

children to get creative.

#6 In class exit slip write your own information sheet for parents
night (for instructional level readers, grade of your choice). Use
the handouts from class as an example.

Here we are, at the beginning of the year! I am so excited to begin

working with your children on their fluency, word study,
comprehension, and writing! Second grade is a fun time for reading,
because we spend a good portion of our day digging deep into our
texts. Our second graders truly get the opportunity to develop and fine
tune their skills.
At the beginning of the year, we will take a couple of assessments.
These assessments will allow me to place our students into
developmentally appropriate groups which will set each child up for
success. Once they are placed in their groups, the children will be
given book options for silent reading time allowing for some autonomy
in their own learning experience. As a group, your children will work
through the four major components of reading instruction together.
Fluency is one our four major components of reading instruction.
Fluency is the skill of reading with speed, accuracy, and proper
intonation. Students will get the opportunity to better this skill through
activities like readers theaters and racing through Mad Libs. Readers
theaters are scripts of actual books. By utilizing scripts and assigning
parts, students practice on building fluency for their part. This not only
builds up their reading skills, but it also builds their confidence level in
front of their peers. If you have an extra shy child coming into my
classroom, no worries! They will be able to work on their fluency with
tongue twisters both in the classroom and at home!
Next, we will have a new set of words for our word study each week.
Each group will be given words to narrow their focus in on during that
five-day period. They will play with within word patterns, spelling, and
definitions of these words. We will utilize games like Jeopardy to help
them build their vocabulary and find excitement in the classroom.
One exciting thing for me to see is the students working hard on their
comprehension! Comprehension is a students ability to fully
understand and think critically about the text they are given. We will
work on comprehension together as as class during read alouds, so
students can hear what their peers have to say as well as take
inventory on what they think. They will also have ample opportunity to
sit with a piece of literature and work their way through critical
thinking, comprehension questions.
Finally, we will start talking about how to put those critical thinking
excerpts onto paper! Students will dive even deeper into their writing
skills this year through journaling, story telling, and having pen pals.
One writing exercise we will do routinely during the year involves the
students looking at a picture and building an entire story around what
they think is happening in the image. This helps to not only improve
writing skills, but it also allows students to get creative!
I am very eager to work with your child this year! I will be sending
home fun, educational games this year, so you can also have the
opportunity to work on these four components at home as well. Happy
new school year! Ms. W