Monday, March 26, 2018

Keystone Project : Two Assesment Reports on QRI-5




Heather Cuccia                                                                                                                  QRI-5 Assessment Report #1

Student: Leah
Background on Leah:
I did the QRI-5 assessment with a student named Leah in second grade at Summit Lane Elementary school located in Levittown Ny. This school is very up to date with technology and resources to help students succeed in area’s that they need to early on. Leah’s parents have a Spanish background and speak fluent Spanish at home. Leah performs at her second-grade reading level but is struggling with fluency so it take’s her longer to give details and recall information than someone who is reading exactly at second grade reading level.
Assessment:
I administered the Level Pre-Primer1 narrative passage called “I can” from the QRI-5 to help me evaluate Leah’s ability to read and comprehension. While she read the passage, I conducted a Miscues analysis and running record to help me address the issues with reading if any are to be present this is the time I would find it. Leah kept re-reading some words, even though it felt like she knew what she was reading it was as if she was not confident enough to read the passage. She has trouble understanding what she is reading as she often does not pause for a breath in between and just reads straight through. Her teacher has her working on taking pauses after each sentence to help her slowly recall the information and to remind her that she also needs to comprehend what she is reading rather than just read because you were told to do so. She is reading at an instructional level.
Comprehension Check:
I then administered a passage that was 2 grade levels below her reading level which is Kindergarten level, I choose to do this to check for her comprehension and see if there was any improvement in her confidence level with this type of text. She overall did a great job with this although there was not as much rush with this passage and re-reading of words, she was able to tell me what the passage was about in detail. I than decided that I wanted to try grade level 1 passage with her and this is where the problem had made connections with earlier study I did, she was struggling with some words and re reading and she wasn’t going as fast as prior, but she was taking pause to catch up like she was taught by her teacher. I felt that Leah is in between grades 1 and 2 for reading in terms of mid-level in between grades so to speak.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Leah is a student who needs help with fluency she tends to read quickly without pause and that becomes an issue because she is unable to recall and retain the information from the passages. The goal when reading is to be able to make connections with the passage and be able to recall in detail main ideas and key events. My goal for Leah is for her to learn how to properly recall and retain information in terms of comprehension to be able to understand the content she is reading and know it correctly. She is a lovely student with a positive personality this is one thing that if we work on we can help her and in turn by mastering this with her she can succeed at other subjects because her reading comprehension is being affected.
Reflection on Leah and QRI-5:
I feel that using the QRI-5 is beneficial in assessing students and it provides the teachers an option to get greater clarity in how they are going to help these students and what methods they should use to help the students. I personally felt that I did a good job in assessing Leah, I was nervous at first and was unsure if I was picking the right passages and levels but once I started to see the outcome I knew I was on to something good here in terms of helping her. I was able to assess her needs for fluency and comprehension.  In time with the lesson I have created she will be able to slow down in reading and be able to recall and retain information.






Candidate’s Name: Heather Cuccia
Grade Level: 2nd grade
Title of the lesson: Leah’s Comprehension Lesson
Length of the lesson: 40 minutes


Central focus of the lesson (The central focus should align with the CCSS/content standards and support students to develop an essential literacy strategy and requisite skills for comprehending or composing texts in meaningful contexts)

Key questions:
        what do you want your students to learn?
Student will learn how to read at a solid pace and be able to recall and retain information from a passage in detail.
        what are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop within the learning segment?
Reading is essential for all subjects and to comprehend what we are reading it is beneficial so that we can discuss key facts that we are reading about.

Knowledge of students to inform teaching (prior knowledge/prerequisite skills and personal/cultural/community assets)

Key questions:
        What do students know, what can they do, what are they learning to do?
Student knows how to read, student knows how to sound out words, student needs to learn how to read at a steady pace and be able to pay attention to key details to recall information for comprehension purposes.
        What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?
Student has Spanish speaking background but also speaks English fluently, the student does not always feel confident in reading and needs to be encourages to do so.


Common Core State Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part[s].)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.A
Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.B
Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4.C
Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Support literacy development through language (academic language)

        Identify one language function (Retell- events from the passage/story to check for comprehension)
        Identify a key learning task from your plans that provide students opportunities to practice using the language function. (Re-read, re-read a passage more than once to help gain comprehension)
        Describe language demands (oral) students need to understand and/or use. Student needs to verbally tell in detail key events about a passage she has read.

Vocabulary
        General academic terms: describe, explain, interpret, predict, question, retell, summarize.
        Content specific vocabulary (See, Jump, can, weather, breathe, excited)
Sentence Level
        Sentence structure based on grade level
        Discourse Instructional level
        Conversation, discussion about what was just read.


Learning objectives

1.    Student will learn how to read a passage with ease
2.    Student will learn how to recall main events in detail
3.    Student will learn how to read with purpose.

Formal and informal assessment (including type[s] of assessment and what is being assessed)
Formal Assessment: Student will be able to answer the 5W’s worksheet and verbally answer my questions about the passage.
Informal Assessment: I will be watching to see how the student is reading a loud and how confident she feels during the readings.
Instructional procedure: Instructional strategies and learning tasks (including what you and the students will be doing) that support diverse student needs. Your design should be based on the following:
Do Now: I will let the student know that we will be working on reading comprehension together and have a mini talk about why reading comprehension is important.
Next, I will take a mini passage and take out a worksheet that we will both have next to one another that states the basic who, what, where, when and why questions on the paper (The 5 W’s Worksheet). I will explain that during this passage these are the things we need to look out for. I will also remind this student that we are in no rush so to take her time with reading and pause when needed like at the punctuation marks.
Than I will read the passage out loud to her first and we will answer the 5 W’s worksheet together.
After that is mastered I will than give her a passage to read on her own and have her do the 5 W’s worksheet on her own based on that passage , once that is completed I will look the worksheet over and then verbally ask her questions pertaining to certain events in the passage she has read , and ask her to answer in detail the questions I am asking her.
Once this is completed the lesson will be over, but I will do a recheck with her once a week for her to fully master the reading comprehension that she needs.
Instructional resources and materials used to engage students in learning.
5 W’s worksheet
Pencil
2 reading Passages
Reflection
        Did your instruction support learning for the whole class and the students who need great support or challenge? YES

        What changes would you make to support better student learning of the central focus? None this is a great way for her to gain the confidence to read and for her to be able to comprehend what she is reading and be able to recall main ideas.
        Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation from evidence of research and/or theory. N/A



Heather Cuccia                                                                                                                  QRI-5 Assessment Report #2

Student: Jake
Background on Jake:
I did the QRI-5 assessment with a student named Jake. He is in the 4th grade at Summit Lane Elementary school located in Levittown, NY.  This school has the latest technology and features to help the students get the extra help they need to succeed. Jake has Irish and German parents both born and raised in Levittown, NY. The teacher I was working with had his father when he was younger. He is a quiet kid and usually only speaks when spoken to. Jakes performance is below grade level in reading and therefore the assessment will be taking place.
Assessment:
I used the QRI-5 to assess Jake which is from an independent reading passage. As he read the passage I conducted a running record and miscue analysis from the reading. Jake tends to forget where he is reading once he starts and I had to remind him where he is at, he is not fully focused on the passage. Jake is good at decoding words as his teacher has made me aware of this. Jake can decode words in a timely manner. Jake is reading at the independent level.
Comprehension Check:
I wanted to check Jakes comprehension, so I decided to have him read a passage from 2 grade levels below which would be a second-grade reading level passage. It personally sounded a bit choppy to me and broken up in ways. I also want to take note that I choose a passage that would gain Jakes interest in reading because he does have issues when it comes to focusing sometimes.  Jake did answer questions I asked based on the passage he read but it was short and to the point not a lot of extra details unless I tried to pull them out of him by asking more questions. Once this section was completed I went on to assess based on a 4th grade level reading passage. There were some issues that I did notice with Jake such as him not being 100% on reading comprehension and he needs more questions being asked to help him recall information.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Jake is excellent at decoding words and can sound out unfamiliar words properly. He can identify words correctly most of the time. Jake needs reading passages that interest him, or he seems to lose focus on what he is reading and sometimes it causes him to lose his place during the reading. My goal for Jake is to help him focus and gain greater comprehension skills.
Reflection on Jake and QRI-5:
The QRI-5 is an assessment tool that is beneficial for students and the teachers. I feel using this type of assessment helped me with Jake and helped me determine where he stands in terms of reading level and how I would identify his strengths and needs based on the passages and his readings.





Candidate’s Name: Heather Cuccia
Grade Level: 4nd grade
Title of the lesson: Jakes Comprehension Lesson
Length of the lesson: 30 minutes


Central focus of the lesson (The central focus should align with the CCSS/content standards and support students to develop an essential literacy strategy and requisite skills for comprehending or composing texts in meaningful contexts)

Key questions:
        what do you want your students to learn?
Student will learn how to focus while reading and be able to answer questions in detail on what they have just read.
 what are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop within the learning segment?
Reading is essential for all subjects and to comprehend what we are reading it is beneficial so that we can discuss key facts that we are reading about and to focus during reading.

Knowledge of students to inform teaching (prior knowledge/prerequisite skills and personal/cultural/community assets)

Key questions:
        What do students know, what can they do, what are they learning to do?
Student knows how to read, student knows how to decode and sound out words, student needs to learn how to focus while reading and be able to pay attention, so the student can give key details to recall information for comprehension purposes.
        What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?
Student speaks English only and student comes from a middle-class family, student is quiet and big into technology and cars.


Common Core State Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part[s].)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.2
Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3
Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Support literacy development through language (academic language)

        Identify one language function (Comprehension)
        Identify a key learning task from your plans that provide students opportunities to practice using the language function. (Focus/Fluency and Comprehension)
        Describe language demands (oral) students need to understand and/or use. Student needs to verbally tell in detail key events about a passage he has read and be able to read it fluently.

Vocabulary
        General academic terms: Summarize and explain
        Content specific vocabulary (Living, Sunlight, Dynamite, Pilot.)
Sentence Level
        Sentence structure based on grade level
        Discourse Independent level
        Read and recall information on what was just read.



Learning objectives

Student will learn how to read a passage with ease
Student will learn how to recall main events in detail
       Student will learn how to read with purpose.
Student will not lose focus on what student is reading.

Formal and informal assessment (including type[s] of assessment and what is being assessed)
Formal Assessment: Student will answer questions based on the passage.
Informal Assessment: I will be watching to see how the student is reading a loud not loosing focus and being able to read with purpose.
Instructional Procedure:
DO Now: I will read a passage on cars out loud to my student and then do a graphic organizer with my student together on the passage on cars showing supporting details and main ideas of the story and how we get to beginning, middle and end of a story and how to make connections between that.
Next: My Student will be given a graphic organizer and I will explain what we will be doing with that worksheet for this assignment ( the graphic organizer) I will talk to the student about airplanes to make a connection to the reading we will be doing , this will help me engage the student and gain the students trust for reading.
The student will than be given a reading passage on Airplanes and the student will begin to read it out loud. Once he has done that I will ask him to read it one more time to himself quietly.
Next, I will have the student take the graphic organizer and fill it out to help him gain clarity in comprehension using main idea and key details from the text.
Instructional resources and materials used to engage students in learning.
Graphic organizer
Pencil
2 reading Passages cars and airplanes
Reflection
        Did your instruction support learning for the whole class and the students who need great support or challenge? YES

        What changes would you make to support better student learning of the central focus? I feel no changes need to be made this is a great lesson to help the student improve in reading comprehension and fluency as well as engagement in learning to focus while reading by making connections to the passages.
        Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation from evidence of research and/or theory. N/A




REFLECTION ON ENTIRE EXPERIENCE:

I can see why using the QRI-5 is a great assessment tool , I can see how it works in assessing different reading levels. This is a tool I will use in order to help my students who are struggling with reading get to the right instructional procedures so they can get the help they need in order to become better fluent readers. 


Week 9 Compare and Contrast QRI-5 and DIBELS :




Heather Cuccia                                                                                   EDLI636 


My Understanding of Dibels: Assignment#1

Dibels is a type of assessment that teachers use to identify students reading ability and level to provide ways in which a student can become a more advent reader. Dibels assessment can start from grades K through 6. Dibels means Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, which is a set of measures for assessment of early literacy skills in short fluency measures to monitor regularly development of early literacy and reading skills. Teachers use this type of assessment to identify a student who is more likely to require an intensive instruction which will help the student in ways of preventing them from being a struggling reader as time goes on.
Dibels has seven measures which are phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency, comprehension and vocabulary.

Assignment#2

Initial Sound Fluency
This is a standardized individually administered phonological awareness that can assess a student’s ability to recognize and say the initial sound of a word. The examiner will show 4 pictures and the student will name each one and the student should be able to determine the sound that the picture begins with. The examiner takes the amount of time it takes the student to identify a correct sound and converts the score into the number of correct sounds that was done in a minute.

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
This measures the student’s ability of three and four phoneme words into their own phonemes fluently. This assessment is done by the examiner orally presenting words of three and four phonemes and having the student verbally produce the individual phonemes in each word given. The result is determined by the number of correct phonemes given in one minute.

Nonsense Word Fluency
This measurement is a test of the alphabetic principle meaning letter-sound correspondence in which letters represent the most common sounds and the ability to blend letters into words that letters represent in making common sounds. The examiner will present a sheet of paper to a student with random ordered CVC and VC nonsense words and will ask the student to verbally produce the individual letter sounds in each word or read the entire word out loud. The time limit is one minute to produce as many words as the student can and the score is added up by the total number of letter-sounds produced correctly during that time period. This is used to measure the student’s ability to read unfamiliar words as whole words.

Oral Reading Fluency
Is a test if accuracy in fluency with text. It is the ability to effortlessly translate letters to sound and sound to words. The fluent reader is one who decoding processes are automatic which will not need any further attention. Students who can do this have a higher rate of comprehension during reading because they are able to understand the meaning of the text being read.

Retell Fluency
This is the measure which assesses the ability to extract meaning from text, which checks for comprehension.

Assignment #3 QRI-5 and Dibels

Summary:
QRI-5 is an informal reading inventory designed to provide information about conditions under which students can identity words and comprehend text and conditions that appear to result in unsuccessful word identification and unsuccessful comprehension of text.  This assessment provides words lists and passages to help assess the students oral and silent reading levels. The student at the end is required to answer questions based on what they have read to be able to make connections to text.

Dibels is Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and is made up of several procedures and assessments that focus on phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency, vocabulary and comprehension from grades k -6. Ways to use this assessment would be short reading passages and check for fluency to see where student may need the interventions. 

Similarities and Differences:

The QRI-5 assessment is based on grades k-12 where the Dibels is from k-6. Dibels also has time limits during each assessment ranging from one minute. The QRI-5 uses word lists and concept questions, miscue analysis retelling and comprehension questions where the Dibels assesses issues such as phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.Types of ways to assess using this method using QRI-5 is to help document growth of a student progress as time goes on as well as determine area's that a student needs to work on more than another area. Dibels  is timed so this assessment will not take long and allow time for other things in the classroom . 


Monday, March 12, 2018

Week 8 Word Identification Instruction: Fluency Summarizing the Results of QRI-4


Candidate’s Name: Heather Cuccia
Grade Level: 1st Grade
Title of the lesson: Readers Theater the Three Little Pigs (Working on Fluency)
Length of the lesson: 1.5 hour


Central focus of the lesson (The central focus should align with the CCSS/content standards and support students to develop an essential literacy strategy and requisite skills for comprehending or composing texts in meaningful contexts)

Key questions:
     what do you want your students to learn?
Students will learn how to read aloud and be able to perform a reading with expression, this will enhance their reading skills and build their confidence for being able to read with purpose and be fluent in reading.

     what are the important understandings and core concepts you want students to develop within the learning segment?
They will work on fluency skills with this lesson and be able develop reading with expression and purpose.

Theory Base:   Focus on the educational theories that are the foundation for this lesson.
·         Gardner’s Theory on Multiple Intelligences.
·         The educational and literacy-based strategies used: (Visual Learners/Hands on activity enhancing fluency skills)
Knowledge of students to inform teaching (prior knowledge/prerequisite skills and personal/cultural/community assets)

Key questions:

     What do students know, what can they do, what are they learning to do?
Students are learning how to read and add to their vocabulary. They are learning to enhance their fluency skills and be able to read with purpose and use expression to show emotion while reading. They can read out loud and they know that reading is the key for every other subject.

     What do you know about your students’ everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices, and interests?
Students have all different types of backgrounds, but they respect each other in the classroom and overall do work well together.  I as the teacher understand my student’s diverse needs and with every lesson take that into account before working with them.


Common Core State Standards (List the number and text of the standard. If only a portion of a standard is being addressed, then only list the relevant part[s].)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.5
Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.5
Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.


Support literacy development through language (academic language)

     Identify one language function (interpret- the students can become the part they are playing in the readers theater because they can read fluently)

     Identify a key learning task from your plans that provide students opportunities to practice using the language function. (Read aloud with expression)

     Describe language demands (Oral) students need to understand and/or use. Students will put on a play from the Three Little Pigs and be able to use expression while reading which will help them develop their fluency skills.

Vocabulary
     General academic terms: Interpret & Express.
     Content specific vocabulary (Three Little Pigs, bricks, straw, sticks, home, blow)

Sentence Level
     Sentence structure- Grade level appropriate
     Conversation, discussion, interpretation

Learning objectives


1.    Students will be able to read aloud with fluency.
2.    Students will be able to read with expression. 
3.    Students will be able to read with a purpose.


Formal and informal assessment (including type[s] of assessment and what is being assessed)

Formal Assessment: Students will write 3 sentences based on which pig’s house they felt was their favorite and why. (Checking for comprehension)

Informal Assessment: I will grade the students based on the Readers Theater productions for the Three Little Pigs.  Based on the student’s techniques and if the role they played flowed properly. Also checking to see how well the character discussions went back and forth if any delays or uncertainty, such as stumbling on words.

     Explain how the design or adaptation of your assessment allows students with specific needs to demonstrate their learning. Consider all students, including students with IEPs, ELLs, struggling readers, and/or gifted students.

IEPS, ELLS, struggling readers – This will help these students with fluency and comprehension and allowing for them to learn self-expression while reading because they will have to practice this lesson by rereading the script repeatedly to help them memorize their part and to help them get familiar with their role.  

Gifted Students-  This gives these students a chance to enhance the production by helping with any extra background props or other things they may want to add into the production if time allows. The gifted students will also be broken up so that they can help the other students who struggle with fluency. (A type of buddy system for support in my classroom)
Instructional procedure: Instructional strategies and learning tasks (including what you and the students will be doing) that support diverse student needs. Your design should be based on the following:

Do Now: Students will be handed a script from the Three little pigs and I will go over exactly what we will be doing I will first ask if anyone heard the story the three little pigs and we will have a general conversation about that. Then I will personally read the entire script a loud to the entire class using expression. Asking students after I read it, if they noticed anything different with my tone of voice. I will then begin to explain how using different tones help express how one may be feeling.

Next: We will be doing a reader’s theater production which we will be videotaping for others to see. It will be based on the Three little pigs and each one of you will be able to take part in the production, this is from the script that is at the student’s desk already.

Next: Students will be broken up into groups based on reading level’s and each one will have one gifted reader in their group and go over the script together. I will give them some time to do so. The student’s will be able to cast their roles that each group chooses. So, whoever wants to be the wolf, the pig1 pig 2 and so on can do so.

After: Each of the groups will have a chance to perform in front of me and the camera and I will assess their work: I will grade the students based on the Readers Theater productions itself for each group as well as grade them on checking for comprehension. This grading will be based on techniques and if the role they played flowed properly as well as how well the character discussions/expressions went back and forth if any delays were present. I will also note to see how well each reader has done as an individual and check for the level of fluency improvement if any.


Include modifications for students with IEPs, ELLs, struggling readers, and/or gifted students.

IEPS, ELLS, struggling readers – The Readers Theater script will be grade level appropriate for them to read very basic sentence structure and it will allow for rereading for them to be able to master the task and gain further positive production with fluency.

Gifted Students-  They will be broken up into 1 per each group as a buddy system to help with engaging in fluency and helping their peers. Also, they will help the production with making any extra background props or other things they may want to add into the production if time allows.

Instructional resources and materials used to engage students in learning.

Script:



Video Camera for production purpose to make this authentic.

Reflection:

     Did your instruction support learning for the whole class and the students who need great support or challenge? YES

     What changes would you make to support better student learning of the central focus?

Have students break in groups and make their own Readers Theater Script and then do a production from their own script.

     Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation from evidence of research and/or theory.

This will just enhance their learning skills as well as keep them engaged and learning how to be fluent readers and respond to others in a working group manner professionally.