Hey there! Welcome to my blog! I am so excited about
the blog I am following called Hello Literacy by Jennifer Jones. Jones is a K-12 Reading Specialist who lives
in North Carolina. So far I have enjoyed reading her blog. It is full of a lot of examples of reading
strategies that I have seen implemented in my third grade classroom this fall. There is so much within the blog that I am
excited to explore throughout the semester!
The
first post I wanted to share was written on September 24, 2012. It addressed common core running records
which we learned over the summer in our Literacy class with Professor
Groth. The entry begins by discussing
how running records look different across grade levels. For example, K-2 you will see various check
marks on the paper marking if the word is correct. In the upper grades, 3-5, you will not see
any check marks. On Wednesday I was able to observe my third grade teacher giving a fluency
test to one of her students. She used a
running record and did not have any check marks. I later found out this was because the students
read more fluently and quicker the older they get.
As Jennifer states in the blog it is almost impossible to keep up with
all the words they get correct. So by
not placing a check mark after every correct word, the teacher is able to focus
more on the self corrects and mistakes throughout the reading. I really like running records and think they
provide a lot of information about a child’s reading ability.
One
of the things I thought was cool was the running records app for the Ipad. It
is called the Running Record Calculator App. Jennifer talks about how the app allows you to
keep track of the mistakes and record the calculations so you do not have to
spend as much time entering or writing the information down. Another cool aspect is you can also record the
students so you can go back and listen if the student was unclear or reading
too fast. The Ipad is a great way to also
integrate technology into literacy.
Since our society is so technology focused this is a great way to use
our resources if we have an Ipad available.
It helps reduce time spent calculating what the student missed which
allows more time for a teacher to meet with his or her students. When I observed my teacher she was in a time
crunch. She wanted to get through all 22
of her students, but realistically she only got to 5 in one day. Once she finished with a student she would
calculate everything right after. This
took time that could have been spent listening to other students.
Question: What
do you think about the app? Would you use it in your classroom?
