Chapters 5 & 6

"To determine the level, the diagnostic teacher can administer passages from a standard informal reading inventory...three estimates of reading performance are derived...independent reading level, instructional reading level, and frustration reading level." pg. 75

I was lucky enough to student teach in the beginning of the school year in a third grade class. I was able to give students a informal reading inventory to determine their reading levels. I thought it was interesting that a student doesn't really have one reading level, but instead they have three (independent, instructional, frustration). I thought it was interesting because these levels were done by their 2nd grade teacher in June, and most students levels changed by September. Due to these observations I think that it is necessary for every teacher to administer the informal reading inventory to all students personally.

"Students use self-report to reveal their strategy use...students become aware of the strategies they use while they read." pg. 95

Often times in literacy classes we have talked about what the teacher should do to assess the student's progress; not necessarily what the student should be doing to assess their own progress. I think that students should think about their own reading skills and strategies. A self report such as the one in our textbook may be helpful not only for the student but the teacher as well. I think that when a teacher observes the student reading he/she may not always know what strategy the student is trying to use because they are not inside the student's head. For instance, they might be trying to re-read for comprehension, but is not sure how far back in the text he/she should go. A strategy make not be physically present, but mentally the student knows it is a strategy they can try.

"Proficient readers' text interpretations maintain the basic intent of the author. Although they make miscues and continue reading, their miscues are insignificant in terms of the context of the entire selection." pg. 102

I think that this point is important because even if a reader is not completely fluent through a text, they could still be proficient. I have noticed that when I read aloud I still make mistakes and miscues from time to time, but that does not mean I do not understand the text. It is probably due to nerves from public speaking. The same can be said for our students. I have noticed that there are some times when a student will make a miscue during their reading and not correct their error, but when asked to summarize the text they can do an outstanding job. The student clearly is a proficient reader, with minor oral reading errors.

"Some students simply call words and fail to correct miscues. They believe that reading is orally reading words without constructing meaning. They are unaware of the mistakes they make because they are not reading to make sense of the text." pg. 103

I have come across a few students while student teaching and subbing that would fall under this category. They seem like very fluent readers at first but have no understanding for the text that they have just read. I find that these students might struggle the most because their concept of what reading is, is skewed. They think that to be a good reader, they just have to read aloud to others, not understand what they have read. In their mind what they are doing is perfect reading, when in fact they need much more instruction. Two weeks ago I was proctoring the ELA exam, and I had a student that would be considered a word caller as one of my students. He was so frustrated that he could not understand the questions that he shut down and refused to finish the exam. I felt terrible that this student, who is a 7th grader, still struggles so much to understand what he is reading.

"The diagnostic teacher makes sure the student is familiar enough with the topic to construct summaries. If the student is not familiar with key vocabulary words or larger concepts, then the teacher carefully selects texts that include familiar topics and less challenging vocabulary." pg. 110

This point is important because as with any assessment, the administrator must make sure the test is fair to the student. If a student starts an assessment without the necessary background knowledge for the text, then the assessment is actually harder than intended. In order for the assessment to be fair, the student should already know major vocabulary and concepts. I have noticed during some reading assessments in the middle school, teachers attempt to use the same text for all students because with 100+ students, formal assessments are a time consuming project. However, each student is different therefore you might not be able to use the same text with all students. As we already know, background knowledge is key for comprehending, but during a retell assessment we are checking the student's reading process and use of strategies, not their prior knowledge.