• The first dimension is accuracy in word decoding.  To determine this you calculate the percentage of words a reader can accurately decode on grade level material.  An accuracy level of 90 to 95% is considered adequate. 
• The second dimension is automatic processing.  Teachers can assess automaticity in decoding by looking at the student’s reading rate.  The target reading rate increases as students move through school. The readers who fall 20 to 30 percent below the target rate will have to additional instruction. 
• The third dimension is prosodic reading.  The best way to assess this is to listen to a student read a grade-level passage. Then judge the quality of the reading using a rubric that scores a student on the elements of expression and volume, phrasing, smoothness and pace.

2.    Rasinski refers to fluency as a “bridge” between decoding and comprehension. What does he mean by the “bridge” metaphor?

Rasinski is referring to the fact that decoding and comprehension do not equal success in reading.  Another element is fluency.  Fluency allows the child to read the text with ease and comprehend what they are reading.

3.    What instructional methods does Rasinski suggest for students with difficulties in automatic and prosodic reading?

Rasinski suggests that assisted readings and repeated readings should be used to help students develop automaticity and prosodic reading.  He says that students need to hear what fluent reading sounds like. As well as how fluent readers interpret text with their voices.  Developing fluency in reading requires practice and this is where the repeated reading comes into play.

4.    Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) is used to measure prosodic quality of oral reading. List components of the MFS and describe briefly what each refers to (p. 49).

1. Expression and volume-this means the child reads the words just to get them out and but has little knowledge of their meaning. Also it covers the volume and expression in which the student reads with.

2. Phrasing-The child reads really choppy and frequently reads word by word. They also read with little sense of phrase boundaries. Also they read with a lot of run ons.

3. Smoothness-This is how smoothly the student reads. The student still experiences several rough spots in their reading. Overall the student reads smoothly with some breaks.

4. Pace-The students reads moderately slowly with uneven mixture in pace. They consistently read in conversation pace.

Curt is an 8 year old third grader.

2. What was the flash score for words at: first-grade level? second-grade level? third-grade level?

First grade—75%

Second grade—50%

Third grade—20%

3. What was the accuracy score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?

1-2 level—98%

2-1 level—97%

2-2 level—90%

4. What was the rate score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level?

1-2 level—68 wpm

2-1 level—65 wpm

2-2 level—44 wpm

Look at the spelling scores in Table 5.2 on page 172.

5. What was the percentage correct score for: first-grade words? second-grade words?

First grade words—60% correct

Second grade words—0% correct

Consider the following expected scores, then compare those expectations to the scores Curt produced. With the Word Recognition Test, flash scores are generally interpreted as follows: 90-100% indicates Independent Level; 60-85% indicates Instruction Level; Below 50% indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading accuracy, scores are generally interpreted as follows: 98-100% indicates Independent Level; 95-97% indicates Instruction Level; Below 92%   indicates Frustration Level.

With oral reading rate, expected grade-level ranges are as follows:

Grade–Words per minute

1^st–45-85

2^nd–80-120

3^rd–95-135

With spelling scores, around 50% correct indicates Instruction Level.

6. Which grade-level flash score is the best choice for Instruction Level? (*Note: 92-94% accuracy is marginal; take a close look at Rate.)

Level 1-2 (75%)

7. Which grade-level accuracy score is the best choice for Instruction Level?

Level 1-2 (97%)

8. What do Curt’s rate scores indicate about his grade-level reading? Where is he instructional according to rate?

He is noticeably below grade level.  On a 3^rd grade level a student should be reading between 95 and 135 wpm, he didn’t even reach the 3^rd grade level on the test.  At the second grade level a student should be reading between 80 and 120 wpm.  On the 2-1 level Curt read only 44 wpm and on the 2-2 level Curt read only 36 wpm.  This shows the fact that he is below grade level.

9. What do Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction Level.

He achieved 60% correct on the first-grade level and on the second grade list he failed to get any of the words correct.  This shows that his instructional level is at the 1^st grade level.

10. Put all of these scores together, and what do they indicate Curt’s reading level to be?

Curt’s reading level is about 1^st grade.

The comprehension of informational texts requires accessing relevant knowledge, managing the mental processes during reading within the confines of a limited working memory, as well as constructing a coherent mental representation through pruning and organizational processes.

2. Specify the effect that background knowledge may have on constructing mental representations from informational text. Why should teachers be concerned about activating prior knowledge?

Currently the evidence indicates that young children heavily rely on their background knowledge in their relations with text. Mediation that prompts young readers to activate relevant background information is an important support. Teachers need to be sensitive to dialogue indicating that children may be relying on inaccurate prior knowledge. 

3. What are the three instructional approaches that can be used to help primary-grade students comprehend informational text? Describe their common (p. 365) and distinctive features (p. 363-5).

The three instructional approaches are: picture walk, know-want to learn-learn, and directed reading-thinking activity (DRTA). 

Picture Walk-Conversations typically occur as the teacher and students preview each page or few pages of a new book, before reading. The pictures are used as a catalyst for a discussion of what the book is likely to be about. Two or three vocabulary words are explicitly introduced during the PW. Aimed at promoting fluency and comprehension, the PW is used flexibly and in response to students’ needs and the challenges of a particular text. The extensiveness of the introduction depends on the teacher’s anticipation of challenges for the readers caused by content complexity or text readability.

 Know-Want to Learn-Learn- Enables teachers to access the prior knowledge of students and to help students develop their own purposes for reading expository text. KWL is a process during which the teacher generates a discussion about a text topic and uses a chart or worksheet to record students’ statements about what they know (K), want to learn (W), and, after reading, what they learned (L). The KWL discussion is more open-ended than the other two procedures, which are more tightly tied to the text. KWL invites students to share whatever they know about a topic, opening the door for a discussion with more breadth and depth of student knowledge than the other two approaches allow. However, this openness may result in student discussion drifting far from the focus of the text or sharing inaccuracies.

 Directed Reading is instructional framework that views reading as a problem-solving process best accomplished in a social context. The teacher’s role is to select an instructional level text, divide the text into meaningful sections, and facilitate discussion of each section of text. Students are responsible for establishing their own purposes for reading, generating predictions, justifying those predictions, independently reading the text, and verifying or revising predictions based on evaluations of information in the text during the teacher-led discussion of each section. DRTA does not include the extensive buildup before reading that is a part of both KWL and PW. After a brief preliminary discussion and student predictions with justifications, students read sections of text and discuss the text intermittently, section by section. These intermittent conversations provide unique opportunities to make personal connections, clarifications, and a means to synthesize new learning.

 4. What is the purpose of the experimental study reported?

To explore how the PW, KWL, and DRTA might influence developmental reading abilities and content acquisition when used with informational text in the primary reading group context.

5. Who were the subjects?

The subjects were 31 second grade students in two similar schools in terms of demographics. They also were in the same school district, in a midsize Midwest City.  All of the students were proficient in English.  Teachers reported that reading and comprehending informational texts was challenging for these students.

6. Describe the reading materials used during the intervention.

Informational texts on topics that were likely to be familiar to second grade students were used in this experiment.  They addressed science topics that had been taught to the students. A total of 12 texts or leveled little books were used during the study.

7. How long did the experiment last?

It lasted 10 weeks, conducting two four week periods of intervention within that time frame.

8. What were the experimental conditions?

Before reading, the students made predictions about the text based on the title, cover, prior knowledge and table of contents as well as giving reasons for their predictions.  Students would predict a two or three page section of text.  Then they read that section.  After the student reads each section, a brief discussion was held to verify predictions, summarize the information, and generate new predictions for the next section of text.

9. Describe the procedures specific to the Picture Walk, KWL, DRTA, and the Control Group conditions.

Picture Walk-Before reading, students were presented a brief overview of the text.  They then engaged in an interactive discussion about the book as they worked through the book page-by-page, talking about the pictures, the text structure, and the student’s prior knowledge, and formulating predictions based on that information. 

KWL-On Day 1 and Day 3, the students made a group KWL chart interactively.  After the experimenter introduced the topic, the children discussed it.  Their input was written on the chart in the Know column.  On Day 2 and 3, each child wrote was he or she known on a personal KWL chart before it was shared and written on the large group chart.  Next the children categorized the information.  The next step was for the kids to generate questions about the topic. 

DRTA-Before reading, the students formulated and justified predictions about the text based on the title, cover, prior knowledge and table of contents.  Students predicted for a two or three page section of text.  After reading each section, a brief discussion was held to verify predictions, summarize the information, and generate new predictions for the next section of text.

10. What measures were used to determine the relative effectiveness of the treatments? Describe the measures briefly.

The VRT is an experimenter constructed yes/no task used to estimate vocabulary recognition in a content area and to confirm that groups had similar levels of prior knowledge of the topic. The task consisted of a list of 25 words; 18 of the words were related to the content in the informational texts and 7 words were unrelated foils. Students circled the words that they both were able to read and related to the topic. After the children selected words on the VRT on Day 3, they additionally categorized those words under provided headings on a concept web. They determined that the yes/no task is a reliable and valid measure of vocabulary assessment. Based on student interviews and correlations with other vocabulary tasks, they determined that it provides a better measure of whether students know the meanings of words than a multiple-choice task, especially for younger students.

11. Which treatment(s) were found to be more effective in increasing students’ vocabulary knowledge and maze performance (p. 381)?

All intervention groups made similar vocabulary gains.  Both the PW and DRTA yielded statistically significant effects on the maze.  Both procedures were more effective than KWL as well as the control procedures.

12. Students’ comprehension of the texts was greater under the DRTA condition than KWL and the control conditions. What do you think explains DRTA’s advantage over the KWL condition (p. 382)?

DRTA’s advantage is the result of the close reading facilitated by this instructional approach.  Teacher guidance during the DRTA is to direct the children’s attention to the important ideas. As well as it assists with difficult text concepts in a way that was not provided for in the other interventions.

13. It was found that the treatments did not differ in the quality and quantity of students’ retellings (p. 384). In other words, students were not differentially affected by the treatments in the way they integrated textual information with prior knowledge. What does this finding mean in terms of the different emphases employed by experience-based (KWL) vs. text-based (DRTA) treatments?

KWL and DRTA are both successful techniques that encourage students to retell information in an accurate way.  Even though the emphases are different, both techniques have their advantages. They both encourage students to gain enough accurate information so that they can retell the facts.

14. In light of the findings from this study, what conclusions can you draw about the role of teacher support in children’s construction of mental representations from informational text?

Guiding children is very important when they are reading and trying to learn knowledge from informational text.  Students will learn much more this way. Also it is important for teachers to direct children’s background knowledge into the appropriate category.

An emergent speller pretends to write and scribbles letters and numbers. They represent most salient sound with single letters. Also emergent readers pretend to read rather than actually reading.

 2.    How does a Letter Name-Alphabetic speller read and write?

A letter name-alphabetic speller writes word by word and ranges from a few words to a paragraph.  Also the speller represents beginning and ending sounds and uses letter names to invent spellings. By the end of this stage students are adding vowels into the spellings and spell the word how it sounds. A reader in this stage reads aloud word by word by finger pointing with beginning reading materials. Toward the end of that stage students start to include vowels in one-syllable words. While the long vowels are correctly spelled, short vowels are confused.

3.   How does a Within Word Pattern speller read and write?

A within word pattern reader reads silently with more fluency, begin to read in phrases and have some expression in reading. Writers in this stage also show more fluency and have more organization. As well as the students in this stage write several paragraphs and can revise and edit their work. Also they spell most single-syllable, short vowel words correctly as well as most beginning consonant digraphs and two-letter consonant blends. Writers also make attempts to use silent long vowel markers.

4.   How does a Syllable and Affixes speller read and write?

Spellers in this stage spell most single-syllable words correctly. They make errors at syllable juncture and in unaccented syllables. The students write responses that are sophisticated and critical. The readers in this stage read with good fluency and expression. Also the students read faster silently than orally.  

 5.   How does a Derivational Relations speller read and write?

By this point the student has mastered high frequency words. They also make errors on low frequency, multisyllabic words derived from Latin and Greek. Another thing that writers do in this stage is write responses that are sophisticated and critical. In this stage readers read with good fluency and expression and read faster silently than orally.

6. What is the existing research evidence on the relationship between spelling and reading? Briefly describe research findings discussed on page 20.

The findings stated on page twenty of our reading supports the evidence that children who receive additional spelling instruction repeatedly perform better on reading tasks such as oral reading and silent reading comprehension. Also students’ spelling can be a predicting their reading level. As stated in studies by Ehri, Zutell and Rasinki there is a correlation between reading achievement and spelling achievement.

The hypothesis tested was that students will learn the pronunciations and meanings of new words better when they see spellings of the words during study periods than when they do not. Our explanation was that grapheme-phoneme connections should be activated by spellings and as a result should secure the pronunciations and meanings of words in memory earlier during learning.

2. Who were the subjects?

The subjects were second graders and fifth graders.

3.  What were the experimental conditions?

Low-frequency nouns were taught to 2^nd and 5^th graders. Students rehearsed the pronunciations and meanings of the words over several trials. During the initial study trial, the words were introduced. All subsequent trials tested their recall of the words. After each recall attempt, correct responses were provided. Meanings of words were taught through pictures, definitions, and multiple sentences containing the words and clarifying their meanings and use. Trials continued until students reached a criterion or a maximum number of trials.

4. What did the treatment involve?

The treatment involved words were accompanied by spellings during study periods then a control group that the students only heard the spoken words without spellings.

5.  Which group (spelling-present vs. spelling-absent) gained more in vocabulary learning?  How were the groups’ recall of pronunciations affected by the treatment?

The groups that were exposed to the spelling of the words had their vocabulary increase more significantly. Both groups had problems with pronunciations of words but in larger groups the students who were exposed to the spelling were ultimately better at pronunciation than those who were just exposed to the spoken word.

6.  Why do you think that fifth graders who were high on a word reading task benefited more from the spelling aids than their peers with less orthographic experience and knowledge, even though the two groups did not differ on receptive vocabulary knowledge?

I believe they benefited more because they were more experienced and had more background knowledge entering the experiment.  

7. What general conclusions were derived from the study findings by the authors? What implications were offered for vocabulary learning and instruction?

Fifth graders learned the pronunciations and meanings of new vocabulary words better when they were exposed to their spellings than when they only spoke the words. Students with stronger orthographic knowledge benefited more from seeing spellings than students with weaker orthographic knowledge. When students are exposed to the spellings of new vocabulary words, grapho-phonemic connections are activated. This better secures pronunciations of words in memory. Spellings themselves become bonded to pronunciations in memory and secure pronunciations earlier during the course of learning. Better secured pronunciations provide a stronger base for learning meanings. Spellings helped both second and fifth graders, indicating that the effect of spellings is not limited developmentally to the period of beginning reading or to more advanced levels but extends over all levels of reading, at least during the elementary grades. When teachers encounter, pronounce, and explain new vocabulary words to their students, they should take time to display the spellings of the words, for example, when they are reading a story aloud to the whole class. When students encounter new vocabulary words in their independent reading, according to present findings, they should stop and not only figure out the meanings of the words but also decode and pronounce their spellings.

I believe that curt is in the letter name stage. I picked this stage because it seems as though that Curt is spelling the word the way it sounds. The key characteristics are in this stage use the names of the letters as cues to the sound they want to represent. They also learn to segment the sounds within words and to match the appropriate letters or letter pairs to those sounds. In the beginning of this stage, students apply the alphabetic principle primarily to consonants. Also they often spell the first sound and then the last sound in single-syllable words, the middle elements of syllables, the vowels, are usually omitted. Typically only the first sound of a two-letter consonant blend is represented. Other characteristics of this stage are early letter name-alphabetic writing often lacks spacing between words, and early letter name-alphabetic spellers find matches between letters and the spoken word by how the sound is made or articulated in the mouth. Towards the end of this stage, students start to use vowels consistently. By the end of this stage, students are able to consistently represent most regular short-vowel sounds, digraphs, and consonant blends because they have full phonemic segmentation.

2. Describe partner reading.

Partner reading is a form of guided reading that often begins with a preview.  This means that the teacher or tutor walks the student the book’s pictures in the first four to six pages and they speculate about what will happen later in the story. Then they return to the beginning to the book and they alternate pages as they read with the teacher or tutor usually going first.

3. Which is harder for a student, partner reading or DRTA?

I think that DRTA is harder for the student has to use critical thinking skills as well as reading most of the story or the entire story.

4. In planning a DRTA, what is important about selecting places to stop?

You must read the story first then consider places to stop by asking yourself three questions. What point in the story am I able to anticipate an important upcoming event or plot turn? Why am I able to do so? And what information have I read that is triggering the anticipation? Also you need to consider whether it is a logical prediction point in the story and also the story’s length.

5.      In planning a DRTA, what is important about deciding questions to ask? What kind of questions? How many?

All these decisions must be based on a tutor may believe that a child’s motivation and concentration can best be maintained if the reading is stopped every two pages or so for discussion. This would lead the tutor to divide a nine-page story into at least four sections. The first two questions seek information about the story setting and the characters that are introduced on the first two pages. The third question asks the child if he/she wants to keep or change his/her original prediction and why or why not. For Part two of the story, three more questions are planned. Two of these check the child’s comprehension of plot-relevant information. The third question asks the child to predict what might happen next in the story. The questioning at Stop three can be handled in two different ways. One way combines a retelling question with a prediction question. Begin by asking the child to retell what happened in the section he/she has just finished reading-Part three. If the child’s summarization of the events is incomplete, the tutor can probe for further information. If necessary, the tutor can have the child reread parts of the text. With the retelling established, the stage is set for the prediction question. An alternative questioning strategy at Stop 3 simply involves asking the child how he/she thinks the story will end a follow-up question may be appropriate. Then you should discuss the end of the book depending on what the end of the book is.