I'm curious to hear from those who do use leveling for middle school readers and why kinds of texts beyond z do you use for assessment and instructional purposes.
Maureen Robins Assistant Principal/LA NYC On 2/24/08, Andrea Jenkins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > My school, also a small private school, just began using leveled > assessment tools based on the F&P levels. I am a literacy specialist for the > lower school, grades k-4. What we have found is that the level book > assessments are only useful for struggling readers - that once students > reach about a level R, the levels are less critical. Many of our students > reach level R by 3rd grade, and almost all reach it by the beginning of 4th > grade. "How to Eat Fried Worms" and "Indian in the Cupboard" are examples of > level R books. We also do not go strictly by leveled books. Instead, we > teach the students what Just Right reading feels like, how it is not too > hard, nor too easy. It's amazing how quickly the kids pick up on this > vocabulary! > > Our entire leveled library is leveled using F&P, so we also considered > using their benchmark assessment. Instead, we use the assessment tools from > the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP). The levels align > with F&P, and the assessment passages are online and can be downloaded for > free. So far, we've found this to be a good alternative. We use DIBELS as a > fluency measure, then cross-check it with the TCRWP assessments to check for > comprehension. However, as always, sitting down with the student one-on-one > and reading with them, asking questions, etc gives the most and best > information. We consider assessment measures as one "snapshot" of each > child, NOT the entire picture! Any child that shows weakness in DIBELS, > TCRWP and individual conferences is then one we watch closely. > > I cannot imagine using leveled reading assessments beyond 4th grade. > Perhaps using this type of assessment for students new to the school, > especially in the admission process, would be useful. Your LS is smart to > use it, but it should be less of a tool for MS, if used at all. > > Andrea > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Pete and Cindy Farnum > Sent: Sun 2/24/2008 11:13 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [LIT] Fountas and Pinnell (cross-post) > > Hi everyone! > Haven't posted in a while as my daughter (9 months now -- can you believe > it?) has been keeping me busy! I'm just now trying to get caught up with > everyone's posts. In addition, I would like to get your opinions about the > Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment II program. Read below. > > My school, in search for a placement and reading program, recently sent me > to a training on Fountas and Pinnell's Benchmark Assessment II. After > attending the session, I'm really questioning how appropriate it is for the > general population in our middle school. > > It seems like a GREAT program for elementary school, but I'm trying to > figure out how I am going use their 30 minutes assessments for my 80 kids > and not take months to do it. I see each of my sections for a total of 4:10 > minutes a week as their Language Arts teacher! We're a smaller private > school without a reading specialist. I know that there are better programs > out there that won't take such an incredible amount of time away from my > classroom instruction. > > Another hesitation I have is how this program fits with my students. Over > half of my students are high performing/excellent readers. On average, each > of my classes has maybe 2-3 students performing/reading below grade > level.The component which makes this program stand out from others is its > fluency/oral reading component (which honestly is much like a running > record); the writing and comprehension components don't seem better than > other programs I've used at other schools. Since very few of my students > struggle with fluency, I'm trying to figure out if this program really is > the best for us. > > Is there anyone on this group familiar with or using F&P? If so, what are > your thoughts? Besides STAR reading, do any of you recommend any > computerized assessment programs? The elementary school has jumped right in > to this program, and it's really up to me to weigh its benefits for my > students and decide whether we will use it in 6th grade (and eventually the > rest of middle school). Unfortunately, I have to make the decision rather > quickly. > > My initial reaction is that this program might just be best for our > struggling students as a form of remediation/intervention rather than all > the sixth graders, but I would much rather hear more from others who have > used the program before making any final judgments. > > Thanks so much for your help and thoughts... > Cindy in CA > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
