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 eight year old boy who is in third grade.

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 = 97%

2-1 Level = 90%

2-2 Level = 84%

4. What was the rate score at: 1-2 level? 2-1 level? 2-2 level? Look at the spelling scores in Table 5.2 on page 172.

1-2 Level = 65%

2-1 Level = 44%

2-2 Level = 36%

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

Consider the following expected scores, and 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

1st–45-85

2nd–80-120

3rd–95-135

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

First-grade words – 60%

Second-grade words – 0%

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.)

First-grade (1-2 level) had the best flash score for the instructional level.

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

The beginning of second grade (2-1 level) had the best accuracy score for the instructional level.

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

Curt’s rate scores indicate that he is reading at the first grade level, due to his 1-2 and 2-1 reading levels. In the second grade he is performing at the instructional level due to his spelling being at 50%.

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

What Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction level is he got 60% out of the ten words correct on this first grade column, and then on the second-grade column he misspelled all of the words. Therefore, he is instructional at the first-grade level.

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

When putting all the scores together, I found Curt’s reading level to be around the first-grade level, due to all of his tests being around the 1-2 level.

The comprehension of informational texts requires accessing accurate and relevant knowledge, managing metal processes during reading within the confines of a limited working memory and 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?

Young children rely heavily on background knowledge in interactions with texts. Mediation that prompts young readers to activate relevant background information is an important support. Teachers must be sensitive to dialogue indicating that children may be relying on inaccurate or irrelevant 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 that can be used in primary grades are: picture walk, know-want to learn-learn, and directed reading thinking activity.

1. Picture Walk: This refers to the pre-reading conversations with the student and teacher where they discuss what might happen in the story and go through the first few pages of the book together. The pictures of the first few pages are typically used to stir up a conversation of what might happen in the storyThis type of instruction is commonly used with small paperbacks that have been leveled using a narrow gradient reading scale based on text features. Two or three vocabulary words are introduced and discussed in the story. This type of instruction is aimed at fluency and comprehension and is used meet the needs of students and challenging texts.
2. Know-Want to Learn-Learn: This type of instruction enables teachers to access prior knowledge of students to help students develop their own purposes for reading expository texts. This is a process in which teachers generate a discussion about a text topic and uses a chart or worksheet to record students’ statements about what they know, want to learn, and what they learned after reading. You can use this method with instructional texts at any grade level and with any subject area. This instruction method is fairly simple and is popular with teachers.
3. DRTA: This is an instructional framework that views reading as a problem-solving process that is best accomplished in a social context. The teacher’s role is to select and instructional level text, divide the text into meaningful sections, and facilitate discussion of each section of the text. Student are responsible for making their own purposes for reading, generation 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. A study has found that by participating in a DRTA, participants made a significantly higher achievement in reading comprehension and word study on the Sanford Achievement Test in first and second grade, compared to the control group. DRTA’s are effective in promoting students’ reading comprehension.
These three instructional strategies are based on three common principles: an emphasis on reader engagement and social mediation, activation of relevant prior knowledge and purposeful prediction of what information is likely to be included in the text.

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

The purpose of this study was to explore how the PW, KWL, and DRTA might influence developmental reading abilities and context acquisitions when used with informational text in the primary reading group context.

5. Who were the subjects?

The participants were 31 second grade students in two demographically similar schools, in the same school district, in a midsize Midwest city. All students were proficient in English. There were a variety of ethnic groups that were included in the study. Classroom teachers reported that reading and comprehending informational texts was challenging for these students.

6. Describe the reading materials used during the intervention.

The materials that were selected for intervention was texts that second grade students were familiar with. Three materials were used each week for four weeks, which was a total of twelve reading materials for the intervention.

7. How long did the experiment last?

The experiment lasted 10 weeks, and there was two four week periods of intervention during this time.

8. What were the experimental conditions?

The data was gathered for 10 weeks. The first cycle groups, were 1-4 from school A received intervention and groups 5-8 received 2nds. Two days were spent in individual pre-experimental screenings as well as a 45 minute orientation for the children. The intervention cycle consisted of 12 days in each cycle. Each group received a treatment for three days and the data is collected on the third day.
The ten weeks of data collections were made of two four-week periods and each intervention cycle was 12 days. There were two days of pre-intervention screening and a 45 minute orientation. Each treatment lasted for three days.

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

Picture Walk: This type of strategy will prevent a brief overview of the text. There will be an interactive discussion as the teacher and the student goes through the text and the story page by page. They will discuss what the children already know and discuss the pictures and the text of the story. Some new vocabulary terms may be introduced in the type of instruction and may be introduced even before the text is read. The students will then read the text independently and a class discussion will follow about whether their predictions and thoughts about the story were accurate.
KWL: On day one and day three, the topic will be introduced and discussed. A group chart will then be made to record predictions. On days two and three, the child will write their own knowledge on the chart. The charts will then be shown and put into categories. Children then must come up with questions about the topic. A discussion about the book will be held and then the children will read the book independently. Another discussion will take place to see if all their questions will be answered. If the questions have been answered they will write it on the learned column.
DRTA: Students will create and justify predictions about the book based on the title of the book, background knowledge, and table of contents. These predictions are based on two to three pages of the book. They will then read this section independently. After they have read, a discussion will be led about what predictions that made about that section and a summary will be created.
Non-instructional control group: This method was used as an opportunity to compare the effects of providing reading opportunities in informational text versus providing a social context for the activation of prior knowledge. In this method, children were to read the same text independently and then they were to draw or write something that they would like to share with the class about what they just read.

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

VRT: On days one and three students are given a list of 25 words. 18 of the given words are related to the text and 7 of the words are not related to the text at all. On the third day, students categorized the words under headings on a concept map. They determined that the yes/no method was a reliable source for assessment. This method provides a good understanding to see if children are doing well on their vocabulary skills.
Maze: This choice was used as a multiple choice cloze modification. It was timed, in three minutes, and was a group administered task. The original text, read by the student as reprinted after 10 content words were deleted. The score on the maze test was the number of correct responses.
Free Recall: Students were asked to recall everything that they remembered from the text. They were scored by a code sheet.
Cued Recall: The students were asked three explicit and three implicit questions based on the day’s text. First the items were scored as correct or incorrect as a measure of general comprehension. Both correct and partially correct items were scored as correct. Then the four point scale was used to produce weighted scores for each answer.
Post-Intervention Interview: At the end of each cycle, individual strategy interviews were done with students within that cycle. These interviewed were then recorded and transcribed. The interviews were conducted to determine if students gained knowledge of the two common strategies, activation of prior knowledge and prediction.

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

Both the PW and DRTA were found to be very effective, but I believe that the PW would be more effective than the DRTA.

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)?

I think that the DRTA is somewhat better than the KWL. The students are reading the texts, but the teacher is giving guidance which helps them to focus on the main points of the story.

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?

The KWL focuses on intervention that encourages, documents and honors students’ experiences.

Answer the following question AFTER you read the article.

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?
This study proved to me that the teacher really needs to be involved in the role of children’s learning and constructing mental representations. The teacher should involve discussion and problem solving questions to keep their students on the right track. Teachers should also remember to incorporate the three instruction strategies: Picture Walk, KWL, and DRTA into their lessons.

In the early Emergent stage, students may produce large scribbles that look like drawings. The movement of these scribbles may be circular and the children may be able to tell a story while they are writing. No letters are recognizable at this stage yet. When children begin to write more and are around others who can write, they begin to write more of a script that tells about what they are drawing. At this stage, children begin to learn letters, especially those that are in their own name. Towards the end of the stage, their words begin to include the most prominent sound that is in the word. At the end of this stage, children begin to memorize words and are able to write them repeatedly.

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

In this stage, children use the names of letters to cue them to the sound that the letter is supposed to represent. Students begin to segment the phonemes within words and match the appropriate letters to those sequences. In the early stage, children tend to stick with the all consonant pattern and tend to have little or no spaces between their words. Only some of the phonemes of the word are represented. In the middle of this stage, children begin to master the beginning and ending consonant patterns. Long vowels are not represented and short vowels are beginning to be represented with a little confusion. Students are learning to include both sounds of a blend and begin to represent the blend correctly. By the end of this stage, students are able to represent most short vowels, digraphs and blends.

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

Students in this stage can begin by automatically picking up on words and sounds that they already know. These students can think about words in more than just one dimension. They begin to take a closer look at short-vowel patterns. Students in this stage also begin to understand the long vowel sound. They may also begin to experiment with different types of sounds and letter patterns.

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

Students spellers are usually in upper elementary school when they are required to spell more challenging words with more than one syllable. This is the stage where they are required to understand how syllables meet and understand the meanings of affixes. They learn that you must add double consonants to certain words when adding a suffix to the word and learn how that changes the meaning of the word. They start to play with certain affixes that change the meaning of words, and have to recognize how it does change the meaning of different words.

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

Students in this stage examine how words share common derivations and related base words and root words. They discover that the meanings of words are the same across the board, but due to different ways the words are being used, the meaning slightly changes. Frequent errors of students in this stage are because they do not recognize the vowel in a derivationally alike pair, which makes it confusing. One student may spell Faverite this way because they know that different is spelled as such.

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

Reading and spelling is directly related. When students are being taught words, they are receiving all different types of literacy because the development in one area is directly related to that in another such as reading and spelling. Students who are required to use vocabulary words on a regular basis become stronger readers because they become more familiar of the words and the phonemes of the words and are more able to understand the context of other words and their meanings. Students begin to automatically recognize words and that makes them more fluent in reading.

I think that Curt is in the Within Word Pattern stage. I picked this stage because he spells most short-vowel and single syllable words right. He struggles some on multi-syllable words which will become mastered in a later stage.

2. Describe partner reading.

Partner reading begins with a preview of the book, where the student and the teacher would look through the first few pages of the book and discuss what is happening or what might happen in the book. The student and the teacher would begin reading the story, alternating pages. While they are reading, the teacher would ask comprehension questions to the study, in order to predict what they are getting out of the story and how they are comprehending what they are reading.

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

I think that a DRTA is harder for a student. The student is having to do all the reading on their own, so they will not have someone there with them to with complicated parts of the story. Like partner reading, the teacher will ask the student comprehension questions, but they must comprehend the story on their own without any help, which can make it more complicated. There is no beginning walk-through during a DRTA, so there is no discussion of what might be going on during the story.

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

An important part of a DRTA is selecting a proper place to stop in order to discuss what is happening in the story. The teacher needs to choose a proper place so that the student can make an accurate prediction of what is going to happen. The teacher needs to also keep in mind why the student made that specific prediction.

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

The teacher should ask what, why, where and how questions. Depending on the length of the story, plot structure and types of ideas that the story contains you should usually stop and discuss about four to five times per story. You need to ask questions that make the student think and not just give a yes or no answer. You may need to guide the student to their answer by asking additional questions.

The first hypothesis was that students learn new words and pronunciations when they see the spellings of words. Another hypothesis was that students who are on higher reading levels will benefit from seeing the spellings of words more than students who are on a lower reading path.

2. Who were the subjects?

The subjects of this study were 2nd and fifth grade students. The second graders were from an urban school with a higher minority. The fifth graders were from a lower SES school than that of the second graders. The students were then divided into groups based on their reading levels.

3. What were the experimental conditions?

Low frequency nouns that the students had no prior knowledge of were taught to them. The students then discovered the meaning of these words based on pronunciation. Through several trials, the students were introduced to the words through pictures and definitions and they were introduced to how the word could be used in a sentence.

4. What did the treatment involve?

The treatment involved two groups. The first group was a group of students who heard the noun as well a recieved the spelling of the word. The second was the control group who did not recieve the spelling of the nouns.

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 control group of students who recieved the spelling of the word gained more vocabulary understanding. Both groups, at first, had trouble with the pronunciation of words, but as the trials continued, the number of successful attempts at pronunciation increased.

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 think that the fifth graders who were on a higher level benefited more because they had prior knowledge on how to understand word comprehension. Their orthographic experience could be a single factor that helps them to understand more vocabulary terms.

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

It is important that children understand the meaning of words and are able to pronounce the words as well. One important way you can do this is definitley to include the spelling of words, which is very helpful for them. Independent reading and providing challenging content is another way that children can increase their vocabularies. They should use the context to figure out the meaning of the word on their own, and would be able to remember the meaning better if they figure it out on their own.