Kendrah Response to C/5

In chapter 5, "Taking Records of Children's Oral Reading", Taberski talks about running records and how they serve as a graphic account of a child's oral reading. Taberski says that running records are an integral part of her teaching because they express what children are doing. For me, I never understood the process and importance of running records until this semester. I think running records are a great way to get to know the student personally and as a reader. I feel that a teacher can learn a lot from sitting down with a student and listening to him/her read. Taberski also explains note taking like Greg did in class. Also, I read that a child needs to read at least 100 words to provide a large enough reading sample to determine how well a student can read a text of comparable difficulty. I've been doing running records and I wasn't aware of the 100 word observation but its a good thing I took the time to listen to each child read until I could make an observation that would determine what he or she needs help on. I've been also practicing the MSV reading process. I'm sort of getting better and making sense of it.
Lastly, the chapter concludes that matching children with books that are appropriate for their stage in reading is crucial. Lately, I've been doing running records and I've having the students read their grade level textbooks. If I see that they are doing well I will suggest they choose a chapter book from the shelf and see how they do with those books because they are supposedly higher level grade books. I'm still in the process of observing the students and seeing how I can help. I find that I am building closer relationships with them. Its a very beneficial process for everyone invloved.