Kendrah's Running Record Experience

My running record experiences have gone fairly well. I've been focusing on a girl in my 4th grade field experience classroom. My mentor teacher recommended that I read with her because she's been having difficulty with reading. She actually works with a reading tutor. Before we started, I explained why I was going to listen to her read and that it was homework for me. She smiled and said okay. She had gotten her book from her bag. I noticed that she had been reading her book because she was far into it. I asked her if her book was easy, just right, or hard and she said that it was hard for her. So, I asked her to read for me a little. I noticed that she had trouble with words. I told her quite a few. I thought her structure in reading was good but she also didn't use structure at other times. When she was done reading I asked her "what do you do when you get stuck on a word?" and she said she didn't know. I noticed that she would try and sound it out and if she wasn't sure she would look up at me for help. Also, when I asked her to retell what she read she had no idea as to what she had been reading. I believe she can read well but she cannot find meaning in the text. I conducted another running record with her with a class textbook. She could only retell the story a little but I think because her and her class had previously read the story together. I asked her if it was hard and she said just a little. I'm still trying to get to know her and have her feel comfortable with me but she seems to have a lot of potential. Next time I read with her I will definitely help her find a book that is "just right" and I'm going to suggest for her to hold a mini dictionary with her so that when she gets stuck on a word she can look it up. My mom would always tell me to look up a word if I didn't understand it and I've found that it's very helpful. Overall, I think running records are very beneficial and they help a teacher to get to know a student better.