Jess - ch. 5 & 6

So chapter 5 is all about the records we are doing in the field class. Running records are important piece of the reading puzzle. They tell us how our students are doing when it comes to reading. They tell us what kind of books the students can read and what they are interested in. Using the forms we have right now, it is definitely harder to keep up with the students reading. (esp. in the upper grades) I have been observing my mentor listening to the students read. She listens to the way the read - their tone, attitude etc. She doesn't really right down their miscues. But then, that is what the standard calls for. I haven't had a chance to get the students to retell. Chapter 6 discusses the importance of retelling. It is an excellent way to see if the students are understanding what they are reading. I have come across some students who are very good readers in the past but once asked what they had just read, they could not tell me. When my mentor listens to them read, she doesn't do a written record nor does she ask for a retell, what she does instead is gives them certain questions to answer where the students have to understand what they just read in order to answer the questions. I have to say that last semester, I did alot of running records. They were, however, where the words were already written down where we just had to make the marks. I have to say that is way easier to manage. There is less room for error. I guess there has to be a lot more practice.