March 1
Word tease
What do these words have in common, other than their first letter: raise, rattle,
repay, reserve, ride, rim, robe, rose, rude?
In the News
Author Roger Kahn and journalism professor Rob Miraldi will read
excerpts from their new book, "Beyond the Boys of Summer: The Best of Roger
Kahn” (McGraw-Hill) at Ariel Booksellers on Plattekill Avenue on Saturday,
March 5, at 7 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The book collects the
best of Kahn’s work from his 50-year career. Kahn was the James H. Ottaway
Journalism Professor on campus last spring. Miraldi, the book’s editor,
has taught journalism for 23 years at New Paltz.
$50M reading buy under fire in
LA: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5547
"The $50 million purchase by the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) of the Waterford Early Reading Program in 2001 is now
at the center of a public conflict led by some members of the district's school
board."
Lexile National Reading Conference: Differentiating
Instruction in a Standards-Based World: http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=4&tabid=84&tabpageid=394
The company's National Reading Conference will take place August 8 - 10, 2005,
at Research Triangle Park, N.C.
New chapter in online books: http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20050227-101610-1015r.htm
" What you don't see in the University of Maryland laboratory that is home
to the burgeoning International Children's Digital Library are books."
School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps:
http://www.futureofchildren.org/pubs-info2825/pubs-info.htm?doc_id=255946
Although racial and ethnic gaps in achievement have narrowed over the past thirty
years, test score disparities among racial and ethnic groups remain significant.
To date, policymakers and practitioners have focused most of their attention
on the gaps in achievement among school-aged children. However, sizable gaps
already exist by the time children enter kindergarten.
Spellings: U.S. should address illiteracy: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/02/28/spellings_us_should_address_illiteracy/
More U.S. universities should apply their research toward solving the enormous
problem of illiteracy worldwide, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said
Monday. "The more people behind this effort, the more people in need we
can help," Spellings said at a conference of the United Nations Education,
Scientific and Cultural Organization at Georgetown University.
Teachers’ Ability to Perceive Student Learning
Preferences: "I'm sorry, but I don't teach like that.": http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=11767
The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers are able to perceive
their students’ learning preferences more accurately than random guessing,
and if percent accuracy differed by school district, grade level, or number
of students rated.
TypingMaster Online Test: http://typingtest.com/
There is a free online typing test and you can have a certificate emailed to
show the words you typed per minute and the accuracy you achieved.
Your Room Is Your Teaching Partner: http://www.educationnews.org/your-room-is-your-teaching-partn.htm
Most of us have learned the classroom management trick of simply walking over
and standing near trouble spots in class. You don't have to look at the disruptive
students. Your physical presence in the area calms things down. Your room can
do the same job for you.
Matching Students with Books
It is important that students read books at their reading level so they will
learn to enjoy reading.
Helping students who are reading below grade level
There are fewer books that students below grade level can read. They want to
read the same books that their friends are reading, even though these books
may be far too difficult for them. The teacher needs to make sure that there
are plenty of books available that are mature and interesting, but are written
on an easy level. These books should be available to everyone and occasionally
highlighted. In addition, individually discussing books that they might enjoy
reading is helpful.
The five finger rule
The five finger rule is based on the widely accepted principle that students
should know at least 95 percent of the words in any book that they are reading.
Sudents turn to a page, or portion of a page, with approximately 100 words and
make a fist. For every word they cannot read, they raise one finger. If they
raise all the fingers on their hand andthere are still some difficult words,
then the book is too hard for them to read.
Subjective Readability Factors
1. Clarity of presentation
2. Use of illustrations
3. Numer of new concepts
4. Number of new words
5. Familiarity of subject matter
6. Author's style
7. Length of book
Dale-Chall Readability Formula
The New Dale-Chall Formula is based on an average sentence length and the number
of unfamiliar words, using a list of 3,000 words commonly known by fourth grade
children. The idea behind this formula is that readers typically find it easier
to read, process and recall a passage if the words are familiar. The Dale-Chall
formula is for grades three and up.
Fry Graph for Estimating Readability: http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/fry/fry2.html
Edward Fry created one of the most widely used, and easy-to-use readability
graphs for educators. The Fry readability method is a manual tool that determines
the grade level of writing by analyzing three, 100-word passages from a selected
writing, taking the average number of syllables and the average number of sentences
for each passage and plotting those numbers on a Fry graph.
Primary Readability Index
Qualitative Assessment of Text Difficulty
Spache Readability Formula for grade levels 1 and 2
Determining Students' Read Levels
Three key reading levels are:
1. Independent - the point at whech students can read on thier own, without
any help from teachers, parents, or peers. The recognize at least 99 percent
of the words, and comprehension is nearly perfect.
2. Instructional - Students can read at least 95 out of 100 words and they recall
at least 70 to 75 percent of what they read. If given instructional assistance,
they can read with confidence and competence.
3. Frustration - The material is too difficult of the student to read, even
with assistance. Students miss 10 or more words out of a hundred and/or remember
only half of what they read, 50 percent or below.
Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) - cloze test; yeilds DRP units
Metropolitan Reading Tests - yields grade equivalent scores
Scholastic Reading Inventory: http://www.cardinalvalley.fcps.net/Software/SRI/
- cloze test; comes in six levels, on for each grade; very poor readers may
need to reassessed on a lower level test that than the one idicated for their
grade level; yields lexile scores
STAR (Advantage Learning Systems) - cloze test; administerd and scored by a
computer; if a student does well, they are given a higher level passage but
are given lower level passages if they do poorly.
Using Benchmark Books to Determine Levels
One of the most concrete ways to assess a student's level of reading achievement
is to use benchmark books a reading level placement test. Benchmark books are
ones that are typically used at a particular grade level.
To use a benchmark book to place students, select a typical passage from the
book. Pick one that is not notably easier or harder than other passages and
is from 50 to 200 words in length. Use 50-word passages at the beginning levels
of reading. Gradually increase the length of the selections for more advanced
levels. After introducing the passage, have students read it orally noting the
following errors: words that are misread, words that are omitted, words that
students ask for help with or that is supplied, and words that are added. Make
a copy of the selection so that errors can be noted on it as students read the
original.
After the student finishes reading the passage, have them retell it. An alternative
is to ask students a series of questions to assess their comprehension of the
passage. The student continues to read until their word recognition is 90 percent
or below. In other words, they are misreding 10 words out of 100.
Benchmark Books: http://www.readinga-z.com/guided/benchmark.html
Benchmark Books from Gunning, T.G. (2000). Best Books for Building Literacy
for Elemenatry School Children. (p 42) Allyn and Bacon: Boston.
First grade Reading: Beginning
Wildsmith, Brian. Cat on the Mat
Carle, Eric. Have You Seen My Cat?
First Grade Reading: Middle
Bonsall, Crosby. And I Mean It, Stanley
Eastman, P.D. Are You My Mother?
First-Grade Reading: End
Hoff, Syd. Danny and the Dinosaur
Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge, The First Book
Second Grade Reading
Blume, Judy. The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo
Scharmat, M. W. Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden
Third Grade Reading
Dalgliesh, Alice. Courage of Sarah Noble
Cohen, Barbara. Molly's Pilgrim
Fourth Grade Reading
White, E.B. Charlotte's Web
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods
Fifth Grade Reading
Woodruff, Elvira. The Summer I Shrank My Grandmother
Fitzgerald, John D. The Great Brain
Six Grade Reading
Coville, Bruce. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
O'Brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Free on the Internet
AIMS Puzzle Corner: http://www.aimsedu.org/Puzzle/index.html
A printable puzzle is available each month, with the answers!
Craft Freebies: http://www.craftfreebies.com/index.html
Crossword Puzzle Games: http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/
CrosswordPuzzleGames is a family-friendly site that sticks to dictionary words.
And with 32,400 free crossword puzzles to print, you could do one a day for
88 years and still not run out! Start with a 12x12 word
grid or move up to the 18x18 version. Tools include a puzzle solver just in
case you get stuck. Or use the crossword creator to make your own puzzles for
home, school or work. Ther is even a
Daily Pick--a fresh crossword puzzle everyday, just like the daily newspaper!
Curious George Coloring Book: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/cgsite/partykitpdfs/cgcolsheetyoung.pdf
Earth/Mars Comparison poster: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/earthMarsForm.html
Educator's Idea Book
To sign up for a free Educator's Idea Book go to: http://www.aande.com/class/theideabook/
You can request a biannual teacher's magazine created
by the Education Department at A&E Television Networks. The Idea Book includes
Teacher's Guides for programs featured in Classroom and a printed version of
the A&E Classroom Calendar, which features air dates, program descriptions,
and copyright information.
FREE (Federal Rescources for Educational Excellence): http://www.ed.gov/free/index.html
Two features make the 1300 federally supported teaching and learning resources
easier to find. With resources ranging from arts to vocational edcation, FREE
Web site includes a link that helps to alleviate extensive online searching
for material on key historical and cultural events. The "Special Collections"
option provides a one-stop shop for resources on Black History Month, the 1954
Brown v. Board of Education case, jazz appreciation, the Lewis and Clark expedition,
Presidents Day, Veterans Day and Women's History Month. FREE also provides resources
in 10 subject areas (including language arts, math, science and social studies)
with dozens of subtopics (reading, chemistry, U.S. history, and others).
Another feature, the "Past Home Page Resources" link, in an illustrative
slideshow, reviews resources that have been showcased on the home page. Within
the listing is the link "U.S. Electoral College," from the National
Archives and Records Administration, which provides past electoral results and
an electroal college calculator. For example, for the 2000 election, it includes
popular vote totals by state, Electoral College members, and state laws and
requirements. To view the slideshow, from the home page select "Previous
Features," then "Advance: Automatically" in the menu box.
Jan Brett has many printable activities and free graphics to use on the bulletin board etc at: http://www.janbrett.com
Patricia Crossley has free books, including "Authors in
the Kitchen"
cookbook to download at: http://www.patriciacrossley.com/books/frame%20page/intro.htm
Spider-man in Amazing Adventures: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/spidey/spidey.pdf
This is a high-interest language activity for grades k-6. It is not copyrighted
so you can make as many copies as you want.
References
Gunning, T.G. (2000). Best Books for Building Literacy for Elemenatry School
Children. Allyn and Bacon: Boston.
This site began in March 1998 by Janet Luch.
Email comments and questions to studyplans@yahoo.com