Chapter 5~Curt, the Late-First-to Second-Grade-Level Reader

Study Guide for Chapter 5 (Howard Street Tutoring Manual—Morris)

 

Answer these questions and post the responses into your blog.

 

1.  What grade is Curt in?  Third grade

2.  Look at the summary of scores in the table on page 170.  Notice that there are scores for the grade-level lists of words from the Word Recognition Test (Flash and Untimed) and scores for orally reading grade-level passages (accuracy of word reading, e.g. percentage of words read correctly and rate, expressed in number of words read per minute).

 

a1. What was the flash score for words at:

 

first-grade level? 75%            second-grade level?  50%              third-grade level?  20%

 

 

b1. What was the accuracy score at:

 

1-2 level?  97%                         2-1 level?  90%                2-2 level?  84%

 

 

c1. What was the rate score at:

 

1-2 level?  65wpm                     2-1 level?  44wpm            2-2 level?  36wpm

 

 

d1. Look at the spelling scores in Table 5 on page 172: What was the percentage correct score for:

 

first-grade words:  75-95%             second-grade words:  50-75%

 

 

Consider the expected scores in the following tables, then compare those expectations to the scores Curt produced.

 

a2. 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

 

a3. Which grade-level flash score is the best choice for Instruction Level?  Grade level 1-2 (First grade, second half of the year)

b2. With oral reading accuracy, scores are generally interpreted as follows:

 

98-100%   indicates          Independent Level

 

65-97%     indicates          Instruction Level

 

Below 92%   indicates     Frustration Level

 

*Note: 92-94% accuracy is marginal; take a close look at Rate.

b3. Which grade-level accuracy score is the best choice for Instruction Level?   

Grade level 1-2 (First grade, second half of the year)                                                            

c2. With oral reading rate, expected grade-level ranges are as follows:

 

Grade      Words per minute

  1st                            45-85

  2nd                          80-120

  3rd                           95-135

 

c3. What do Curt’s rate scores indicate about his grade-level reading? He is at a first-grade reading level, which is lower than is actual grade level.

d2. With spelling scores, around 50% correct indicates Instruction Level. 

d3. What do Curt’s spelling scores indicate about his Instruction Level.  They reveal he has a sound but still developing grasp of one-syllable word patterns.

Put all of these scores together, and what do they indicate Curt’s reading level to be?  Curt is at a late first grade, early second grade reading level.

3.  Look at the spelling errors that Curt makes. What stage of word knowledge is Curt in?  Curt’s errors showed characteristics of both the Letter-Name and Within-Word Pattern stages of development. 

4.  Why do you pick this stage of development? What are the key characteristics?  He was able to represent short vowels conventionally and showed good knowledge of consonant clusters.  However, he was unable to mark long vowels in several words.

5.  Describe partner reading.  Partner reading involves the tutor and child alternating pages as they read a story aloud, with the tutor asking comprehension questions now and then.  Partner reading is also considered to be a safe, comfortable way to begin reading stories with a slow, word-by-word reader.

6.  Which is harder for a student, partner reading or DRTA?  I think it depends on the student and his or her needs.  Partner reading will be more difficult for someone who needs to focus on comprehension, while DRTA would be easier because its main focus is on comprehension. 

7.  In planning a DRTA, what is important about selecting places to stop?  While reading, the tutor must simply ask, at what point in the story am I able to anticipate an important upcoming event or plot turn?  Why am I able to do so?  What information have I read that is triggering the anticipation?

8.  In planning a DRTA, what is important about deciding questions to ask? What kind of questions? How many?  Ask questions that will allow you to know the child understands what they are reading.  It is also important to ask one or two specific questions related to the story content at each stopping point.  Prediction questions are also important, they require the student to synthesize the incoming information and make thoughtful projections forward into the story.