We have so much going on in during our literacy block at Harris School.  Our instruction all begins with gathering data in the form of assessments.  This enables us to pinpoint where your child is along the literacy continuum  From here we can design lessons to teach during whole group, small group and during literacy centers that meed the needs our our students.  Some of our assessments are:

DIBELS:

To administer the DIBELS assessment we use a "palm" pictured at right.  

What is DIBELS? The DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a district-mandated test given to kindergarten, first, and second grades in my school system. The DIBELS originated at Oregon University and was designed to assess Phonological Awareness, Alphabetic Principle, and Fluency with Connected Text (three of the five big ideas of early literacy). DIBELS is given individually to each student. No part of the DIBELS test is given as a "whole group" test. The tests are very short and timed (one minute for each section). The test is timed in order to check fluency in addition to knowledge. As in its title and stated above, DIBELS is a literacy test. It measures pre-reading and early reading skills. There are no math or other subject area questions on the test. Each area of the test has a benchmark or goal for students to meet.

Why Do We Use DIBELS? Schools are more increasingly using DIBELS due to it being research based. The DIBELS has been tested extensively in real schools with real children. Data shows the test to be effective. Because of its beginning, middle, and end of the year design, DIBELS allows teachers to focus on specific skills that show weaknesses and then monitor the students' growth on the next testing. Scores can quickly be produced at the school by the school staff. There is no waiting period for teachers to receive feedback.

What Skills are Assessed by DIBELS Kindergarten students are tested on ISF: Initial Sound Fluency, LNF: Letter Naming Fluency, PSF: Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, and NWF: Nonsense Word Fluency. First grade students are tested on LNF, PSF, NWF, and ORF: Oral Reading Fluency. In second and third grade, students are only tested on ORF

Quick Phonics Screener:

This assessment is an informal, individually administered diagnostic assessment that helps teachers plan instructional or intervention programs for basic word reading and decoding skills. In addition, teachers can use QPS results to monitor students’ progress as their phonics skills develop.

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA)

The DRA helps dentify students' reading achievement through systematic observation, recording, and evaluation of performance.  We also use this assessment to analyze data, document progress, and communicate assessment information to administrators, parents, and students.  It helps us drive effective reading instruction tailored to critical intervention points derived from assessment results.

Think Link

ThinkLink is an assessment administered on the computer.  It assesses student progress toward meeting state standards for reading/ language arts, math, science, and social studies. The tests are preconfigured and analyzed by ThinkLink experts to provide teachers the prediction of mastery, proficiency, and adequate yearly progress (AYP) that is so critical to monitoring student progress toward state mandated goals. The benchmark tests are administered in the fall, winter, and spring. Each test is carefully constructed to mirror and match the state test.

Quarterly Assessments

We administer assessments quarterly in the areas of math, reading, science and social studies.  Math and reading also include an extended response portion.  These tests help us evaluate how the students is achieving during their second grade year.

Our reading block will be comprised of several parts:

Guided Reading

Guided Reading is meeting in small flexible homogenous grouping to work on a reading passage or skills.  Students meet in small groups (if possible, 6 or less) and reinforce common text or skill.  These groups are not static and children move within these groups based on their reading level or needs. It is important that students are placed in a group where they will have a maximum potential for reading success.  When planning my guided reading groups, I use before (preview and activation of background and vocabulary), during ( tackling the text and/or skills) and after( assessment, reflection and sharing) reading strategies.

Literacy Stations

A literacy work station is an area within the classroom where students work alone or interact with one another, using instructional materaials to explore and expand their literacy.  It is a place where a variety of activities reinforce and/or extend learning, often without the assistance of the classroom teacher.  It is a time for children to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening and working with literacy.

Whole Group Reading

Whole group reading is an instructional grouping strategy in which the teacher models and delivers direct instruction to the whole class in a collaborative setting.  Whole group reading exposes all students to a wide variety of genres and allows them to participate in experiences with many literature materials.  This strategy provides all students access to grade level text and allows them to practice grade level standards. 

Writing

The 6+1 Trait Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are: