Look and Listen/Reflect and
Teach
Pat Johnson
patjohnson222@gmail.com
When Vulnerable Readers Thrive
2014 Summit
Calgary
October 27 & 28, 2014
“Sensitive observation of children making
slow progress must take into account
what is being learned by children making
satisfactory progress in classrooms.”
Marie Clay
Literacy Lessons I, p. 29
How do readers process texts?
How do readers solve words and
make meaning of print?
Sources of Information:
woods
forest
Meaning
Word Solving
Syntactic
look
looks
book
took
Visual
f in d
find
Adapted from Schulman, Guided Reading in Grades 3-6
Pinnell & Fountas, Guiding Readers & Writers, 3-6
Johnson, One Child at a Time
Teaching Items
Teaching Strategies
Consonants
Vowels
Blends
Digraphs
Word families
Sight words
Silent letters
Contractions
Prefixes, suffixes
Compounds words
Searching & Gathering
Predicting
Linking
Cross-checking
Confirming
Self-monitoring
Visualizing
Questioning
Inferring
Monitoring fluency
.
Items
Many children (80%)
will form a network
of strategies no
matter what
program/method/
philosophy is used
Strategies
Struggling readers
(20%) will have
trouble constructing
a network of
strategies unless you
teach FOR
strategies.
Observation and assessment
must drive instruction.
What does the child do when he is
stuck?
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Predict
Search
Self-Monitor
Active or Passive
Flexible
Use multiple attempts
Fluent in his problem-solving
How many? How often?
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Create a class; specify time of year
Example: 23 students; Jan. of grade 1
5 above grade level – once a quarter
5 on grade level – one every 4 weeks
6 at Level 7/8 – one every 3 weeks
4 at Level 4/5 – one every 2 weeks
3 at Level 2/3 – one a week
Work with a partner on the separate
sheet:
What would you expect to see on a running
record if a child is starting to gain control of:
• Predicting
• Searching & Gathering
• Using visual information
• Self-monitoring
• Using balance/cross-checking
• Linking
• Making multiple attempts
“The habit of linking needs to start
early.”
Lee Skandalaris
We want kids to say, “this is like that.”
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“I have that word in my other book”
‘brother’ – that’s like Brian’s name
This story is like that other book
Hey, ‘shoe/too’ – they rhyme
That word has ‘and’ in it ---standing
When reviewing running records, think about:
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What is the child able to do?
What is his processing like? (think strategies)
What does he do at the point of difficulty?
What does he need to learn?
How will you teach that?
What prompt might you use?
How will you determine if the child “took on” what
you are teaching for?
 Was there a fluency issue?
 Was there a comprehension issue?
Fluency is not always coded on a running
record, however…
• Put dashes under the check marks in a place
where the student read in a very choppy
manner.
• Loop several check marks together in a place
where a student read in groups of
words/fluently.
Comprehension is not marked/coded explicitly on a
running record. However…
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Discussions with the student
Self-monitoring behaviors
Self-corrections
Word substitutions
The child’s phrasing
The child’s reactions
All of the above will give you indications of
comprehension.
Teaching Points
• Immediately after the running record
• Looking for patterns across several running
records
Think about:
Did the child do well on the running record
because you supported the process building
well on the first read?
OR
because you gave lots of ‘tolds’ and she
remembered them?
Mary Fried
RR conference presentation
No control
partial control
full control
control with
automaticity
With a partner, choose one of the following scenarios.
Think about how you will teach this child. Consider
modeling, shared demonstrations, guided practice,
prompts for 1:1 work, etc.
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Not self-monitoring; not checking on self
Not using a balance of cues
Not using proper pacing and phrasing
Not using punctuation to help
Not predicting at the word level
Not using visual information effectively
Not linking
Scenario: The child is not self-monitoring, not
checking on himself.
 Use the 3 questions – does it make sense, look right,
sound right?
 Teach running your finger under the word.
 Teach rereading.
 Use the scaffolding symbol card.
 Ask “are you being the checker?” Discourage looking
at you for confirmation.
 Repeat what the child said that made no sense.
 See chapters 5 & 6 in One Child at a Time
What does fluency mean?
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Speed
Accuracy
Reading the punctuation
Flow of the language
Pacing
Phrasing
Intonation
Expression
Supports comprehension
Scenario: Child is not fluent; reads in a choppy
manner.
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Show the difference with her own writing.
Help the child know when she is sounding smooth and fluent.
Use prompts.
Push behind the words with your thumb.
Use sing-songy books; use a tape recorder.
Watch the finger pointing.
Read every other page of a familiar text.
Teach how to use the punctuation.
Mark running records for fluency and use it for teaching
points.
 See chapter 4 in One Child at a Time.
Shared Demonstrations for Fluency:
• Notice punctuation and other conventions
when doing Shared Reading in Big Books or on
charts.
• Put lifted text on the overhead projector from
your read aloud text.
• Group words in a pocket chart.
Fluency prompts when doing any shared
reading together:
• Did you sound smooth or choppy?
• Go back and put it all together.
• Make it sound like real talking.
Scenario: Not using visual information
effectively; no linking
 Teach how words work; as opposed to word families
 Always have a white board handy
 You break the word; write it larger; give analogies
 Help them look for chunks, not letter by letter
 Repeat what they just said if they have a habit of putting
in nonsense words; then ask “does that make sense?”
 Keep the use of visual information together with making
meaning; if he can come close, he may get it with
meaning.
 Say, “show me a part you’re sure of.”
Scenario: Child is not integrating MSV;
not using a balance of cues
• Use the three questions to prompt with
• Prompt with the source of information he is
not using
• Use a familiar big book and change a word
• Leave a blank in the Morning Message
• Teach/prompt with the strategic behavior card
• Find places in your running record to praise
(where the child used M and S and SC with V or
vice versa.)
Balancing the sources of information:
• Use a familiar Big Book and change a word
• Leave a blank in a Morning Message
• Teach what the symbols on the strategy card
mean
Think about:
• Am I spending enough time with Shared
Demonstrations?
• Am I looking for which kids need more “do it
together with me” time?
• What is it that these struggling readers
need?
• When planning my instruction, how can I
think more about teaching for reading
process?
Catching Readers Before They Fall, Pat Johnson and Katie
Keier, Stenhouse
One Child at a Time: Making the Most of Your Time
with Struggling Readers, Pat Johnson, Stenhouse
patjohnson222@gmail.com (@PatJ222 on Twitter)
katieannkeier@gmail.com (@bluskyz on Twitter)
www.catchingreaders.com
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