Kaitlin Jenkins April 8, 2014

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Bostwick Miscue Analysis

The purpose of the miscue analysis was to determine a students just right independent reading level, instructional level, and level of frustration when reading and comprehending a story. Not only was I interested in examining a students fluency and ability to self-correct while reading, but also her comprehension. Although I have gained a great deal of knowledge about emergent readers this semester, I could not wait to observe and assess a student in my classroom to apply my newly acquired knowledge. I observed Alana, a five year old female student in Mrs. Bostwicks AM Kindergarten class at Maurice Hawk Elementary School in West Windsor, New Jersey. Alana tends to be introverted around her classmates, but enjoys having one-on-one attention from myself or Mrs. Bostwick. Based on discussions I have had with Alana about reading, she told me she enjoys reading, but wants to become a better reader. Through her explanation I was able to realize Alana is a struggling reader and fortunately not a reluctant reader. I am confident Alana can explore and develop her reading skills in Mrs. Bostwicks classroom because she has access to the plethora of books in the classroom library. I was curious to formally assess Alana to gain a better understanding of her reading strategies and comprehension skills. My cooperating teacher, Mrs. Bostwick, uses the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 with her students; therefore I used the same assessment. I administered the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 Level B Fiction story My Little Dog to Alana. This was my first time administering a running record to a student, but I quickly learned how to provide the assessment and determine its results. I enjoyed using the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 because I was able to determine errors and self corrections Alana made based on meaning, structure, or visual information.

Alana quickly became excited about reading the story once I told her she would be reading about a little dog. She told me that although she does not have a dog, she likes to read about dogs and quickly turned to the first page to begin reading. While reading, I noticed Alana frequently would refer to the pictures on the left side of each page to help her determine what was happening in the story. She also self-corrected twice when reading the word looks instead of the word like. Overall, Alana was able to read the words on each page in My Little Dog fairly well. I noticed she was trying her best to pronounce each word correctly and I made sure to encourage her as she read. However, Alana was focused on reading the words slowly therefore, she was not entirely focused on understanding what she was reading. Although Alana struggled with fluency at some parts of the story, initially I did not think she would have much trouble comprehending the story. After assessing Alana, I understand the importance of being able to differentiate between a student who can read a story and a student who can read and understand a story. Even though Alana had some difficulty with fluency, she was able to complete the story and read fifty-three out of fifty-five words making only two errors. She pronounced likes as looks 3 times, which count as one error; her second error was saying at instead of eat. Once Alana finished reading the story, I began to ask her comprehension questions. I asked her to explain two things the girl likes to do with her dog. Alana took a while to provide an answer and eventually said, The girl takes him to the park? The girl did not take the dog to the park and since Alana gave her answer in the form of a question, even she was unsure. Then, I asked Alana, How do you think the girl feels about her dog? Alana answered, She thinks the dog is a pain. Based on her recollection of the girl thinking her dog was a pain, Alana did not understand the happy feelings the girl felt about her dog in the story. Lastly, I asked, What else

do you think the dog likes to do? Alana answered, The dog doesnt like to do anything else. Alanas response demonstrates her inability to think beyond the story and consider other things the dog may like to do. Although Alana was able to read the words on each page, she is not yet ready to move to a Level C book because she was not able to comprehend My Little Dog. Prior to assessing her comprehension of the story, I thought Alana would be almost ready to move to a Level C book; however, she is at a Level B with 96% accuracy. To further instruction, I would focus on building comprehension strategies, such as retelling, to foster her reading skills. To help build Alanas reading comprehension, I would focus on retelling. I will have Alana read a few pages at a time and ask her to explain what she just read. If she is unable to retell a few pages of a story after reading, I will have her retell page by page. Having Alana narrow down the amount of text she has to take in instead of retelling an entire book, will help her understand the story in small parts. As she becomes more confident at retelling, I will support her in retelling longer sections of texts.

Lesson Plan Subject/Grade Level: Independent Reading/Kindergarten Rationale: I am teaching Alana this lesson because although Alana can read a story based on the words on the pages, she is unable to comprehend the story. Since Alana is having trouble comprehending stories she is beginning to feel frustrated; for this reason I am teaching her strategies early on so that she will feel confident in her ability to read and understand stories as she develops into a good reader. Being able to read and understand text is essential to becoming a good reader. I want Alana to learn reading comprehension strategies, so that she can independently read and understand text. Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.4 Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. Materials: My Little Dog Objective: SWBAT use retelling to help understand My Little Dog. Procedures: Engagement/Anticipatory Set: The other day you read My Little Dog and I remember you had some trouble answering questions about what happened in the story. Today, we are going to read My Little Dog again and use a strategy that will help you when you read. Good readers use comprehension strategies, such as retelling, to understand a story. Retelling is when you read a small part of a story and then stop to make sure you understand what you just read. You will then tell me in your own words what you just read. If you are not sure what you just read then you

will re-read the text to make sure you understand what is happening in the story. We are going to practice retelling together and then you will try retelling on your own. Mentor-Model-Teach: We will look at the first three pages of My Little Dog together and use retelling to check if we understand the story. I will read the first three pages to Alana and then I will say, I am thinking about what I just read and I am going to try to retell these first three pages. I will retell the story and then you will retell the story. Although we both read the same parts, our retellings should be different because we are putting the story in our own words. I will explain the story as a girl who has a little dog that likes to sleep, eat, and run with her. Then I will ask Alana if she understands how I retold the story to check my understanding of what I have read so far. Independent Practice: I will say, I would like you to read the next three pages to me and then try to retell those pages. She will read the following three pages that discuss how the little dog likes to play, ride, and jump with the girl. Once she has finished reading I will be looking for her to retell these pages in her own words. Similar to my example, I hope she will be able to recall how the girl has a little dog that likes to play, ride, and jump with her. Closure: Today you learned a new reading comprehension strategy, retelling, that you can use when you are doing independent reading. Good readers use strategies while they read to make sure they understand what they are reading. It is important to read the words on the page correctly, but also to know what happens in the story. Assessment: To assess Alana I will ask her to continue to read the remaining three pages of My Little Dog and practice retelling after every three pages that she reads. I will be making sure she is not only reading correctly, but also understanding as she reads. Retelling will allow her to stop

frequently to check she has understood what she is reading instead of reading the entire story and then being asked to comprehend what happened.