Assessment: Informal Reading Inventories
This assessment can be used to assess oral and silent reading comprehension. The students are assessed on the comprehension of informational texts, expository, and narrative.
Below are the strategies to help students with gaining more information from the texts that they read.
Comprehension of Informational Text: STR (Stop, Think, React)
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: Students must be provided times throughout read alouds to stop, think, and react to what they comprehend through listening. The purpose of the STR strategy is to allow students to monitor their comprehension and this can gauge learning that occurs.
Procedure: Educator will explain to student(s) that when we learn we must continue to “check into our thinking and what we are comprehending”. In order to do this, the Stop, Think, React Strategy will help with stopping our reading, thinking about what is going on in the text, and writing our reactions. Then, ask the student(s) to share what they have written each time you stop to think and react, and then continue on with the lesson. This can be done with students individually or in a whole group setting. Educators must model what this looks like (using sticky notes).
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)
Comprehension of an Informational Text: Reading Checklist
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of this strategy is for students to have a clear understanding about what they should be looking for when reading an Informational Text, as well as how to actively read to find information they may not know or understand.
Procedure: Educator must first prepare (5-10) statements about a passage that are either true or false. Then the educator must share the statements about the passage with the student, and allow time for the student(s) to read the statements. Before the students begin reading the passage, explain to the students that they must put a (+) or (t) for statements that are true. The educator can explain to the student(s) that they can answer each statement while they read or directly after. Then, the student(s) must go back and reword the false statements in order to make them true. The student may need you to re-read the passage together with them.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Informational Text: Think-Aloud for Expository Text
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of a Think-Aloud for Expository Text is for educators to model to students what talented readers do to make sense of a text.
Procedure: Beforehand, The educator must choose a passage from a text that has new vocabulary and unfamiliar information to the students. Then, perform the following steps (as suggested in DeVries) 1. Read the title or heading of the passage and make predictions about the topic. 2. Describe the images that come to mind as you read the passage. 3. Give analogies that relate the material to your personal life. 4. Verbalize passages or phrases that you don’t understand. 5. Demonstrate the strategy you use to understand the passage. After modeling a think aloud for expository text, you should have the student(s) do a think-aloud in order for you to observe their thinking.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Informational Text: Learning Logs
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This “after-reading” strategy allows students to connect their reading and writing and can be used with any type of text. (Informational-textbooks, trade books, magazine) Students are able to recall the main ideas about what they have read and are able to summarize it into their own learning log, this also allows students to be accountable for their learning.
Procedure: First, read the text out loud with the student(s), then discuss the text, last ask the student(s) to write about what they have learned from the reading without looking at the text. Next, carefully analyze what the student(s) write to see if they are recalling important main ideas versus unimportant details. Make sure the student is recalling the ideas in a logical order, and ask the student(s) to share the information with one another and later add to their information (after you have assessed their learning).
Source: Adapted from Pinterest
This assessment can be used to assess oral and silent reading comprehension. The students are assessed on the comprehension of informational texts, expository, and narrative.
Below are the strategies to help students with gaining more information from the texts that they read.
Comprehension of Informational Text: STR (Stop, Think, React)
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: Students must be provided times throughout read alouds to stop, think, and react to what they comprehend through listening. The purpose of the STR strategy is to allow students to monitor their comprehension and this can gauge learning that occurs.
Procedure: Educator will explain to student(s) that when we learn we must continue to “check into our thinking and what we are comprehending”. In order to do this, the Stop, Think, React Strategy will help with stopping our reading, thinking about what is going on in the text, and writing our reactions. Then, ask the student(s) to share what they have written each time you stop to think and react, and then continue on with the lesson. This can be done with students individually or in a whole group setting. Educators must model what this looks like (using sticky notes).
Source: Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work: Teaching comprehension for understanding and engagement (2nd ed.)
Comprehension of an Informational Text: Reading Checklist
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of this strategy is for students to have a clear understanding about what they should be looking for when reading an Informational Text, as well as how to actively read to find information they may not know or understand.
Procedure: Educator must first prepare (5-10) statements about a passage that are either true or false. Then the educator must share the statements about the passage with the student, and allow time for the student(s) to read the statements. Before the students begin reading the passage, explain to the students that they must put a (+) or (t) for statements that are true. The educator can explain to the student(s) that they can answer each statement while they read or directly after. Then, the student(s) must go back and reword the false statements in order to make them true. The student may need you to re-read the passage together with them.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Informational Text: Think-Aloud for Expository Text
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: The purpose of a Think-Aloud for Expository Text is for educators to model to students what talented readers do to make sense of a text.
Procedure: Beforehand, The educator must choose a passage from a text that has new vocabulary and unfamiliar information to the students. Then, perform the following steps (as suggested in DeVries) 1. Read the title or heading of the passage and make predictions about the topic. 2. Describe the images that come to mind as you read the passage. 3. Give analogies that relate the material to your personal life. 4. Verbalize passages or phrases that you don’t understand. 5. Demonstrate the strategy you use to understand the passage. After modeling a think aloud for expository text, you should have the student(s) do a think-aloud in order for you to observe their thinking.
Source: DeVries, B.A. (2011). Literacy assessment and intervention for K-6 classrooms (3rd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.
Comprehension of Informational Text: Learning Logs
Grade Level(s): Third, Fourth, Fifth, & Sixth Grades
Purpose: This “after-reading” strategy allows students to connect their reading and writing and can be used with any type of text. (Informational-textbooks, trade books, magazine) Students are able to recall the main ideas about what they have read and are able to summarize it into their own learning log, this also allows students to be accountable for their learning.
Procedure: First, read the text out loud with the student(s), then discuss the text, last ask the student(s) to write about what they have learned from the reading without looking at the text. Next, carefully analyze what the student(s) write to see if they are recalling important main ideas versus unimportant details. Make sure the student is recalling the ideas in a logical order, and ask the student(s) to share the information with one another and later add to their information (after you have assessed their learning).
Source: Adapted from Pinterest