Miscue Analysis
Miscue analysis is a common technique used by teachers to track student’s progress towards becoming proficient readers. Kenneth Goodman created the term miscue in reference to unanticipated responses to text from the reader (Owocki & Goodman). Teachers work with students so that they can become adept readers. This means that they are able to read fluently while comprehending what they are reading. Reading development takes time and it is expected that students will struggle in the different areas of reading.
The purpose of this assignment was to explore the use of running records and analyzing miscues in the classroom. There are a variety of miscues including self-correction, word substitution, refusal to pronounce certain words, insertion of words, repetition, reversal, and appeal for help. Administering a running record allows you to track the miscues and assess the student’s reading ability. A running record is given to students throughout the year to allow teachers to listen as the student reads a section of a text. They should watch the student make sense of the words as well as observe them constructing meaning of the text. As the student reads, the teacher should take note of miscues and the answers to the reading comprehension questions at the end. The data collected is important for planning future instruction for the student and selecting appropriate reading material.
After learning about the importance of running records and miscue analysis, I administered a running record to one female in my third grade class. I am placed in a resource room in an elementary school. The children in the class are all different ages and education levels. Since each student in the class is at a different reading level, running records are especially important to plan lessons and keep track of the individual stages of learning. Their teacher administers running records often in order to assess their reading levels and keep track of their progress. She also uses the data collected to create guided reading groups. Their teacher creates reading groups based on their reading level and comprehension to guide instruction. However, each reader is different and has specific reading goals that she works with them on in order to develop. The students come to this room for many reasons but especially because they have trouble with reading. The teacher spends a lot of time on reading, reading strategies, and reading comprehension in order to help her students in reading as well as their other classes that require reading.
During the literacy block, I was able to pull out one student onto the hall and administer the running record. The is a third grader who is just about ready to move to a new reading level. I gave the student the running record for the new reading level, level P. I had her read a portion of the story “Plenty of Pets” and recorded any miscues. After she read about half the book I had her finish the book silently. Once she was done reading, I had her talk about the book to assess her comprehension and ask some guiding questions when she was struggling.
After administering the running record, my teacher sat down with me to score it. The teacher was interested in the results because she wanted to see if the student was ready for the new reading level. We scored the test together and she showed me the running record she had given to the student on the previous reading level. We found that level P was at a frustration level for the student. She needed a lot of guidance for this level and would begin working through this with her teacher. The student's accuracy rate was 95% because she had ten errors. Errors included asking for help on the word “deluge”, substituting the ending “ing” for “itching” instead of “itchy”, and substituting the word “pugy” for “pudgy”. The student was able to explain what happened in the story but could not describe in much detail. She scored a 5/9 on the reading comprehension section. This means that she had limited comprehension for this text. The last score calculated was the reading rate. The student read the passage in 3 minutes and 32 seconds. She read 58.3 words per minute. Using all three of these scores, the teacher showed me on a chart she uses that the level is frustrating for the student and will be explored in the weeks to come.
The data that I collected from the running record would guide my future instruction of this student. This assessment was useful because it allowed me to observe the student's oral reading and figure out what her strengths and weaknesses are as a reader. In order to fully understand what reading level each individual student is in and how to continue with instruction, running records are essential. They can be used to decide how to teach students as efficiently and effectively as possible. Every student has individual reading struggles and these needs must be investigated in order to proceed with instruction. The classroom is full of different learners who are on different reading levels. Teachers need to collect data on each student using running records in order to plan future instruction.
Reading is an important task that needs to be broken down for students. Students should be able to read fluently and comprehend what they are reading in order to develop as proficient readers. Administering running records and keeping track of miscues is important in determining each student’s individual needs and planning future instruction. It is important that teachers look at miscues as areas to improve upon and not errors. Miscues are inevitable as readers develop and students cannot develop without making them.
Miscue analysis is a common technique used by teachers to track student’s progress towards becoming proficient readers. Kenneth Goodman created the term miscue in reference to unanticipated responses to text from the reader (Owocki & Goodman). Teachers work with students so that they can become adept readers. This means that they are able to read fluently while comprehending what they are reading. Reading development takes time and it is expected that students will struggle in the different areas of reading.
The purpose of this assignment was to explore the use of running records and analyzing miscues in the classroom. There are a variety of miscues including self-correction, word substitution, refusal to pronounce certain words, insertion of words, repetition, reversal, and appeal for help. Administering a running record allows you to track the miscues and assess the student’s reading ability. A running record is given to students throughout the year to allow teachers to listen as the student reads a section of a text. They should watch the student make sense of the words as well as observe them constructing meaning of the text. As the student reads, the teacher should take note of miscues and the answers to the reading comprehension questions at the end. The data collected is important for planning future instruction for the student and selecting appropriate reading material.
After learning about the importance of running records and miscue analysis, I administered a running record to one female in my third grade class. I am placed in a resource room in an elementary school. The children in the class are all different ages and education levels. Since each student in the class is at a different reading level, running records are especially important to plan lessons and keep track of the individual stages of learning. Their teacher administers running records often in order to assess their reading levels and keep track of their progress. She also uses the data collected to create guided reading groups. Their teacher creates reading groups based on their reading level and comprehension to guide instruction. However, each reader is different and has specific reading goals that she works with them on in order to develop. The students come to this room for many reasons but especially because they have trouble with reading. The teacher spends a lot of time on reading, reading strategies, and reading comprehension in order to help her students in reading as well as their other classes that require reading.
During the literacy block, I was able to pull out one student onto the hall and administer the running record. The is a third grader who is just about ready to move to a new reading level. I gave the student the running record for the new reading level, level P. I had her read a portion of the story “Plenty of Pets” and recorded any miscues. After she read about half the book I had her finish the book silently. Once she was done reading, I had her talk about the book to assess her comprehension and ask some guiding questions when she was struggling.
After administering the running record, my teacher sat down with me to score it. The teacher was interested in the results because she wanted to see if the student was ready for the new reading level. We scored the test together and she showed me the running record she had given to the student on the previous reading level. We found that level P was at a frustration level for the student. She needed a lot of guidance for this level and would begin working through this with her teacher. The student's accuracy rate was 95% because she had ten errors. Errors included asking for help on the word “deluge”, substituting the ending “ing” for “itching” instead of “itchy”, and substituting the word “pugy” for “pudgy”. The student was able to explain what happened in the story but could not describe in much detail. She scored a 5/9 on the reading comprehension section. This means that she had limited comprehension for this text. The last score calculated was the reading rate. The student read the passage in 3 minutes and 32 seconds. She read 58.3 words per minute. Using all three of these scores, the teacher showed me on a chart she uses that the level is frustrating for the student and will be explored in the weeks to come.
The data that I collected from the running record would guide my future instruction of this student. This assessment was useful because it allowed me to observe the student's oral reading and figure out what her strengths and weaknesses are as a reader. In order to fully understand what reading level each individual student is in and how to continue with instruction, running records are essential. They can be used to decide how to teach students as efficiently and effectively as possible. Every student has individual reading struggles and these needs must be investigated in order to proceed with instruction. The classroom is full of different learners who are on different reading levels. Teachers need to collect data on each student using running records in order to plan future instruction.
Reading is an important task that needs to be broken down for students. Students should be able to read fluently and comprehend what they are reading in order to develop as proficient readers. Administering running records and keeping track of miscues is important in determining each student’s individual needs and planning future instruction. It is important that teachers look at miscues as areas to improve upon and not errors. Miscues are inevitable as readers develop and students cannot develop without making them.