Hello all!
I am so excited to show you another trick up my sleeve!! I will be emailing you soon. I have recently sat down with your kinder to have them read into an app that I like to use. The app is called LevelBook. It is amazing on so many levels...(I know that's corny, but hang with me...I hang out with 5-6 year old humans all day, I get excited easily!!). This app records a student reading with an audio clip. It will also allow me to monitor any miscues (mistakes) and self-corrections the student has in their reading. Since you can't see the text, you will get an email of stats on each reading. You will notice that there is an accuracy level, a self-correction level, and words per minute (WPM). For the accuracy level, we want books to be between 100%-95% to be considered INDEPENDENT. This would be books that are under their independent control. When books are between 94%-90% is considered INSTRUCTIONAL. This would be books that students are able to read, but they are doing so much word attack (decoding) that it could be affecting their comprehension of the text. If your student's accuracy level is between 90%-0%, this would be considered FRUSTRATION. Obviously, just as the name would reflect, we do not want students to be reading at this level. The book might be too hard and/or they might not be monitoring their own reading. In the end, the student's comprehension will most likely be affected at this level. So when you get this email, pay attention to the accuracy level to give you a picture of what your student's reading ability looks and sounds like on a grade-level text.
Next look at the self-correction and error ratio. If students are making miscues, we ideally want them also self-correcting. If students are not self-correcting, then that tells us that they are not monitoring their reading as closely as they could. We don't want a ton of self-corrections, because that still serves as an interruption in their reading. But, if they are making errors, we want to continue to encourage them to self-correct with their reading strategies.
Lastly, you will see a WPM stat. IGNORE THIS STAT! I do not measure words per minute in Kindergarten. Research will say to start measuring student fluency with WPM after January of 1st grade. So instead of using this stat, I have left the timer going after the student is done reading. This allows me to continue to record our after reading conversation! I will highlight positives from their reading, reading strategies I either saw them use or ones that I think would have been beneficial for them, or ask comprehension questions. Make sure and listen to this segment because it will allow you to reflect on how your end of the story conversations flow at home.
So...with all of that, please enjoy listening to the audio clip of your kinder read. Listen to it with them, ask them about their book and reading strategies. JUST ENJOY IT, because I know I enjoy listening to them read and reflect on how far them have come this year! If you have any questions or did not receive an email with an audio clip, email me back. I may not have all the correct email addresses and I would gladly change my contacts to make sure you receive one too!! Thanks--Kim
