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Mary/PA - Welcome to Teachers.Net's Reading Recovery Meeting. We didn't set a topic the last time we met, but I would like to start off with discussing the writing of the OS (Observation Survey) Summaries. I'd like to know if I'm the only one who still spends hours and more hours writing these things.
Mary/PA - At what stage are you in your programs? I'm writing OSSummaries and beginning RAK
jill - We started school about three weeks ago. I just finished roaming.
sid - Same here. Oss will start RAK about WEd and or Thurs.
Mary/PA - There's got to be a better way :o)
jill - Have your teachers implemented balanced literay? I've noticed that it is startying to make a difference in the level of the kids coming into RR.
jill - I didn't spend hours on my summaries. - It seems that there is so much to learn during RAK that I just stated the facts.
Mary/PA - Not ours. Some of the second grade teachers are starting, but the other kindergarten and the first grades are not.
sid - We started last year doing building block last year in kdg and our children are higher this year.
Mary/PA - About writing the summaries, I spend 2 - 3 hours on each one, what am I doing wrong?
jill - It is EXTREMELY obvious which classrooms our kids came from because the teachers who didn't catch on to the four blocks are the rooms where all our RR kids are coming from.
didi/aus - I take at least an hour or two
jill - Didi are you in ausTEX?
Mary/PA - So, jill, you don't dig into it too much?
sid - I take 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours per.
Mary/PA - didi is from Australia
didi/aus - Australia jill
sid - I keep wanting to make myself a checklist so I don't miss anything on the OSS. Has anyone done that?
jill - Like I said, I try to get as much from the tests as I can - but I try not to delve into the "why's" of the results. I leave that for the predictions of progress when my knowledge is a little more complete.
didi/aus - I have just started roaming with 2 this week
jill - What kind of a checklist? I don't understand?
Mary/PA - jill, 4-blocks is for first grade on up, are you talking about second round kids?
Mary/PA - Building Blocks is the Kindergarten model and it does make a difference. I'm the other kindergarten teacher in my building. I never get kids from my kinder class in RR
didi/aus - These 2 are at L11 do you do less fancy RAK with higher kids
sid - for letters - did they match cap to lower case? could they identify 1 or 2 letters etc.
jill - Mary - We have implemented the 4 blocks for our entire school and just "modified" for kinder. Our kinder kids had been historically taught "developmentally" and they didn't have the home background to help them be literate. We needed to infuse the kinder curriculum with at least the beginnings of language.
Mary/PA - They all come from the other teacher's classes. She still does things the way she did 20 years ago, doesn't keep up with research etc. makes a big difference in the outcomes
didi/aus - Sid don't you write that on the front of the obs survey sheet
jill - Sid - Two of my kids could match upper - lower, the other two could only match on "same" shape letters.
sid - Jill did you have a proposal or how did you get four blocks implemented?
Mary/PA - Our TL gave us one (checklist) at our last CC - very helpful, I think...Mary/PA - That's it, there's a lot to do and concider when writing the OSSQuestions to ask about My Observation Summary
(given to us at our first Continuing Contact 2000-2001 by Laura Schaaf, our new TL)These questions are based on the perusal of specific observation summaries (9/95). The list is not meant to be exhaustive. Space is left to add additional questions as the need arises.
First page overall:
Summary of the Running Record
Analysis of Errors and SCIf there were no self-corrections, did I note "Nil"? On the directional movement line, did I note any left to right movement as well as any pointing behaviors? Are all levels read included and all information present for each? (even though it gets a bit crowded) Letter LDIs there specific evidence to support my contention that the child used meaning? Structure? Visual? If there was "no evidence" of cross-checking, did I note that? Word TestDid I tell which letters he did know and how he knew them (by name, sound, etc.) before going onto confusions and unknowns? Did I note if any confusions were visually similar? Did I note which known (and unknown) were visually similar? Did I note which knowns (and unknowns) were pairs (i.e., both upper and lower case of one letter)? (E.g., if child knew 18 letters and 12 were paired, it may alter the letters known picture even more.) Concepts About PrintDid I circle which list? Did I note attempts (even if not correct) and whether they are visually similar? Writing VocabularyDid I circle the correct title? Did I categorize the items the child did successfully (using memory or that CAP sheet)? (E.g., he demonstrated appropriate directional behaviors [left to right, return sweep].) Are there some categories well represented? Some not represented at all? (E.g., visual scanning is often an empty category.) Hearing Sounds In WordsDid I record first the words the child did write correctly? Next, close attempts? Next, my pertinent comments? (All caps? Letters from bottom to top? List format? Sentence format?) REMEMBER, YOU WIL USE THIS SUMMARY EXTENSIVELY DURING R0AMING AND BEYOND. THE BETTER ORGANIZED, THE EASIER TO READ THEN THE BETTER IT WILL SERVE YOU WHILE YOU ARE WORKING WITH THAT CHILD!) Did I circle Form D (fall testing)? Did I record what the child did do in a form readable for you? It needs to be a record of ft actual data. What other observations should be noted? (Did the child independently say the words slowly or with prompting? Format?) Did I avoid all extraneous comments? (I.e., any comments that do not come directly from the actual data on the front page could be considered extraneous.) Page 2 Overall: Useful and Problem Strategies on Text:
Useful and Problem Strategies on Words:From which parts of page one will I get them? Which pieces of data relate to Text? Useful and Problem Strategies on Letters:From which parts of page one will I get them? Which pieces of data relate to Words? From which parts of page one will I get them? Which pieces of data relate to Letters? FINAL SUMMARY Did I have two short summate paragraphs, one about reading and one about writing? In the reading section, did I: cite text reading level first note the presence or absence of 1: 1? discuss use of picture cues (M), structure or patterned language (S), attention or lack of it to visual cues, (V)? limit any other comments about the reading to that which is backed up by evidence? are most comments statements of CAN DO and those that allude to desirable behaviors that were not present, stated in an objective way (does not control 1 to 1)? In the writing sections, did I: note that the child wrote many words, a few words, no words? note whether there was evidence of the use of sound/symbol correlations? note any helpful abilities with letters?
sid - Got it. But why does it take so long to complete?
didi/aus - gee you sure look in more detail than i have been
jill - You get into alot more detail than I do.
jill - I guess I feel that the data I have recieved on at least 2 of my kids is so limited that I couldn't draw that many conclusions from it.
Mary/PA - Jill, that's how it seems at times.
didi/aus - Mary its good to have it on so we can go to archives and copy it down
Chris - I am in training and my TL requires us to use the list Mary is talking about.
jill - It sure is a lot of detail. Does it help you during roaming to be that specific?
Mary/PA - I just wish that I could write them more quickly
Chris - It definitely takes a long time to fill out. I also use POP cards that provide more at a glance information.
sid - What is a POP card?
jill - What are POP cards?
Mary/PA - It helps all through the child's program. We should check the OSS from time to time. Chances are if you are having a problem accelerating a child, it's something that they were low in from the start that is holding them back. We have to keep an eye on these things
Chris - They are half page sheets that provide info like the words the kids can write, their use of 1:1, etc. We use different colored high lighters to code when the students master certain skills i.e. yellow for OS, pink for roaming.
jill - Chris, that sounds like a great idea. Is it standardized - or something from your region or school?
Chris - Jill- I'm not sure to be honest with you.
jill - That's o.k. I think I could make one up - I just had never heard of it.
Mary/PA - We have a weekly summary sheet for each student. It tracks their lesson and week number, reading level with accuracy and SC, number of WV words
didi/aus - Is that the same as the graphing sheet
didi/aus - That we have for each child and do weekly
dot - Mary, do you share this information with the classroom teachers?
Mary/PA - As much as possible, but there is a serious lack of time for sharing. Also, most of the teachers don't really understand the info, especially if their main concern is how the child doesn't do well on the worksheets and workbook things in their classroom.
jill - Mary - Is this something you guys just came up with? I have never heard of this idea either. Is there a place we could post and share usefull ideas? e.g. actual scanned in forms?
Mary/PA - I can create a spot for us
jill - That would be awesome!!! I do know of one school in PA that posts forms. Is that you?
Mary/PA - jill, yes it is - http://connwww.iu5.org/cvelem/RR/forms_index.html - I need to update it as some of the forms that we are required to use this year have changed. didi, this weekly sheet is in addition to the book level and writing graphs
Katydid/Ca. - Hi everyone. I have been reading along here whilst doing another chore. With regard to sharing with the classroom teacher, I am lucky this year to be pulling from 2 trained RR teachers. It is so nice to be on the same page instantly in a conversation.
sid - so much paper work so little time!
Mary/PA - It's a sheet that summarizes these two plus has attendance info for both the student and the teacher - http://connwww.iu5.org/cvelem/RR/attend_progress_sum.pdf
jill - A couple of years ago I made a "AT A GLANCE" sheet that helped me keep the child's strengths right in front of me. I don't currently use it, but it is available at my website if you'd like to take a look. http://www.inetport.com/~jmgreads/
jill - Sid - Our school has been under a spotlight for the last couple of years because of low test scores. It was the principals decision - supported by the district.
sid - great thanks
jill - I am currently working half day classroom , half day RR. Are you Mary? How do you keep up with the RR paperwork?
Mary/PA - Yes Jill - half kinder, half RR - it's killing me :o)
didi/aus - Jill i did that last year in my training year and found it a heavy load, do you?
jill - It is - Partially because I have never taught first grade before. I am enjoying it - but I really don't want my RR kids to suffer because of it.
didi/aus - What class do your rr kids come out of?
jill - Most times, my RR kids comeout of the classes that have not really implemented any real training in reading and writing. They do alot of colors, numbers and "CENTERS"
jill - I'd like to talk about securing parent cooperation and also about accelleration in early lessons if anyone wants to.
didi/aus - I would like to talk about acceleration as I don't think I am strong in that area
sid - I believe the more you praise a child for their approximations. Praise really serves to build up their self confidence at the same time encouraging them to continue working.
jill - Didi. One thing I did last semester that seemed to help me keep my eye on the end goal was to keep a graph. I noted the starting level of each child in a different color, then tracked them throught the weeks. The most important part of the graph was the black line I drew from Week one to week 16. It went up to level 18. When I was tracking by week, I could see if my teaching was on track - or if we were stagnating somewhere.
didi/aus - Jill was that separate to the graph for each child
jill - No, I used one graph and used a different colored marker or pen for each child. It helped me to see the effectiveness of my lessons and which students were really struggling. Then I could go back and analyze or change my strategies. It also was good to "SEE" progress in such a concrete way.
jill - Didi - Does that make sense?
didi/aus - That's great Jill a good idea to try.
jill - Well. I turned mine in and didn't get them back with red pen marks. I think they're o.k. - but you probably are more knowledgable about your kids than I am about mine.
didi/aus - You would have to have each child on week 1 regardless of their starting date as I have children at different stages
jill - and so do ours...
jill - Didi - you really don't. At the beginning of the year it is relatively easy. If I am in the situation with different kids at different weeks, I go ahead and only chart kids with a similar number of weeks on one graph.
didi/aus - Yes I was referrring to the graphing that Jill was talking about where some children are at week 16 and others week 1
Katydid/Ca. - How long has everyone here been in RR?
Mary/PA - This is my 8th year
Katydid/Ca. - Same for me Mary.
Mary/PA - One would think that I'd get the hang of it soon :o)
jill - I have been in RR for 5 years, Teaching for 9.
didi/aus - I have to go to class when does your summer time finish?
dot - In our school we have 14 classroom tchrs. and 6 RR teachers - and time for close communication is so-o limited, any ideas?
jill - Didi - we are done with summer and have started the fall term.
Mary/PA - didi, ours finished a couple of weeks ago, we are into a new school year now
jill - dot - weekly lunches or brown bags to talk @ students progress. also - weekly email and notes are very helpful and appreciated by my teachers.
didi/aus - Yes but you must still be on summer time as I'm coming it at 11am and before it was noon what date does your daylight saving finish
dot - thanks, jill, you have so many good ideas, esp. for us tchrs in training
jill - It hasn't changed didi - It won't change for another month....
Mary/PA - Oh, I see what you mean, didi. Yes, we are still on that time (standard) We change to daylight savings time at the end of October (or is it the other way around? :-\ )- either way, we change at the end of October - we turn the clocks back an hour.
didi/aus - Thanks Jill This ia a great time as our lunch starts at 11am
didi/aus - See you later everyone
jill - How cool Didi. I am just about to get ready for bed. It will be Nine p.m. here in minutes.
Katydid/CA. - Nite didi
Mary/PA - On one of the mailing lists, someone mentioned an e-mail (something) for RAK. Does anyone know what this is all about?
jill - Where do I go first with a child who only has six letters and could care less about print?
jill - More specific Mary....
Katydid/CA. - Any known words jill?
sid - Jill - Try letter sorting.
jill - Nope.
Katydid/CA. - Not even the name? If not, that's where I'd start.
jill - I have started with the "glitter" cards and he can match the upper/lower A/O/Z.
Mary/PA - Jill, that's all I know. It was just mentioned that the teacher was going to do it, but the parents said no to it. I have no idea what she was talking about
Mary/PA - jill, in RAK?
jill - Just finished RAK. Has a few made books. Can write I, A,a,. Will point if I insist but not 1-1.
jill - Or perhaps accelleration? Make and break?
Mary/PA - Jill, have you taken a sentence from one of his books and written it out in a large size and then cut it apart? Then help him put it together and POINT to each beginning letter?
sid - Hard to accelerate?
Mary/PA - Sometimes text print is just too small for some of these little guys
jill - Mary, I haven't tried that. I forgot about big books too. I'll get him into those. Thanks!
jill - Got to go. thanks for all the help!!!!
Mary/PA - Our TL told us that we should be getting acceleration during RAK - I guess that is the goal throughout the entire program INCLUDING Roaming
Mary/PA - Bye, thanks for coming
Mary/PA - Good night all
