Welcome....

What follows here is an account of what I am reading, which books I love, some information on reading, etc. I hope you will feel free to comment back on things I've written about--for this is a sharing experience!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Diagnosis: Reading

Lipson's article in The Reading Teacher, "Diagnosis: The Missing Ingredient in RTI Assessment" is a common sense approach in the intervention process.  The big surprise here is that it had to be said--diagnosis should have been a part of RTI from the very beginning.  One question follows: How else are you going to determine what to do if you don't know what's wrong?

*Statements with which I totally agree ...
"All students deserve high-quality first instruction."

*Statements I know are true but I find to be unconscionable....
"...the school adopts a one-size-fits-all intervention...."
(But of course I know we all do this--it is just so unscrupulous!)

*Statements for which I am not sure if I agree...
"...instruction focused on the wrong thing not only does not help students, but it may actually be harmful." --Aside from the correlative conjunction error--of course it helps teachers if we know what's wrong in order to "fix" deficiencies.

Question: Why have too many students been identified as sped? Because interventions were not put in place to raise students' ability or...what? 

But the article ends with such a positive note.  Here is a recap of what the article says we should do...

Use the QRI-5 (or other assessment) to identify word recognition accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Determine if accuracy is affected by phonics decoding, sight word recognition, or both

Examine differences between/among results in comprehension, fluency, and word identification.

Use the student profile form to look at multiple measures to identify areas of concern

Determine if additional assessment is needed (i.e. miscues might warrant a modified miscue analysis or strong comprehension usually indicates that vocabulary is fine)

Determine instruction needed

In conclusion I would like to learn more about classroom interventions and good instruction.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

What I've been reading....

Okay, so this isn't for class.  I just wanted to share what I've been reading so far this year.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  Long but great.  I've love to talk to someone about it.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  My fav.
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.  Good book.
The Lady of the Rivers by Phillipa Gregory.  Great Tutor tale.
The Art Thief by Noah Charney.  If you love art, this is a great story with mystery, suspense, and a twist!

Currently...
Almost finished with V is for Vengence by Sue Grafton.  I love her!
Just started Double Cross by James Patterson.
Re-reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (for the upteenth time--but I'm having my students read it so I do also.)

I know, a lot of fluff.  I'll get into the more serious books later this month.

Welcome to 2012!

So this is the year that I plan to get my weight, health, and finances all under control.  I figure by the end of the year, things will be "sweet," as my students might say.

Of course, the Mayan calendar is another concern, but what's the use of living life without some sense of goals?  I admit, it's the GREEN in me--I  am a list-maker. 

My next posting will be for class, but I thought I should get back into the swing of things!