KBKilpatrick

Chapter 7:  Independent Reading, Confering, Responding, and Sharing

Our children need to practice everything that they have been taught.  Time to read is the best and only way to accomplish this.  Not only should they read, they should have discussions about what they have read.  In the reading workshops, the students, often gather together and have conversations about the books they are reading.  Not only is this time important to the students, it is also very beneficial to you as an educator.  It is time for you to talk to the children and discuss with them one on one about their reading.  It is opportunity for you to assess their reading needs.  Students can also respond in writing and share their experiences in reading.

Chapter 8:  Effective Assessment in the Reading Workshop

Assessment takes place while children are in the act of real reading.  An educator must use his or her eyes and ears at all times to gather information for assessment.  In many different situations, we should pick up on things like comprehension, engagement, level of accuracy, fluency, and a childs motivation.  A childs responses in a journal can give an idea of that students thinking processes and how well they can come up with responses.  These assessments should take place on a daily basis to examine and evaluate each students progress.  From these assessments a teacher can make decisions about instruction for a particular child.  Next step?  Start the whole thing over again.