1. Ellen Myers English Language Fellow ellenmye@gmail.com
Applying Reading A-Z
Ellen Myers
English Language Fellow

2. Agenda
(1) What Learning A-Z Provides / Does Not Provide (2) Dimensions of English Reading Instruction & the importance of Differentiated Instruction (3) Example steps of how to implement the trial (4) How to take a Running Record to determine reading proficiency (5) Explore how to assign leveled readers on RAZ-Kids

3. Learning A-Z Doesn’t Provide
A complete program for language instruction.
A bilingual interface
Mandarin messaging
A step-by-step guide how to “correctly” implement this resource in your EFL context.
A step-by-step guide how to evaluate and progress monitor learning.
Time

4. Learning A-Z Provides Lessons/worksheets for each book
Developmentally Appropriate Leveled Resources to help teachers Differentiate Instruction
Teachers : Reading A-Z & Vocabulary A-Z
Students : RAZ Kids
A CHOICE:
Researched based online materials that are constantly updated
Lessons/worksheets for each book
Complete phonics program
High-frequency word books
Poetry resources
Fluency passages
Reader’s theater scripts
Alphabet resource
Assessments

5. Dimensions of Reading Instruction
Building Understanding
Fluency
Rate
prosody
Comprehension
Vocabulary
Bottom-Up
Processing
Top-Down
Processing
Building a Foundation
High Frequency Words
Alphabetic Knowledge
Phonological Awareness
Systematic Phonics

6. “…it is unreasonable to expect that all children in a typical classroom will need the same level of instruction in any one of these skill areas.”
Klein (2000; p.2)

7. Building a Foundation Alphabetic Knowledge Phonological Awareness
Teaching naming, recognition, and formation of 26 uppercase & lowercase symbols
Incorporate writing/printing is powerful for letter recognition
Using letter/key word/picture displays
Phonological Awareness
Address the sounds of a language (NOT symbols that represent them)
Awareness of sound at the word, rhyme, syllable, and phoneme levels
Phoneme Skill
Definition
Isolation
recognizing individual sounds in a word
Identity
recognize the same sound in different/multiple words
Categorization
Identifying with a different beginning/ending sound from a group of 3 or 4 words
Blending
listen to phoneme (individual sound) sequence
Segmentation
physically breaking words into phonemes
Manipulation
adding/deleting phonemes to create new words

8. Building a Foundation High Frequency Words: Phonics:
Words that are not easily sounded out or decoded and cannot be taught with pictures, but mastering a repertoire accelerates fluent and meaningful reading.
EX: I, the, a, which, their, would
Associate these words with other known words through multiple exposures within meaningful context.
Phonics:
Associating/representing phonemes (sounds) with graphemes (letters)
Explicit and systematic phonic instruction is essential to English reading, but it should not be the only form of instruction in a language program.
Phonic instruction should be direct, focused, and brief.

9. Building Understanding
Fluency
Reading rate - appropriate pacing (Automaticity)
Accuracy
Reading expression - intonation (Prosody)
Vocabulary
Overemphasis on word instruction in isolation can actually work against students’ development as skilled readers.
Comprehension
Comprehension is best taught, practiced, and enhanced when children encounter reading materials at their developmental or instructional level.

11. What do EFL Students Need Most from Reading?
Scaffolded Reading Repetition
Allows them to deepen their mental traces (Logan, 1997)
Allows them to establish prosody: identify appropriate phrasing, and determine meaning.
Variety of texts
Seeing words in multiple contexts WITH DEVELOPMENTAL SUPPORT improves recognition
Provide opportunities to expand conceptual knowledge as well as orthographic knowledge
Shifts focus to higher level skills
Matthew Effect (Stanovich, 1986): readers who read widely have more accurate and automatic word recognition and more extensive vocabulary.
Autonomy

12. How do I Implement a Learning A-Z Trial into our School?
Know what students you will use for the trial.
Know the dates, times, & location for the trial.
Know the reading proficiency level of each student.
Have a 1~2 day lesson with students on how to use RAZ Kids. Provide a step-by-step guide in Mandarin.
Assign books on Raz Kids.
Continually Progress Monitor Students

13. 1/2- What Students do I use for the Trial?
1 classroom/license is for 36 students
One Junior High Class
One 5th grade class
Mix 5th and 6th grade
Mixed proficiency levels
Times:
Morning before school
Afternoon Break
After school
Remedial Instruction
During English Class

14. 3- How do I Know the Reading Proficiency of Each Student?
Benchmark Book Running Record – 2 at every level.
Benchmark Passage Running Record – 4 at every level.
Benchmark Book Quick Comprehension Test
Only if student scores an accuracy rate above 90%
Benchmark Passage Quick Comprehension Test
Quick Comprehension Retelling
Other Assessments offered by Reading A-Z
Alphabet Assessments
Phonological Awareness Assessments
Phonics Assessment
Fluency Assessment
High Frequency Word Assessments

15. Taking a Running Record

16. Marking a Running Record
Errors (E) — Errors are tallied during the reading whenever a child does any of the following: Substitutes another word for a word in the text Omits a word Inserts a word Has to be told a word
Self-correction (SC) — Self-correction occurs when a child realizes her or his error and corrects it. When a child makes a self-correction, the previous substitution is not scored as an error.
Meaning (M) — Meaning is part of the cueing system in which the child takes her or his cue to make sense of text by thinking about the story background, information from pictures, or the meaning of a sentence. These cues assist in the reading of a word or phrase.
Structure (S) — -Structure refers to the structure of language and is often referred to as syntax. Implicit knowledge of structure helps the reader know if what she or he reads sounds correct.
Visual (V) — Visual information is related to the look of the letters in a word and the word itself. A reader uses visual information when she or he studies the beginning sound, word length, familiar word chunks, and so forth.

17. Marking a Running Record

18. You will listen 4 different students in a 5th grade class.
Let’s Try
You will listen 4 different students in a 5th grade class.
Take a Running Record
Mark your running record
Total the number of E and S-C
Get with a partner and compare

19. Scoring a Running Record
Error Rate
Error rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula: Total words / Total errors = Error rate Example: 99 / 8 = 12.38, or 12 rounded to nearest whole number The ratio is expressed as 1:12. This means that for each error made, the student read approximately 12 words correctly.
Accuracy Rate
Accuracy rate is expressed as a percentage. You can calculate the accuracy rate using the following formula: (Total words read - Total errors) / Total words read x 100 = Accuracy rate Example: (99 - 8) / 99 x 100 = Accuracy rate 91/99 x 100 = Accuracy rate .919 x 100 = 91.9%, or 92% rounded to the nearest whole number
Independent
Easy enough for independent reading
95% -100%
Instructional
Instructional level for use in leveled reading session
90% - 94%
Frustrational
Too difficult and will frustrate the reader
89% and below

20. Scoring a Running Record
Self-Correction Rate
Self-correction rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula:
(Number of errors + Number of self corrections) / Number of self corrections = Self-correction rate Example: (8 + 3) / 3 = Self-correction rate 11 / 3 = 3.666, or 4 rounded to the nearest whole number
The self-correction rate is expressed as 1:4. This means that the student corrects approximately 1 out of every 4 errors. If a student is self-correcting at a rate of 1:4 or less, this indicates that she/he is self-monitoring her/his reading.

21. How do I Give Running Records to Each Student?
Online with RAZ Kids
Individually pull students aside
With the help of others (whole English department staff, principal, English ability parents)

22. 4/5: How do I Use and Teach Students how to use RAZ Kids?
Let’s Practice

23. If at anytime you are having problems…
– Ellen Myers – Frede Chen

24. Resources Klein, A. (2000). White paper: providing
differentiated reading instruction to meet the individual needs of students. Retrieved December 12, from
Logan, G.D. (1997). Automaticity and reading:
Perspectives from the instance theory of automatization. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 13(2),
Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading:
Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4),