TRC SOS! Cautions, Concerns and Clarifications ANN HARRINGTON (TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT NCSU)

This session discussed why we should not use students’ written responses to TRC questions to inform placements in guided reading groups. Support – Use books and writing framework from Kindergarten on up Optimize – Lots of different kinds of reading/everyday Scaffold – Start with teacher think alouds and sharing the pen, then move to modeling open ended responses  She is against holding students back as readers because of their written answers to comprehension questions. In particular, students who are English Language Learners due to the fact that oral language development is the prerequisite skill for responding to strong writing skills.  “It’s another way we are frustrating children (just like giving them text that is too hard).”

Consider these points…  Concerns over holding them back if they answer one question very well, but not the other.  Instead of looking at what they can do; we’re looking at what they can’t do.  Amplify said they designed the assessment to be taking the highest score, not the lowest one.  We are teaching to the deficit, which is the written response to questions.  Group your own kids, don’t let Amplify do it so that the intervention is on track.  You can’t teach down…you must teach up to grow your readers!  Cautions: Lower groups require that you slow down your instruction; pacing is slower and you need to “make it more” (for example: fewer words, slower pace than proficient kids). Their vocabulary may not be as rich.

Important Reminder for all of us… WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FOCUS ON READING REMEDIATION It’s reactive. It’s not looking at what is missing? Far too often, low students are given less complex texts rather than support to read appropriate level texts. We must expose them to complex texts. IF WE FOCUS ON ACCELERATION, THEN It’s proactive. We are frontloading the instruction so that students can move forward. Focus on reading stamina for all levels. Work on writing stamina as well. We know they could respond verbally but the writing is much harder for them. The problem is not in comprehension or understanding but in how to put their thoughts in words. The writing is cognitively demanding.