An Introduction to the Reading Counts Program

Title of Unit Reading is Fun! Grade Kindergarten Level

Reading and Comprehension

Stage 1 Identify Desired Results

List the understandings of your unit: Students will be able to listen to or read a red dot book and take a Reading Counts quiz. Students will successfully pass the quiz. Students will earn points from passed quizzes and can then get prizes! Standards covered include: ELAKR1 The student demonstrates knowledge of concepts of print. The student a. Recognizes that print and pictures (signs and labels, newspapers, and informational books) can inform, entertain, and persuade. b. Demonstrates that print has meaning and represents spoken language in written form. c. Tracks text read from left to right and top to bottom. d. Distinguishes among written letters, words, and sentences. e. Recognizes that sentences in print are made up of separate words. f. Begins to understand that punctuation and capitalization are used in all written sentences.
ELAKR2 The student demonstrates the ability to identify and orally manipulate words and individual sounds within those spoken words. The student a. Identifies and produces rhyming words in response to an oral prompt and distinguishes rhyming and non-rhyming words. b. Identifies component sounds (phonemes and combinations of phonemes) in spoken words. c. Blends and segments syllables in spoken words. d. Segments the phonemes in high frequency words. e. Blends spoken phonemes to make high frequency words. ELAKR3 The student demonstrates the relationship between letters and letter combinations of written words and the sounds of spoken words. The student a. Demonstrates an understanding that there are systematic and predictable relationships between print and spoken sounds. b. Recognizes and names all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet. c. Matches all consonant and short-vowel sounds to appropriate letters. d. Blends individual sounds to read one-syllable decodable words. e. Applies learned phonics skills when reading words and sentences in stories. ELAKR4 The student demonstrates the ability to read orally with speed, accuracy, and expression. The student

a. Reads previously taught high frequency words at the rate of 30 words correct per minute. b. Reads previously taught grade-level text with appropriate expression. ELAKR5 The student acquires and uses grade-level words to communicate effectively. The student a. Listens to a variety of texts and uses new vocabulary in oral language. b. Discusses the meaning of words and understands that some words have multiple meanings. ELAKR6 The student gains meaning from orally presented text. The student a. Listens to and reads a variety of literary (e.g., short stories, poems) and informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure. b. Makes predictions from pictures and titles. c. Asks and answers questions about essential narrative elements (e.g., beginning-middle-end, setting, characters, problems, events, resolution) of a read-aloud text. d. Begins to distinguish fact from fiction in a read-aloud text. e. Retells familiar events and stories to include beginning, middle, and end. f. Uses prior knowledge, graphic features (illustrations), and graphic organizers to understand text. g. Connects life experiences to read-aloud text. h. Retells important facts in the students own words.

Essential Questions
Overarching Questions: What is Reading Counts? How can reading be fun? Topical Questions: How do I take a quiz on the Reading Counts program? How can I increase my reading comprehension? How can I become a more fluent reader?

Stage 2 - Evidence Performance Task(s)

The media specialist will show the students the cart with red dot books and explain what a red dot book is to the kindergarten students in Mrs. Bunchs class. A red dot book will then be read to the students. Students will then be shown how to find the Reading Counts icon on the computer desktop and how to log into the program. Students will then take a quiz as a class with the help of the media specialist. Students will then check out a red dot book of their own to take back to class. After reading the book or having an adult read the book with them, students will then take a Reading Counts quiz in their classroom and the classroom teacher will monitor their individual progress.

Performance Task(s) Rubric(s)

Students will take a Reading Counts quiz on the computer. The students must answer 70% of the questions correctly in order to pass the quiz. Quizzes have 10 questions and are graded instantly once a student takes the quiz on the computer. The program indicates to the student whether or not they successfully pass the quiz. It also lets the students know which questions they did not answer correctly. If a student fails the quiz, they must re-read the book and wait for 24 hours to retake the quiz. They are allowed to retake a quiz 3 times.

Other Evidence
(e.g. tests, quizzes, work samples, observations)
Classroom teacher can monitor how many quizzes the students are taking and actually print out individual reports.

Student Self-Assessment and Reflection

Students have a reading log and must read each night and have a parent sign their reading log.