A Readers Journey of Discovering

a Love for Reading

Annie Hollett
The University of Georgia
Master of Education in Reading Education: New and Digital Literacies
Spring 2017
Table of Contents
About Lynleigh Slide 3

Assessments Administered Slide 4

Assessments, Results, and Interpretations Slides 5-41

Tutoring Goals Slides 42 and 43

Areas of Focus: What Did We Do Each Session? Slide 44

Word Recognition- Sight Words Slides 45-48

Decoding and Encoding CVC Words Slides 49-51

Vocabulary Instruction Slides 52-54

Comprehension and Retelling Strategies Slides 55-58

Conclusion Slide 59

Recommendations Slide 60

Thank you Slide 61

References Slide 62
2
About Lynleigh
Lynleigh is a Kindergarten student at a small private school in
Atlanta, Georgia. Lynleigh turns six in June, making her one of the
youngest students in her class. She is the oldest of three children in
her family. Her sister is two years old and her little brother was just
born.

Lynleigh and I have been working together once a week this semester
to help Lynleigh learn reading strategies and skills to advance her
reading abilities. We have also worked on boosting Lynleighs
confidence and help her discover a love for reading.

Lynleigh was recommended for tutoring prior to this semester. In

addition to tutoring with me, Lynleigh is being tutored by another
faculty member at the school. With the extra support, Lynleigh has
progressed immensely since the beginning of the year.

Working with Lynleigh has been such a fun experience. I have seen
her grow so much in her reading ability, and her confidence has taken
off. I am beyond proud of her!
3
Assessments Administered
Interest Inventory (slides 5-8)
Qualitative Reading Inventory 5 (QRI-5) (slides 9-23)
Running Records (slides 24-26)
Fry List (slides 27 and 28)
Informal Phonics Inventory (slide 29)
Informal Decoding Inventory (slide 30)
Primary Spelling Inventory (slides 31 and 32)
Cloze Assessment (slides 33 and 34)
Fluency Assessments (Slide 35- 37)
Multidimensional Fluency Scale (Slide 36)
5-Point Fluency Scale (Slide 37)
Checklist for Evaluating Retelling (Slides 38-40)
Early Reading Checklist (Slide 41)

4
Interest Inventory
An interest inventory is used to help teachers discover a students
likes and dislikes. For the interest inventory that I completed with
Lynleigh, I combined a reading attitude survey and an incomplete
sentence interest inventory. The interest inventory that I created and
the one in which I administered is called the , Incomplete Sentence
Interest Inventory (Kindergarten). The purpose of this inventory was
to discover Lynleighs interests, self-perception, feelings toward
reading, and other areas that a Kindergartener would be interested.

The very first session, Lynleigh and I engaged in a conversation to

help her feel more comfortable during our tutoring sessions.
Throughout this conversation, I would ask her to complete a
sentence. Once she completed the sentence, I filled it in on the
Incomplete Sentence Interest Inventory. The following slide shows
the completed interest inventory.

5
6
Interpretation of the Interest Inventory

From the results of the Interest Inventory that I completed on my first

day of tutoring with Lynleigh, I noticed that she is a very positive
student. She is an extremely cheery student and excited about
reading. However, she seems to not have many strategies to help her
readand needs extra instruction to help boost her confidence.
Through the conversation that I had with Lynleigh, her parents read
to her a couple books a night, but she does not like reading to them,
because she is scared she will get something wrong.

This interest inventory has helped me see that Lynleigh responds

very well to incentives and encouragement.I believed that if I
continued to reciprocateLynleigh's positive attitude and
encourage/praise her work and effort, she would respond very well to
the material that I present to her.I decided to use a Tutoring Goals
sticker chart. Together, Lynleigh and I came up with five goals to work
on. When Lynleigh gets eight stickers next to each goal, we can call
that goal completed. On the following slide, I have attached the
Tutoring Goals document.
7
Tutoring Goal Sheet Template

8
Qualitative Reading Inventory- 5
(QRI-5)
The Qualitative Reading Inventory or the QRI-5 is a reliable
assessment instrument used to assess a students reading ability. The
QRI-5 is used for students at the Pre-Primer 1 reading level all the
way to high school reading levels.

The QRI-5 is used to provide teachers with

A students independent level, instructional level, and frustration
level
Determine areas in which a student needs more instruction
Determine future instruction and appropriate materials for a
student
Document growth based on intervention or instructional program
(Leslie and Caldwell, 2011, p. 22)

9
Qualitative Reading Inventory- 5
(QRI-5)
Reading Levels Descriptions:

Independent level- student can read and comprehend a passage

without assistance

Instructional level- student can read and comprehend a passage

but with help from the teacher

Frustration level- student is unable to read or comprehend a

passage

10
Qualitative Reading Inventory- 5
(QRI-5)
As an emergent reader, Lynleigh was tested on the very first level of
QRI-5 materials, Pre-Primer, for both the initial testing and final
testing.

Tested QRI-5 Components:

Word Lists
Pre-Primer 1
Pre-Primer 2/3
Reading by Analogy
Pre-Primer 1
Narrative Passages
Pre-Primer 1- I Can
Pre-Primer 1- I See
Pre-Primer 2- Just Like Mom
Comprehension Questions
Pre-Primer 1- I Can
Pre-Primer 1- I See
Pre-Primer 2- Just Like Mom

11
QRI-5 Word Lists
The QRI-5 word lists contain words that have been selected from the
QRI-5 passages at the same level. For example, the Pre-Primer 1 word
list contains 17 words from the Pre-Primer 1 passages. At the
beginning QRI-5 levels, the word lists contains mostly all high
frequency words.

The word lists are designed to assess accuracy of word identification,

to assess speed and automaticity of word identification, and to
determine a starting point for reading passages.

Below is a chart that reflects the leveling system for Pre-Primer 1 word
lists:
Independent Instructional Frustration
15-17 words 12-14 words Below 12 words
identified identified identified
correctly correctly correctly

90-100% 70- 85% Below 70%

accuracy accuracy accuracy

12
Initial QRI-5 Word Lists Results
For the initial testing of the
Pre-Primer 1 word list,
Lynleigh scored on the line of
instructional and
independent.

Total correct: 14 out of 17

83%- Instructional
(one away from
independent)

For the Pre-Primer 2/3 word

list, Lynleigh scored well into
her frustration level by the
thirteenth word, so we
stopped the assessment.

Total correct: 3 out of 13

23% Frustration
13
Initial QRI-5 Passage Selections
From the results of the initial QRI-5 word list testing, I determined that
Lynleighs readability level was independent/ instructional for Pre-
Primer 1 passages.

Next, I needed to test Lynleighs fluency and comprehension for a

narrative passage. Expository passages are supposed to be tested as
well, but there is not an expository passage at the Pre-Primer 1 level,
so I deemed Lynleighs instructional level of expository passages as
Pre-Primer 1.

To start the passage testing, I used the first two Pre-Primer 1 narrative
passages. The passages in the QRI-5 book increase by difficulty level
as you continue through levels. Meaning, the first Pre-Primer 1 passage
is slightly easier than second Pre-Primer 1 passage.

Below are the passages that Lynleigh was tested on:

Pre-Primer 1 Narrative: I Can
Pre-Primer 1 Narrative: I see
Pre-Primer 2 Narrative: Just Like Mom
Testing word identification ability in context versus isolation
14
Initial QRI-5 Passages Results
Pre-Primer 1 Narrative: I Can-

Reading: Comprehension:
Total Accuracy: 97% (1 miscue) Comprehension Accuracy:
100%
Level: Independent Level: Independent

15
Initial QRI-5 Passages Results
Pre-Primer 1 Narrative: I See-

Reading: Comprehension:
Total Accuracy: 91% (3 miscues) Comprehension Accuracy:
100%
Level: Instructional Level: Independent

16
Initial QRI-5 Passages Results
Pre-Primer 2 Narrative: Just Like Mom-

Reading: Comprehension:
Total Accuracy: 86% (6 miscues) Comprehension Accuracy:
80%
Level: Frustration Level: Instructional

17
Running Records
A running record assesses a readers fluency and reading
comprehension. At St. Martins Episcopal School, the school Lynleigh
attends and the school in which I currently teach, Lynleigh is a level B,
according to the Reading A-Z programs leveling system.

During the semester, Lynleigh moved from a level B to a level C, which

is where Kindergarten teachers would like their students to be at the
end of the year.

The program, Reading A-Z, provides students with leveled books that
are just right for a student, once they have been initially assessed.

Throughout the course of the semester, I frequently assessed

Lynleighs reading fluency and comprehension by administering
Running Records. I did this to make sure I was still providing Lynleigh
with materials within her instructional and independent level.

In the following slides, I have included an example of one of the

running records that I completed with Lynleigh.

24
Running Records

25
Running Records

26
Fry Word List
The Fry Word List contains words that readers encounter all the time-
these are high frequency words or sight words. These sight words are
words that a reader should recognize automatically in order to build
their fluency.

In Kindergarten at St. Martins Episcopal School, there are 70 sight

words- 22 of which are color words and number words.

Out of the first 100 words from the Fry Word List, St. Martins
Kindergarten students should be able to recognize 58 of the words.

When I first tested Lynleigh in mid- February, she scored 47 out of 100
of the words.

27
Fry Word List
Initial testing: Mid-February
47/100 correct: 47%

28
Informal Phonics Inventory
The Informal Phonics Inventory is an informal assessment that can be
used to evaluate a students phonics skills (letter and sound recognition).

I used the Informal Phonics Inventory with Lynleigh to assess her

knowledge of the letters and the sounds that each letter makes.
Lynleighs results showed that she knows the consonant sounds and
vowel sounds. Lynleigh also knows almost all of the diagraphs. Lynleigh
scored 100% on the consonant sounds, 100% on the vowel sounds and
80% on diagraphs.

29
Informal Decoding Inventory
The Informal Decoding Inventory is an informal assessment that assesses
a students skills to decode both single syllable and multisyllabic words.
Within the test, there are portions that test real CVC words and nonsense
CVC words.

I used the portion of the Informal Decoding Inventory with Lynleigh that
assesses single syllable CVC words because Lynleigh is an early reader.
Lynleighs results showed that she knows how to decode short vowel both
real and nonsense CVC words. Lynleigh scored a 90% on the portion
assessed.

30
Primary Spelling Inventory
The Primary Spelling Inventory is an informal assessment that assesses a
students spelling knowledge. The Primary Spelling Inventory is used for
grades Kindergarten through third grade.

In the assessment, there are 26 total words that a student is asked to

spell. Kindergarteners and emergent readers are asked to spell the first
five to eight words. In late Kindergarten and early first grade, teachers are
to assess the first 15 words on the list. I assessed Lynleigh on the first 15
words on the Primary Spelling Inventory List (pictures below).

9. stick
10. shine
11. dream Guide to
12. blade
13. coach misspellings
14. fright
15. chewed
31
Primary Spelling Inventory
Below is the Primary Spelling Inventory Feature Guide. The Feature Guide
is used to calculate a students spelling ability level and determine future
areas of instruction. From the results below, Lynleigh is in the Middle to
Late Letter Name- Alphabetic spelling stage. She was able to generate the
correct letter for the beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Lynleigh has
knowledge of diagraphs (ch, th, sh), and some knowledge of blends (sl, bl,
fr).

32
Cloze Assessment
A cloze assessment is generated using a passage written at a
students reading level. Within the passage, words are omitted and
the student uses clues within the context or in this case, pictures, to
help fill in the blanks correctly. The purpose of a cloze assessment is
to see how a student uses their context clues to fill in the blanks. A
cloze assessment is used to assess comprehension and ability to
make meaning from a passage.

For this cloze assessment, I decided to create one using Lynleighs

interests. The cloze assessment is titled, At School. The completed
cloze discusses all of the things that Lynleigh likes to do at school-
that she has expressed to me throughout the tutoring sessions. Within
the cloze, there are picture clues to help Lynleigh fill in the blanks
correctly. There is also a word bank to help her spell the words
correctly.

Once the cloze was completed correctly and reread, Lynleigh was able
to tell that the cloze was about her. She thought this was so cool!

On the follow slide, I have incorporated pictures from the completed

cloze assessment.
33
Cloze Assessment

p.1
p.2
34
Fluency Assessments
Fluency is the ability to read in a way that sounds and flows like
spoken language. When a reader reads fluently, they are able to
comprehend text more easily.

Word recognition and automaticity are important in order to increase

fluency and comprehension.

Fluency can be assessed using fluency scales such as the

Multidimensional Fluency Scale and the 5-Point Fluency Scales. When
assessing a readers fluency using these scales, an examiner asks the
reader to read a passage and take notes on the readers oral reading.

The criteria an examiner is looking for is:

1. Reading word-by-word or in phrases
2. Choppy or smooth reading
3. Expression and tone of voice
4. Rate of student reading

The following slides show the two fluency scales used for both fiction
and nonfiction books on Lynleighs readability level.

35
Multidimensional Fluency Scale
The Multidimensional Fluency Scale is used to rate a readers fluency
level. A reader is tested on their phrasing ability, their reading
smoothness, and their pace of reading.

For a fiction book: For a nonfiction book:

36
5-Point Fluency Scale
The 5-Point Fluency Scale is also used to rate a readers fluency level.
A reader is tested on phrasing, smoothness, expression, punctuation,
and rate. Below is the completed 5-Point Fluency Scale that I used
with Lynleigh for both fiction and nonfiction passages. For both
passages, Lynleigh was able to read mostly in phrases, in a rate
generally smooth and conversational. She used appropriate
expression and recognized punctuation throughout both pieces.

37
Checklist for Evaluating Retelling
A Checklist for Evaluating Retelling is an assessment a teacher can
use to assess how a reader comprehends a piece of text. The student
is required to read, remember, and retell a passage they have read. In
the Checklist for Evaluating Retelling, a reader is required to retell the
story without any assistance prior to receiving prompts from an
evaluator.
Lynleigh did a wonderful job
inferencing and retelling all
of the elements of the fiction
story, I Love Art Class.
However, she had a difficult
time retelling the story in
the correct sequence.

When provided with

prompts, Lynleigh was able
to respond with the correct
answers. To the right, I have
included the completed
Checklist for Evaluating
Retelling used.
38
Checklist for Evaluating Retelling

For a nonfiction book,

Applesauce, Lynleigh was
able to retell most of the
books elements without
assistance. She missed a
few key parts of the book
and was unable to put the
parts in order.

When provided with

prompts, Lynleigh was able
to respond with the correct
answers after a short pause.
To the right, I have included
the completed Checklist for
Evaluating Retelling.

39
Checklist for Evaluating Retelling
Interpretation
Overall, Lynleigh had a much easier time retelling story elements
in a fiction book than she did in a nonfiction book. I think this is
because she is more familiar with fiction book concepts and text
structure than the nonfiction book she was presented with.

40
Checklist For Early Reading
A Checklist for Early Reading is a form of assessment that can be
completed by simply observing and having a conversation with the
student. Below is the completed Checklist for Early Reading that I
completed on Lynleigh.

41
Tutoring Goals
Based on the results of the assessments administered, I generated
tutoring goals that reflected Lynleighs interests, strengths, and
areas of reading that needed to be focused on during our time
together.

The goals that I generated were:

Provide Lynleigh with strategies to use when decoding and
encoding words
Expose Lynleigh to materials that support her interests and are
suitable for her to use both independently and with some
assistance
Model and teach Lynleigh strategies to help comprehend texts
more easily
Recognize sight words and CVC words with ease to help with
fluency
Provide Lynleigh with encouragement and praise to help boost her
reading confidence.

42
Tutoring Goals
To help Lynleigh see that she is capable of being a great reader, we
created tutoring goals that we would try to meet each tutoring
session. As stated on a previous slide, I put the goals together in the
form of a sticker page. Once Lynleigh met one of the goals, she would
put a sticker next to the goal. When each goal had 8 stickers, she was
able to say that the goal was completed. Below is the completed
tutoring goal sticker count.

43
Areas of Focus: What did we do each
session?
When collecting the data and sifting through the results of the Qualitative
Reading Inventory-5 that I conducted the first two sessions, I noticed that
there were three main areas that Lynleigh needed to improve in:
decoding/ encoding strategies, word recognition, and vocabulary
instruction. One area where Lynleigh excelled was in her ability to
comprehend and retell the assessment passages. However, I believe that
it is important for me to provide her with more comprehension and
retelling strategies in order for her to be a great reader.

The four areas of focus for our tutoring sessions were:

1. Word recognition- Sight words

2. Decoding and encoding CVC words
3. Vocabulary Instruction
4. Comprehension and retelling strategies

My hope was that by focusing on all four of the areas above, I would
slowly prove to Lynleigh that she is fully capable of reading and she is
great at reading!
44
Word Recognition- Sight Words
One area that Lynleigh needed to improve on was her ability to
recognize sight words. I thought that it would be beneficial to
Lynleighs fluency, comprehension, and confidence to work on sight
words every session. When Lynleigh recognizes these words
immediately, she will be able to focus all of her attention on
comprehending the text.

One strategy that proved to be very helpful throughout the sessions:

Repetition- Repeatedly going over sight words multiple times
during multiple sessions was very beneficial to Lynleigh. Using
different methods and mediums for Lynleigh to engage with when
practicing the sight words helped her improve her automaticity.
1. Multisensory games and activities
2. Spelling activities

The following slides shows some multisensory games and activities

we used to help Lynleigh improve her sight word recognition ability.

45
Word Recognition- Sight Words

Zap!
One person grabs a popsicle stick from the stack and reads the word.
If they read it correctly they keep it, if they read it incorrectly, they
place it back in the can. This play continues until someone pulls a
stick that says Zap!- then all of that persons sticks go back into
the can. When no more sticks are in the can, the person with the
46
most sticks wins.
Word Recognition- Sight Words

SMARTBoard Rainbow Writing

For this activity, Lynleigh would use the SMARTBoard to rainbow write
sight words. Lynleigh would be required to spell the word on the
board. Then she would spell the word out loud and underline and say
the word three times in a row. For example: l-i-k-e, like, l-i-k-e, like, l-
i-k-e, like
47
Word Recognition- Sight Words

Zingo!
This was Lynleighs favorite game. It is essentially a two player BINGO
but with a twist. When a button is pressed, the dispenser shoots out a
sight word. The player who pushed the button is then required to read
the word. Both players then check their boards to see if they can
cover up a spot. The player with the board covered first wins.
48
Decoding and Encoding CVC Words
Another area that Lynleigh needed to improve in was her ability to
decode and encode CVC words. Decoding CVC words with ease will
allow Lynleigh to read through passages without having to constantly
sound out words.

Each session, there was some activity that Lynleigh engaged in where
she used strategies to decode and encode CVC words.

Below are two of activities that I used with Lynleigh to help her
practice strategies to decode and encode words with ease
1. Mystery word
2. Roll-a-word

Providing Lynleigh with strategies and activities to practice CVC words

helped Lynleighs confidence level go up. By the end of the tutoring
sessions, she was able to read CVC words with ease and not have to
use her fingers to tap out the words.

49
Decoding and Encoding CVC Words

? ?
Mystery
? Word ?
Mystery Word
The Mystery Word game can be played on the SMARTBoard, white
board, or light board. The game is a phoneme segmentation and
manipulation game. I would say a word, and Lynleigh would have to
write the word. Then I would tell her to change one sound at a time to
make a new word. For instance, change pet to pen. Lynleigh
would be required to separate the sounds and determine which sound
needed to change in word to make the new word. 50
Decoding and Encoding CVC Words

Roll-a-Word
The Roll-a-Word game is a game played with big dice. Each dice is a
different color. There is one beginning sound dice, one middle sound
dice, and one ending sound dice. Lynleigh would roll each dice
separately and put them in order to spell a real or nonsense word. She
would then need to say the word and determine if it was real or
nonsense. When Lynleigh started to get the hang of word families,
there would be two dice, one beginning sound dice and one word 51
Vocabulary Instruction
The third area that I focused on with Lynleigh was vocabulary
instruction. Vocabulary knowledge is essential in order to comprehend
passages. Providing Lynleigh with instruction on vocabulary helped
her be able to recognize the words more easily and read with
meaning.

Two activities that I used to teach vocabulary were:

1. Graphic organizer for vocabulary
2. Vocabulary quilt

Both of the activities that I used to teach vocabulary could also be

called, Pictionaries. Lynleigh loves to draw and color, so I thought it
would be fitting to allow her to do both to illustrate the meaning of
the new words that she learned.

52
Vocabulary Instruction

Graphic Organizer for Vocabulary

This graphic organizer helped Lynleigh organize the words that she
learned in the story, I Love the Earth. In the book, there were a few
words that Lynleigh did not know. She was able to pick two of them
and use them for the graphic organizer. She was required to write the
words, provide some describing words, and draw a picture.
53
Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary Quilt
A vocabulary quilt is essentially the same thing as a, pictionary. I
created this vocabulary quilt to go along with the book, Baby
Animals. This book taught Lynleigh the names of a handful of baby
animals. She thought it was so cool. I even heard her explaining it to
her friends the day after and she remembered the names of the
54
Comprehension
All of the goals and areas of focus stated prior to this slide are vital
components in order for comprehension to happen. One of the areas
that Lynleigh did well on in the QRI-5 assessment was comprehension
and retelling of passages. However, I feel that these skills are
important to practice and to continue to learn in order for Lynleigh be
a great reader.

There were three strategies that I used to help Lynleigh practice her
retelling skills and show her comprehension.
1. Acting it out
2. Journal Writing
3. Roll and Retell

Lynleigh is a very artistic and active student. Acting out the stories to
retell them was something that I immediately thought about. Using
fun activities to get Lynleigh talking about the story that she just read
will result in Lynleigh seeing the true purpose of reading!

55
Comprehension and Retelling

Acting It Out
Acting it was out so fun for Lynleigh. We did this for two different
stories, The Three Little Pigs and Applesauce. For The Three Little
Pigs, Lynleigh used stick puppets to retell the story. For the nonfiction
story, Applesauce Lynleigh was required to write a recipe (the steps
stated in the book) and use the recipe to make fake applesauce!
56
Comprehension and Retelling

Journal Writing
Writing and illustrating on journal paper was something that Lynleigh
enjoyed doing to show her comprehension of a piece of text. Raz-Kids,
a leveled reading program, has an abundance of books for each
reading level. For each book, there is a comprehension quiz and an
extension activity. For the book, Beach Fun, Lynleigh was asked to
show her comprehension by writing about what she likes to do at the
beach and draw a picture. 57
Comprehension and Retelling

Roll and Retell

Roll and Retell is a great game to use after reading a book. The reader
rolls a dice and what ever number the dice lands on, they have to
answer that question on the sheet. This game helps readers recall
story elements such as main characters and the setting of the story.
The game also requires the reader to ask their own questions about 58
Conclusion
I believe that all of the tutoring sessions were very successful. I am
very pleased about the improvement that Lynleigh made since the
beginning of the semester. She has shown so much growth in her
reading ability. She now has much more confidence than she did when
I first started with her!

Lynleighs sight word recognition ability has improve immensely since

the beginning of the semester, and her ability to decode CVC words
with ease is continuing to improve with each day passing. Lynleighs
comprehension and retelling ability has strengthened since the
beginning of the semester as well. She is now able to make inferences
and put the passage events in the correct sequence when retelling.

Overall, I believe that Lynleigh is growing to love reading. She is more

confident in her self and her reading performance. Towards the end of
the tutoring sessions, she was excited to show me how she can read
her library book or a book from home.

On the following slide, I have included a few recommendations to help

Lynleigh keep up her confidence and continue to progress in reading.

59
Recommendations
Below are a few future recommendations for Lynleigh:
Continue to practice sight words daily
Practice, practice, practice- repetition is beneficial to Lynleigh!
Read for at least 20 minutes every day
It is important to Lynleigh to read every day to build her fluency

It is also great for Lynleigh to hear an adult read to her. Hearing

an adults tone of voice and expression while reading is
beneficial to a childs reading and language development.
Point out words that Lynleigh might not be familiar with in texts and
talk about their meaning
The more Lynleigh knows about a word, the more likely she is
going to remember it.
Talk about the book after reading it
This not only builds communication skills and retelling skills,
but it also can assesse comprehension of text.
One-on-one biweekly support
I think that continuing to work with someone biweekly will help
Lynleigh keep her confidence. I also think that it would be
beneficial for her to practice what she is learning with someone
else at school and then again when she gets home.
60