Informal Reading Inventories (IRI) & Miscue Analysis

Using the the Fact, Question, Response (Havey & Goudvis, 2007) format after reading from Understanding, Assessing, and Teaching Reading: A Diagnostic Approach on Informal Reading Inventories and the Miscue Analysis:

Facts:

“An informal reading inventory is used to determine three reading levels and a listening capacity level” (Opitz, 59).

“It is done individually and usually consists of oral and silent reading passages from basal readers from PreK to eighth grade levels” (Opitz, 59).

“The questioning that is included in each passage are factual, inferential, and word meaning” (Opitz, 59).

“The purpose of an IRI is “to help the teacher determine the child’s functional reading levels: independent, instructional, and frustrational” (Opitz, 59). 

“It’s also to figure out a student’s strengths and needs as a reader so that the teacher can determine their instruction” (Opitz, 60).

“Another important quality of the IRI is to give the student feedback on how they did and where they need to improve” (Opitz, 60).

“The buffer zone of the IRI is the area that falls between the instructional and frustration levels. When a child’s score falls in the buffer zone, the teacher must decide whether to continue testing” (Opitz, 62).

Questions:

I've never done a miscue analysis, so my question would be how to implement it into my reading instruction, how to create an analysis grid, and plan my instruction accordingly. I guess I won't feel completely comfortable until I try it. I would want to make sure that I am analyzing the data correctly and assisting my students in the best way possible. 

Responses:

I really enjoyed reading about the miscue analysis and liked how Kenneth Goodman decided to use the term miscue instead of error “because he felt that nothing a reader does in reading is accidental and that the term error implied randomness” (Opitz, 65).  When we think of the word error, we automatically think that someone did something wrong. That’s not what reading is about.  We can gain so much from identifying a student’s miscues and acknowledge a meaning-making process. We are figuring out a student's thinking process and why they made the miscues they did. I never really thought to use the miscue analysis as an assessment tool, but now after reading this article I definitely will!

Positive Attitudes Towards Reading

The video that we watched was very personable to me. When I was a student in high school, I was just like all of those students who held up their signs saying they truly only read 1-3 required books for their class. I used Sparknotes, listened to class discussions, or quickly asked my friends what the book was about before entering the classroom. From watching the video, it was amazing to see the change in amount of books the students read by just letting them choose. Reflecting back on my own personal experience and being a teacher now, I couldn’t agree more to let a child pick which book they want to read. I would so rather have a child choose the book, then force them to read. This will only cause them to not want to read and push them away from being able to love reading. As soon as I was given the choice of what topics interest me and which books I would like to read, I couldn’t stop putting a book down. I absolutely love the quote at the end of the video from Nancie Atwell, “The job of adults who care about reading is to move heaven and earth to put that book into a child’s hand.” Our job as teachers, who love and care about reading, should be willing to do anything to help our students want to learn. All the research I have done on motivation for reading is giving a child time and choice. If we give them these two components, then we can create many more avid readers! 

Reading Assessment

The diagnostic approach was very informative for me and I learned some new strategies. I have a better understanding of what the diagnostic approach is. My understanding is that the diagnostic approach is a comprehensive way of using data that comes from the student, teacher, and context. It should be continuous throughout the year in order for it to be successful. Different assessment techniques should be used including student self-assessment, teacher self-assessment, and assessment of instructional materials. The main concern of the diagnostic approach is identifying the student’s strengths and needs. Below is a comprehensive emergent reading model used to lay out the aspects of reading and how some interact. 

A section of the reading that changed my approach for reading assessment are the three guiding questions that teachers should use to help them get results from their data collected. They are:

1. What do I want to know?

2. Why do I want to know?

3. How can I best discover this information?

The assessments that should be used to back these questions up are performance assessments, portfolio's, direct observation, and anecdotal records. I personally would like to use more anecdotal records to help myself remember all that I am observing in my classroom. The following website has great examples of different types of reading and writing assessments that I find very beneficial!

http://www2.billings.k12.mt.us/docs/pdf/report%20card/3rd%20Reading%20and%20Writing%20Assessments.pdf