Reading+Information

FIFTH GRADE READING

Fifth grade collects scores in 2 areas of reading comprehension:

1. Scholastic Reading Inventory: Given leveled text, students will answer questions about the silently read passages. A lexile score is given to your child to use to pick appropriately leveled books. 2. Accelerated Reader: Each term your child will have a given number of points that have to be earned when answering questions about the leveled texts they chose.

How the tests are given:
 * 1) SRI: computer generated test given three times per year: On the first test of the year, a pre-test is given to help access a student’s level more quickly. The student reads the given passages silently and based on the answers the test continues to supply stories that stay in the correct comprehension range. As the student increases in level, different factors are added in that we typically see in higher level books. Such things include longer stories with increased sentence length and vocabulary and smaller print. Other factors may affect some students when they read and we take note of that on an individual basis. They may include things such as test anxiety, ability to attend, poor mouse control on the computer, distraction while someone else is taking a different test next to them (could look harder/easier), doesn’t care for story content and other factors. Once the computer determines the student’s highest level of success, a lexile score is supplied which is a suggested range of reading level.
 * 2) Accelerated Reader: Your child takes these tests in the library once they finish their leveled text.

Guidelines for reading:
 * 1) Leveled reading: Once a lexile level is determined, we encourage students to read at their level in order to continue growing. A students range would be 100 points below their lexile score to 50 points above. (lexile score is 350: range is 250-400).
 * 2) Research suggests that students should read **at least 12 pages/day at their lexile AND finish a book in at least 10 days in order to show growth.** If a student picks a book of less than 120 pages (12 pages X 10 days) then the book should be finished quicker and the student should move on to the next book. Also, if a student wants to read a popular chapter book at their level (i.e.: Harry Potter) and it is 500 pages, the student should be committed to reading 50 pages a day in order to finish it in the 10 days or that book should be saved for a later date.
 * 3) It is recognized that students show increases and decreases in their reading levels throughout the year. All students are different and their levels and growth rates should not be compared at any given time. Some students show steady increase in their reading scores. Other students scores plateau or decline before a growth spurt. Continuing to read daily at level or just above level (up to 20 pts) will sometimes give them the boost needed to show growth.

SUGGESTIONS WHEN STUDENTS NEED MORE SUPPORT:

ü Read silently mostly by grade three, but have students read aloud every so often to monitor that they are ‘reading like they talk’ ü Check sight word lists to make sure the student has a rapid recall of commonly used words in text so the student doesn’t have to stop to sound out these words ü Make sight word cards and drill them for speed and quick recognition ü Read poetry ü Read at the correct level of difficulty as much as possible ü Read and reread the same passage to gain a ‘feel’ for how fluent a passage should be. At the end of third grade, we would want a student to be reading a minimum of 110 words per minute. ü Read an easier level book to a younger child
 * 1) Fluency: (speed and smoothness)

ü Read at the correct level of difficulty daily!!! ü Use reading strategies (look at captions, read headings, make connections-“think” as you read, predict, infer meanings, etc.) ü Stop periodically and retell the story in your own words ü Reread the story if you can’t remember it   ü Build your vocabulary by reading-if you don’t know what some words mean, you may not get the ‘gist’ of the story. ü Keep a post-it note handy and jot down questions that pop into your head so you can go back to that part later and double check it. ü Jot unfamiliar words down on a post-it as you read, so you can look them up later to increase your vocabulary
 * 1) Comprehension:

ü Lexile your school/home library or use the 5-finger method for choosing books (Read 100 words of the chosen book. Keep track of the errors or words not known on your fingers as you are reading. If there are more than 5 errors in that first 100 word passage then the text is probably too hard and should be read later as the reading level increases.   ü Note: Some students desire to ‘read what everyone else is reading’ makes them select books not appropriate for their own growth. The lexile level or the five finger method is a quick indicator if that is true.    ü Books that are too easy or too hard don’t promote growth in all students.    ü Use lexile.com – teach your child to lexile his/her books
 * 1) Other:

ü [|www.lexile.com] ü Click on Lexile book data base ü Type in the Title and author *Not all books are available there, but it’s a start to putting the right books in students’ hands.
 * 1) Directions for website