Below you will find a paragraph that a sixth grader has read. Note the miscues the student has made. Develop a grid that looks at the assessment, what you have learned about the student, the students strengths as well as areas of need. Next suggest strategies you might use with this students to help her with her reading development. Be sure that you describe your strategies step by step and note why you think these strategies will help the students.

Because this is being developed to help you temporarily, please note that I will write the miscues made by the student rather than use the traditional miscue marking system. Miscues will be in maroon and in the parentheses. Pauses will be marked with a /. Repetitions are underlined.

"Oh / no!" cried / Mary Anne Spier(M, me, Molly) (Anne Spier was omitted) . "Please (pray) tell me you're (you) not going to make (do) that." She was staring

(starring) down at the food cookbook (cook was omitted) I held / in my lap. Her / eyes were wide with horror (honor).

"Dawn, I really (omit) don't think anyone (any people) will want to eat tofu apple nut ("nut" omit) loaf at this party," she added.

"Okay," I said, flipping (flopping) through the pages. "We could (cud, kind, sc) try this one. Soybean pie. (?)"

Mary Anne sighed deeply. "Soybeans in a pie? I bet there's not even a teaspoon (spoon) of sugar in it either."

"Nope. Honey (Hurry)."

"You and I have totally (toat, total, sc) different taste (toast) buds," said Mary Anne, as she plopped down into the chair next to mine.

"Let me / look at this book. Maybe I can / find something (anything) in here that isn't completely gross."

It was the / day before New Year's Eve, and we were in our kitchen, deciding (thinking) what to serve at our New Year's Eve sleep over party. I'm using the word our

because Mary Anne and I live together / (along with our parents, of course). We're stepsisters. But / before we became stepsisters (sisters), we were best friends. Maybe

I'd (I would) better start at the beginning. First let me introduce myself. My name is Dawn (Dorn) Schafer (omit). I'm / originally (omit) from California. Awhile ago I

moved / here to Stoneybrook (Storybook), Connecticut, with my mother (mom) and my younger (little) brother, Jeff. Mom came back to Stoneybrook after she and my

dad got divorced. Stoneybrook is where she grew up (lived for "grew up"). Pop-pop and Granny (Mom's parents) still / live here. I guess that made Mom feel a little

more secure (sincere) since the divorce was hard on her at first (omit "at first).

Unfortunately (Un, understand, unfor, unfortune, sc), Mom was the / only (omit) one who was happy about the move. Jeff and I missed California / like crazy (omit "like

crazy"). I missed my friends and the / warm (omit) weather, and everything Californian (omit). There was only one thing I liked about Stoneybrook right from the start

omit "right from the start"). Our house. It was built in 1795. Can (could) you imagine? The doorways are low, the stairways (stairs) are narrow, and the rooms / are small

and dark (omit "and dark"). It is the total opposite / of the sunny ranch-style (omit "ranch-style") house we left back in California. But for some reason I

loved our new (old) house right away (omit "right away"). And here's the best part. Our house has a secret passage (place) that leads from the barn in the / backyard

right into my bedroom! It was probably (omit) once part of the Underground Railroad, which helped / slaves from the South escape to freedom (be free) in the North.

How's that for total coolness! Anyway, even though (if) the house was great, I wasn't too sure about the rest of Stoneybrook. Then I met Mary Anne. It didn't take /

long (before we became for "for us to become") for us to become best friends.

(Excerpted from The Babysitter's Club for purposes of instruction.)

To help to record data as you analyze it, it is best to create a grid such as the one below:

 Practice Essays

Respond to the essays below as practice. Remember the format of the essay.

1. Repeat part of the questions in your answer.

2. Answer the question directly, that is, get to the point.

3. If you are suggesting a strategy, describe what it is clearly and be sure to name it, that is, call it what it is.

4. List how the strategy works step by step.

5. Explain why or how this startegy will help the student and address the scenario you have been given in the prompt.

6. Paragraph often

7. Use bullets or numbers to designate specific sequences/skills, etc.

These essays are not exactly like the essays you will encounter in the RICA Test. Instead, they are designed to help you focus and reflect on content learned in reaading and language arts courses as well as instructional and assessmment practices observed and experienced in classrooms. Think the strategies, skills or processes through clearly. Think about how we support the reading development of children of all ages. Remember that the audience for which you are writing will want to read responses that are clear and concise yet contain enough detail so the reader knows that you understand the concepts and that you do not assume knowledge on their part. That is, the reader should not try to infer or guess about that which you are writing.

1. A first grade teacher has taken her class on a field trip to a grocery store. The children learn new voacbulary about the store through the experiences they have. For example, they learn about different types of fruit, textures of vegetables and fruit, the people who work the people who work in the grocery like the manager, the clerks, etc. When the children return to the classroom the teacher asks the children questions about what they learned and writes their responses on the board.  The children are then assigned to draw pictures and write words about their favorite things they saw at the grocery store. How is the approach helpful in developing the children's reading?

2. A fourth grade teacher has a new student come into her classroom. Because she wants to develop independent reading in all of her students, she needs to find the independent reading level of this new student. How can she do that?

3. A first grade teacher brings the students to the rug and they sit in a circle. Before them on a stand is a big book. The teacher proceeds to engage the children in a shared reading lesson. What specific reading skills is the teacher developing in the shared reading process?

4. A third grade teacher has had her class read informational about the migration of whales. During the reading the teacher asks children comprehension questions about the reading. Children are then asked to write an informational article describing the migration of whales. To help her students get started, the teacher asks them to review the selection with a partner. Next, she asks them to tell her what they learned about the migration of whales. How does this help the reading development of the third grade students?

5. A sixth grade teacher finds that his students are struggling with reading their science books. he knows he could read the material orally to his students, by he realizes that if he did read to students, they would not be interacting with the text. he is struggling to think of a way to help his students with content area reading. What would you suggest to this teacher? How would what you suggest help his students with the challenge?

6. A fifth grade teacher has her students select books they want to read based on their interest. She asks them to keep an double entry journal each time they read the book. How do double entry journals help students' reading development?

7. A teacher saves student work over time in folders after she has reviewed the work and given them feedback. Once a month the teacher schedules time to meet with each student. How does this form of assessment help the teacher plan for instruction?

8. Teachers in a tird grade level team meet once a month to review assessment data on their students. They review the results of the state standardized tests, writing samples as well as the miscue analysis of student. Everyone who comes to the meeting must bring the English Language Arts Framework and Content Standards as well as the English Language development Standards with them to the meeting. How is what the teachers are doing help then plan for instruction and support the reading development of the third graders in their classrooms?