Juli Kendall, a reading teacher/coach in Long Beach, CA, posted this scoring guide, accompanied by an explanation, for list members who asked about centers and independent reading.

 

Independent Reading Scoring Guide

(to use when evaluating students reading independently in class)

 4

 
 * Always finds materials quickly and gets to work

 * Always sits down quietly and reads the whole time without talking or interrupting others

 * Records reading on Reading List every day

 * Takes a Reading Counts quiz on every book that is finished

 3
Proficient

 
 * Usually finds materials quickly and gets to work

 * Usually sits down quietly and reads the whole time; tries not to talk or interrupt others

 * Records reading on Reading List almost every day

 * Takes a Reading Counts quiz on most books that are finished

 2

 
 * Finds materials but gets to work slowly

 * Wanders around, reads a little; may talk and interrupt others

 * Often forgets to record reading on Reading List

 * Seldom takes Reading Counts quizzes on books that are finished

 1


 * Often misplaces or looses materials; has trouble getting to work

 * Wanders around; talks, interrupts others, and keeps them from reading

 * Seldom remembers to record reading on Reading List

 * Doesn't finish books; doesn't take Reading Counts quizzes


 

Juli Kendall wrote:

After six years of doing centers in Reading/Language Arts/ESL in middle school I have found a few things that work very well for me. All revolve around being "clear on the concept" - both for me and my students.

I spend as much time teaching the rules as the task. Example: when I want kids to read independently for 20-30 minutes as one of their centers, I teach:

1. expectations (rules)

2. how to choose a book

3. what to do if the book does not work for you

4. how to record what you are reading

5. where to sit

6. what to do if someone is keeping you from doing your reading

7. that reading is a quiet activity

8. that "wandering around" (bathroom breaks, visiting with friends in other

centers, choosing at book, etc.) is not, absolutely not, reading

9. how to use the "Reading Counts" software program that we use in my class to

keep track of the points we earn for the quizzes we take on the books that we

read (accountability)

10. and anything else that appears to be a problem (like no sunflower seeds, etc.)

Then I develop a scoring guide or rubric based on "student work," which in this case is observing good readers and those who are not proficient. I base it on at least one of our reading standards.

The rubric is enlarged and posted in the Independent Reading Center so that I can use it for teaching. It also serves as a helpful reminder of what the expectations are for Independent Reading.

For the week after I introduce the center and teach everything listed above, I monitor their reading work every time they come to the teacher-directed center. Then I can mediate if we run into difficulties. After that I check once a week and we "score" ourselves and the other members of our group.

Their score is recorded as part of their grade for the class.

This system works very well for my students and myself -- a must if centers are to function smoothly and help promote a rigorous learning environment.

I have followed this same process for each of the four centers that we have in our classroom. In addition, the work we do in my teacher-directed center has additional scoring guides that match the reading comprehension strategies we are learning.

Good luck implementing a centers-based classroom!

Juli Kendall
Long Beach


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