This week I performed a running
record on two kindergarten students; one native Spanish speaker (student ‘A’) and
one native Filipino speaker (student ‘B’).
Both of them speak English well and attended preschool in an
English-speaking classroom.
I
did the reading conference with student A while she read a level 8 book, The Little White Hen. Many of the miscues she made were because
of either adding or eliminating a word.
For example the sentence reads “Where will I lay my egg?” and she added
the word “at” after the word “egg”. I
have noticed this type of error commonly with students who are trying to read
with fluency. She was trying to use
voice and focused on reading the punctuation correctly. When she would eliminate words it was because
she was reading very quickly. I did not
notice any errors related specifically to her being a second language
learner.
If
student A slows down, and remembers to follow along with her finger as she
reads, it will reduce her number of miscues.
I suggested she put a little sticker on her finger when she reads as a
reminder to use her finger. I also think
she should use a student friendly rubric to do a self-assessment.
My
experience in the reading conference with student B was much different. She read a level 4 book called Spring Colors and the majority of her
miscues were because of appeals. She
asked me to tell her one word on almost every page. While she read she was quiet and seemed
shy. I have been around this child my
first thought is she has a lack of confidence in her reading. When I spoke with her teacher she said that
she has noticed the same behaviors with student B. She also stated that student B shows the same
shy behavior when having to speak aloud in class.
Student
B has a noticeable accent and it can be difficult to understand her. She tries to enunciate but some words are
hard to understand. I am not completely
sure if she is unable to read the words she asked me, or if she is just having
a difficult time pronouncing them. For
her next steps she should read aloud to a teacher or peer, as often as
possible. I would also recommend that
she be evaluated by a speech therapist at the school to identify whether or not
student B has a speech impediment. The
teacher should continue to work with her on her sight words and phonics
skills.
The
errors that I noticed with these two students seem common for young readers and
not necessarily ELLs. Do you agree?
