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RES Coaching Schedule 2021-2022 - Freeman

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Reading Strategies with Images for older students

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Pictionary

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Sample of RES - Plan for Unfinished Learning 

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Research on Unfinished Learning Approaches and Intervention

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Research on Unfinished Learning Approaches and Intervention

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Unfinished Learning - Based on work from CLC

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Interim Assessment Planning Guide Sample

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Interim Assessment Planning Guide Sample

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Scored SBAC Student Writing Samples - "NOT secure" 

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Scored SBAC Student Writing Samples - "NOT secure" 

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Ideas: Teach your students to score using these, have your students revise these samples to earn higher scores, etc.

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Writing tasks challenge students to demonstrate critical thinking skills. In each task, students examine sources on a topic and write a response based on a specific purpose described in state academic standards. Read more about “purpose” under Terms to Know.

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Scored SBAC Student Writing Samples from the "Secure" Interim questions and prompts

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Scored SBAC Student Writing Samples from the "Secure" Interim questions and prompts

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Ideas: Teach your students to score using these, have students revise these for higher scores, have them do a Text Reconstruction with a high scoring sample before completing the Interim individually, etc.

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Interim Model Scored Brief Writes & Answer Keys

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Fast drawing for everyone. AutoDraw pairs machine learning with drawings from talented artists to help you draw stuff fast.

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Build-Your-Own Online Magnetic Poetry Kit - BLANK Template

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Ideas: Teach your students to score using these, have your students revise these samples to earn higher scores, etc.

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Writing tasks challenge students to demonstrate critical thinking skills. In each task, students examine sources on a topic and write a response based on a specific purpose described in state academic standards. Read more about “purpose” under Terms to Know.

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You have probably heard of Flip and have seen tons of people sharing their experiences using it on social media. It seems that people all over the world have been using Flipgrid in all sorts of creative ways.

Flip is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators. Teachers can provide feedback to students AND better yet students can provide feedback to one another.
The best part? Flipis completely FREE!
My first experience with Flip was back in early 2017 in our weekly #Ditchbook Twitter chat where a group of educators from all over the country shared ideas and inspire one another online. Since then I have had the opportunity to use Flip with students, administrators, as well as other educators in workshops and professional development sessions.

Each time I introduce it the reaction is always the same, "Wow! There are so many ways to use this tool. I can't wait to try it out in my class!".

But don't take my word for it, check it out and try it yourself!

In this post you will find over 50 ideas and ready-to-use Flipg activities for your class. You can use the quick navigation box below to jump to any section or scroll through the post to find something that you can use in your class tomorrow!

Getting started with Flip

Getting started with Flip is easy. As a teacher you can sign up (see the steps below) and start creating your grids and topics right away. Students and participants don't need an account, they will simply use the code you provide to log in and start recording!

The Flip Getting Started Guide

Want even MORE assistance bringing Flip to your classroom? Check out their onboarding webinar or visit the updated help center that to get up and running in no time!

Flip conversation starters from the Disco Library

Flip understands the power of community and educators connecting and becoming better together. The "Disco Library" tab at the top of your Educator Dashboard and you will find over 20,000 Flip topics ready for you to add to your Grids. Once you select a Topic to add you will have an opportunity to update and make any changes to the Topic before it is added to your grid.

Below you will find six popular topics from the Disco Library that can help your students get started using Flip in a fun and easy way. Just click on the button Don't see a topic you like? There are lots more here.

50+ Flip activities for your class

English Language Arts

Ready-to-use ELA activities from the Flip Disco Library

Reflect and assess with Flip

Flip Math activities

Ready-to-use math activities from the Flip Disco Library

Science and Social Studies

Ready-to-use science activities from the Flip Disco Library

Creating a community

Ready-to-use community building activities from the Flip Disco Library

Flipgrid beyond the classroom

Conversations about race, equity and justice from the Flip Disco Library

Appsmash with Flip

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Flip for ALL! 50+ ways to use Flip in your class

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Flip, a FREE video discussion platform, gives all students a voice. Here are more than 50 Flip ideas and activities for your class. This post is written

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https://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/

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Home Page - Smarter Balanced Sample Items

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zrKAS0sHkW4-lBBetgN2Thu-f8dwiyk1fXvLtp-FD1I/copy?usp=sharing

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bRgIPl_UNTNYxaMqJ211ULFEHMWJjtg3dcr49CaAeIQ/copy?usp=sharing

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How-To Administer Guides in Distance Learning

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How Students Take CAASPP Interim Assessments at Home_ (003).pdf

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How-To Administer Guides in Distance Learning

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Administering Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments Remotely_Quick Guide for Teachers (003).pdf

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Page 10 has the focus interims for this year that align to Priority Content

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Close reading: Fisher P1
Close reading: Fisher P2
Close reading: Social S.
Close reading: Science
Close reading: Math
Kindergarten: Link
1st grade: Link
2nd grade: Link
3rd  grade: Link
4th grade: Link
5th grade: Link
6th grade: Link

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For those who need it - with your grade-level anchor text

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RES 4th-5th Priority Content & Virtual Guided Reading.pdf

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1. Progress (or lack of) for some students you are doing GR with
2. Update on adjustments based on Priority content and Interims

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You can create breakout rooms and assign participants to them prior to the start of an existing meeting. To do this properly, you will require all the participants' Zoom sign-in email addresses. This is the email address that is linked to each individual's Zoom account. You can view that email listed under your Zoom Profile page. You will also have to enable the pre-assign option in your Zoom settings since it is not active by default. Note: creating pre-assigned breakout rooms requires Zoom version 4.5 or newer.

To allow the host to assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling:

To create pre-assigned breakout rooms:

1. Login to your Zoom web portal account: https://ucsb.zoom.us/profile

2. Click on Meetings and find the schedule meeting you would like to create breakout rooms for. Click on the meeting title link.

1. Open and edit the CSV file with your prefered spreadsheet application (Excel).

2. The breakout room names are listed in Column A and the participants' email addresses are listed in Column B. Each participant that is listed in Column B will be assigned to the breakout room designated in the adjacent cell of Column A. For example: the participant with email address test1@xxx.com will be assigned to the breakout room titled: room1. Participant test2@xxx.com will also be placed into breakout room: room1. In this example, there will be a total of three breakout rooms created, with two participants assigned to each one. You can create up to 50 rooms and pre-assign a total of 200 participants.

1. Note regarding email addresses: Please make sure that the email addresses listed in Column B are the email addresses associated with each individual's Zoom account. This is the email address listed under sign-in email on the Zoom profile page found here: https://ucsb.zoom.us/profile. If a participant's email address does not match the one listed on their Zoom account, they will not be automatically placed into their pre-assigned room.

2. When you are finished editing your CSV file on your spreadsheet application, click on Save-As and confirm that the file format is set to either Comma Separated Values (.csv) or CSV UTF-8 (.csv). Either iteration will work, as long as the format is .csv. You may receive a warning message before you save regarding some workbook features getting lost when saving as a CSV file. This is OK and you may proceed.

Go back to your Zoom meeting settings webpage and upload your saved CSV file. You may click and drag the file directly into the window or browse for it on your computer system:

The pre-assigned breakout rooms will be available to use the next time you launch that meeting.

Other Considerations:

Students must login to Zoom via UCSB's SSO to receive their breakout room pre-assignment

Breakout rooms must be assigned for each individual class

Hosts can assign participants who do not receive a pre-assignment in real-time by clicking on "breakout rooms" in meeting controls and using the "assign to" option to put them in the breakout room of choice.

Hosts are able to create breakout rooms while a Zoom meeting is already in session, see: Zoom: How do I use Breakout Rooms in a meeting?

need additional assistance? help@id.ucsb.edu

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Zoom: How do I create pre-assigned Breakout Rooms using an email-list (CSV file)?

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You can create breakout rooms and assign participants to them prior to the start of an existing meeting. To do this properly, you will require all the participants' Zoom sign-in email addresses. This is the email address that is linked to each individual's Zoom account.

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Video of Kinders in a Virtual Guided Reading Lesson

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Video of Kinders in a Virtual Guided Reading Lesson

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Zoom Guided Reading - 5 minute overview.mp4

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Riverdale 4th Grade ELA Prioritizing Content 

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Our Zoom Link: https://fcoe-org.zoom.us/j/99556317028?pwd=YlFQWS81bnd0SWdyTXM0bzFkR3NuQT09

Password: freeman

Meeting ID: 995 5631 7028

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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RES - 4th Grade Planning Interim Assessments Year-Round

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RES - 4th Grade Planning Interim Assessments Year-Round

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Courtesy of Navpreet

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Scaled Cut Scores p. 32
Change in Scaled Cut Scores p. 42

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The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) is composed of the Initial ELPAC and Summative ELPAC as well as the Initial Alternate ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC. The practice and training tests allow students, parents/guardians, families, teachers, administrators, and others an opportunity to become familiar with the computer-based test delivery platform as well as the types of test questions that may appear on the operational test at each grade level or grade span.

The practice test includes examples of all the types of test questions that may appear in the operational test at each grade level or grade span and mirrors a full-length operational test. The training test is shorter compared to the practice test and includes some sample test questions for each domain.

Table of Contents:

Practice Tests and Training Tests

Test examiners will need to use the Directions for Administration (DFAs) and follow the instructions when administering the online practice tests and training tests.

Training test DFAs provide an overview of the ELPAC or Alternate ELPAC and instructions to use when administering the online training tests.

Practice test DFAs provide an overview of the ELPAC or Alternate ELPAC and instructions to use when administering the online practice tests.

Practice test scoring guides provide details about student response types, correct responses, and related scoring considerations for the included sample of practice test items.

Initial ELPAC and Summative ELPAC

Key differences to consider when using these practice and training test resources to prepare for the Initial and Summative ELPAC:

The following are key differences to consider when using these practice test and training test resources to prepare for the Initial ELPAC and Summative ELPAC:

The online ELPAC practice tests can be used to prepare for either the Initial ELPAC or the Summative ELPAC. The online ELPAC practice tests are based on the full-length Summative ELPAC. However, these practice tests can also be used to prepare students for the Initial ELPAC since the task types used in the Initial ELPAC are a subset of the task types appearing in the Summative ELPAC.

The following task types appear on the Summative ELPAC and do not appear in the Initial ELPAC:

Speaking: Present and Discuss Information

Reading: Read a Student Essay

Writing: Write About Academic Information

The Initial ELPAC is combined for grades nine through twelve. Students may use the ELPAC practice test for grade span nine and ten or grade span eleven and twelve to prepare for the Initial ELPAC.

Kindergarten

Grade One

Grade Two

Initial Alternate ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC

The following are key differences from the operational assessments to consider when using these practice test and training test resources to prepare for the Initial Alternate ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC:

The online Alternate ELPAC practice tests can be used to prepare for either the Initial Alternate ELPAC or the Summative Alternate ELPAC. The online Alternate ELPAC practice tests are based on the full-length Initial Alternate ELPAC and Summative Alternate ELPAC.

The Initial Alternate ELPAC is combined for grades nine through twelve. Students may use the Alternate ELPAC practice test for grade span nine and ten or grade span eleven and twelve to prepare for the Initial Alternate ELPAC.

Practice Test Picture Cards

For the Alternate ELPAC, test examiners have the ability to use picture cards during the student's test administration. Picture cards are a resource used for students who communicate using picture cards or an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. These picture cards should not be substituted during operational test administration. Print or upload the picture cards to the student's AAC device as appropriate. All of the practice test picture cards for each grade level or grade span can be accessed via the following link:

Answer Choice Cards

Test examiners have the option to use answer choice cards that are available as a stand-alone PDF. Some students communicate using picture cards or answer choice cards. If test examiners do not have standardized answer choice cards for use in the classroom, they may use the answer choice cards accessed via the following link:

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The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) is comprised of the Initial, Summative, and Alternate ELPAC.

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https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/sbiasbygrade.pdfhttps://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/sbiasbygrade.pdf

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Document to link to most resources for accessibility

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Document to link to most resources for accessibility

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The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System provides a full range of assessment resources for all students, including those who are English learners and students with disabilities. These resources ensure that the assessments meet the needs of all students. Teachers are encouraged to review these resources early in the school year and provide opportunities for students to experience these resources throughout the year in classroom instruction and assessment.

Some resources are embedded into the technology platform for the computer-administered CAASPP tests. Other resources are considered non-embedded since they are provided by the local educational agency (LEA). The following list defines the four different categories of student accessibility resources:

Universal tools are available to all students on the basis of student preference and selection.

Designated supports are available to all students when determined for use by an educator or team of educators (with parent/guardian and student input, as appropriate) or specified in the student's individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan.

Accommodations must be permitted on CAASPP tests to all eligible students if specified in the student's IEP or Section 504 plan.

Unlisted resources are non-embedded and shall be made available if specified in the eligible student's individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan and only on approval by the California Department of Education (CDE)

Learn more about student accessibility resources by selecting the links below:

California Assessment Accessibility Resources Matrix displays the embedded and non-embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations allowed for the CAASPP.

Braille Hybrid Adaptive Test provides a secure mathematics summative assessment option for LEAs to make available to students who use braille.

CAASPP Portal: Student Accessibility Resources and Test Settings provide links to manuals, instructions, and other resources related to accessibility.

Smarter Balanced Student Accessibility Resources provides resources to help educators understand Smarter's approach to assessment accessibility and to implement the use of the universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations for CAASPP.

Individual Student Assessment Accessibility Profile web-based tool that can be used to identify accessibility resources for CAASPP and English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). This tool can also generate a file, to be uploaded in Test Operations Management System (TOMS), that will assign test settings for multiple students prior to testing.

Effective Use of Accessibility Resources(PDF) flyer that explains the optional process for providing appropriate accessibility resources to students.

2022-23 California Student Assessment Accessibility Graphics

Questions: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Office | caaspp@cde.ca.gov | 916-445-8765

Last Reviewed: Monday, October 17, 2022

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The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System provides a full range of assessment resources for all students, including those who are English learners and students with disabilities. These resources ensure that the assessments meet the needs of all students.

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The California Assessment Accessibility Resources Matrix (DOCX) displays the embedded and non-embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations (UDAs) allowed as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) for 2023-24.

In addition, the California Student Assessment Accessibility Graphics serve as one-page quick reference guides for UDAs available for the following assessments:

The appropriate use of UDAs on CAASPP computer-based tests and ELPAC computer-based and paper-based tests is restricted to only those identified in this document. For UDAs for CAASPP special-form tests, please visit the Appendix A of the CAASPP Paper-Pencil Testing Test Administration Manual . Embedded resources are digitally delivered as part of the technology platform for the computer-based tests. Non-embedded resources are available when provided by the local educational agency (LEA) for either computer-administered or special-form tests.

Updates to the accessibility resource matrix for the 2023-24 school year include:

Added spell check as an embedded universal tool for the California Spanish Assessment.

Updated the definition of the non-embedded strikethrough and highlighter universal tool to include test examiner assistance for K-2 students taking the ELPAC and an update to the definition for the embedded strikethrough, and the embedded and non-embedded line reader universal tool to include grade two students taking the ELPAC.

Updated the definition of the non-embedded medical supports designated support to include "Bluetooth hearing aids."

Updated the embedded Spanish stacked-dual language translation designated support to be activated using a toggle mode for Smarter Balanced for mathematics.

Added a non-embedded printed copy of the Smarter Balanced for English Language Arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics oral test direction in English as a designated support that may be provided to a student.

Added non-embedded translated test directions in American Sign Language for the Smarter Balanced ELA and mathematics as a designated support that may be provided to a student.

Updated the assignment of the non-embedded print-on-demand accommodation to allow a site or LEA coordinator to make this selection in Test Operations Management System without first having to contact an LEA Success Agent.

Added embedded word prediction as an accommodation for Smarter Balanced for ELA, mathematics and California Science Test.

Added Part 6-Technical Resource section that describes the permissive mode setting and when it can be assigned to a student.

Questions: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Office | caaspp@cde.ca.gov | 916-445-8765

Last Reviewed: Tuesday, March 26, 2024

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CA Assessment Accessibility Resources Matrix

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Matrix displays the embedded and non-embedded universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations (UDAs) allowed as part of the California assessments.

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Latest News and Tips for the CAASPP Administration

1. Planned System Downtime
Various CAASPP and ELPAC systems will be unavailable for scheduled system downtime Thursday, January 5, at 5 p.m., through Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 8 a.m. For additional details, refer to the CAASPP Planned System Downtime web page.

2. SSID Swap Criteria for MIDs and Retired SSIDs
Important information regarding SSID swap criteria for MIDs is available on the SSID Swap Criteria for MIDs and Retired SSIDs web page. Review the scenarios for next steps in transferring completed assessments to a new SSID.

3. Useful Reference Guides
The Pause Rules Guide and the Expiration Rules Guide were updated and can be found on the Videos and Quick Reference Guides web page.

Testing in California

California local educational agency (LEA) testing coordinators can use this website to find helpful information, instructions, training, forms, and external links for test administration.

LEAs are administering the following tests:

English language arts/literacy and mathematics assessments (grades three through eight and grade eleven):

Smarter Balanced

California Alternate Assessments (CAAs)

Science assessments (grades five and eight and high school):

California Science Test

CAA for Science

Spanish assessments (grades three through eight and high school):

California Spanish Assessment

About California Testing >

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Various CAASPP and ELPAC systems will be unavailable for scheduled system downtime Thursday, January 5, at 5 p.m., through Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 8 a.m. For additional details, refer to the CAASPP Planned System Downtime web page. Important information regarding SSID swap criteria for MIDs is available on the SSID Swap Criteria for MIDs and Retired SSIDs web page.

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments (IABs) Available by Grade Level

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Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments (IABs) Available by Grade Level

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Differentiated Lessons based on performance on the IABs

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Connections Playlist Digital Library - Updated

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Sound boxes, Picture Sorts, and Analogy Charts

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Metacognitive Log and Discussion Questions

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Word Knowledge Inventory for Reading Levels D-I

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Word Knowledge Inventory for Reading Levels D-I

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Word Study Inventory early level-d-to-level-i

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Riverdale - Guided Rdg 4th - Yr 1 Cycle 2- Reading and Metacognition (word work & SSR) - padlet

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Don't forget to add Linking Words and Histogram

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Word Wall Activities - Reading Apprenticeship - binder day 2

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https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/split-dictation-sfusd

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Explanation of Rime Magic in word study station

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Explanation of Rime Magic in word study station

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https://www.literacyfootprints.com/teacher-resources/downloadable-resources-and-assessments

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Dolch word list with grade level marked out - pre-kinder

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Reading Strategies with Images for older students

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Word Study Appendix A Strategies and Skills by Level

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Electronic and editable

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Word Study Inventory Class Summary Chart (1)

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Introduction

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Riverdale - Guided Rdg 4th grade - Yr 1 Cycle 1 - padlet

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Use to guide your Word Work

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Transitional Guided Reading Template (H-M)

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Transitional Guided Reading Template (H-M)

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FP Level Chart For School Year by Grade and Month

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Accessibility Resources on the SBAC Usability Guidelines

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Accessibility Resources on the SBAC Usability Guidelines

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Accessibility Resources on the SBAC in detail

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Accessibility Resources on the SBAC in detail

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Download the documents below for additional support in using the Practice Tests. Please note that all documents are in PDF format.

Calculators

The following calculators are available for students to preview and practice with outside of the testing environment.

Practice Test Scoring Guides

Annotated Anchors for Performance Tasks

Performance Task Writing Rubrics

Braille embossing is available for Practice Test users who require it.

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Resources and Documentation - Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

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Download the documents below for additional support in using the Practice Tests. Please note that all documents are in PDF format. Calculators The following calculators are available for students to preview and practice with outside of the testing environment.

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Anchor Papers for SBAC with Explanations

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Anchor Papers for SBAC with Explanations

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This performance task comes from the Smarter Balanced practice test. This specific task asks students to read three informational articles about service animals. Students answer three research questions (constructed- and selected-response items) that require them to evaluate sources and identify evidence to support ideas.

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Classroom Photo

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DBQ - Valley Forge: Would you Have Quit?

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DBQ - Valley Forge: Would you Have Quit?

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Power Point - DBQ Informational and Opinion Writing 

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Power Point - DBQ Informational and Opinion Writing 

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Riverdale Cycle 3 Grades 4-6 - Informational & Argumentative DBQ - padlet

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How to Use and Not Use

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Listen to my interview with Jen Serravallo (transcript):
Sponsored by Peergrade and Microsoft Inclusive Classroom

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. When you make a purchase through these links, Cult of Pedagogy gets a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.

A few weeks ago, a teacher named Isabelle O'Kane sent me a direct message on Twitter. She had been reading a debate that was raging all over social media, and she wondered if it was something I might want to write about. The debate took place in response to a single tweet sent out by literacy experts Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell:

The classroom library should NOT be organized according to level, but according to categories such as topic, author, illustrator, genre, and award-winning books. #FPLiteracy pic.twitter.com/hxJNDow3Qz

- Fountas & Pinnell (@FountasPinnell) September 21, 2018

Teachers responded to the tweet from all directions: Some shouted hallelujah, because it supported what they were already doing. Others agreed, but argued that their hands were tied because administration required leveled libraries. Quite a few insisted that the best approach was to do both; yes, students should be able to seek out books based on interest, but without levels, how would they ever find appropriate books on their own? And some threw up their hands entirely, wondering if a single, clear answer was ever going to present itself.

Because my training and classroom work has all been with students in grade 6 and above, I don't have a lot of experience or knowledge on this topic, but it definitely seemed like something teachers needed help with.

So it was pretty serendipitous when literacy consultant and author Jennifer Serravallo contacted me right around that time about her new book, Understanding Texts & Readers: Responsive Comprehension Instruction with Leveled Texts.

In the book, Serravallo takes a deep dive into the question of how best to match texts to readers. She starts with a discussion of why we have leveled texts to begin with, what their original purpose was, and the missteps we often make as teachers when using them. Then she explores the levels themselves-for fiction and non-fiction-and unpacks the characteristics to look for in each one. Finally, she brings it all together, showing teachers how to combine their knowledge of text levels and students to assess student comprehension, set goals, and match students with books that are just right for them.

In our conversation, which you can listen to on the podcast player above, we talked about the mistakes a lot of teachers and administrators make in how they use leveled texts, and what they should be doing instead.

What Are Leveled Texts?

When schools first attempted to differentiate reading instruction, they did it with texts that were written specifically for that purpose, like the SRA cards that were popular in the 1960s and 70s. Although these programs offered different levels to match student readiness, "(they didn't) actually offer kids real language structures or really interesting storylines," Serravallo explains. "And kids were not able to read those with as much comprehension as real children's literature."

In the 1990s, a shift came when teachers started looking at ways to level real books, books that were not written with "levels" in mind. Two types of text leveling emerged around this time:

Quantitative Leveling: Systems like the Lexile Framework leveled texts through computer programs that measured dimensions like text length and complexity.

Qualitative Leveling: This type of leveling is done by humans, and while it considers things like text length and complexity, it also takes more nuanced qualities into consideration, like whether a text delivers information in a purely straightforward way or contains multiple levels of meaning. One popular qualitative system is Fountas and Pinnell's Text Level Gradient.

Common Mistakes with Leveled Texts

When leveled texts are used in classroom and school settings, teachers and administrators make some well-intentioned but significant missteps that can negatively impact students' growth as readers.

1. Leveling Readers Instead of Books

One of the biggest mistakes Serravallo sees is labeling students by text levels. "Levels are meant for books, not for kids," she explains. "There's really no point in time when a kid is just a level, just one. There's a real range, and it depends on a lot of other factors."

This misstep, she says in her book, has had negative consequences. "Kids nationwide have become aware of something that many would argue they shouldn't be aware of at all...causing some students to compete, race through levels, and experience shame."

To compound the problem, a number of schools have begun basing student learning objectives (SLOs)-part of teacher evaluation protocols-on these levels: "(Districts will) say, 'You come up with goals for your students, and then we're going to measure and make sure you met your goals.' And what's happening is that I find teachers are using levels (to measure growth)-'This student's starting off at an L and is going to end up at a P,' or something like that."

This type of system often prompts teachers to put books in students' hands that they're not quite ready for. "The teacher is going to be pushing the student into harder texts in order to meet the goal," Serravallo says. "You've got this kid being pushed through because they can maybe decode the text but not because they're actually getting everything they can from it in terms of comprehension and meaning making. If the kids are not thinking on that level, why be pushing them into harder and harder books? Why not work with them in texts that they choose to help them get more from the texts that they're reading?"

What to do instead: Rather than focus narrowly on text levels, teachers should get to know students as readers from a variety of angles. "Factors such as motivation, background knowledge, culture, and English language proficiency should all be on our radar when considering how to help students find books they'll love, and how to evaluate students' comprehension and support them with appropriate goals and strategies."

2. Restricting Book Choice Based on a Single Assessment

"One of the ways that levels get misused is that teachers administer one assessment," Serravallo says. "It's usually a short assessment. It could be a computer assessment that's a short text with multiple choice, it could be a running record where kids read a selection of a text and answer a few questions. So there's this one assessment, and then from that they get a level or a level range, and they say to the kids, you can only pick from that level range. But the problem is that's misunderstanding all of the different variables that kids bring to the table, things like motivation, prior knowledge, stamina, their command of English, the genre. There's so many variables."

What to do instead: Take multiple factors into account when pairing students with texts. "We need to look at a couple of different assessments," Serravallo recommends, "and we need to account for these variables, and then once we have a sense of about where kids are able to read, we still need to be flexible when they go to choose. So if I have a kid who knows a lot about dinosaurs who typically reads books around Level O-P, if it's a dinosaur book and he wants to read it, and it's a Level R or S, maybe that's okay."

3. Inflexibility

Even if we have a pretty thorough idea of what types of texts would be a good fit for a student, only allowing them to choose books from a narrow range of levels doesn't take other important factors into account. There may be times when a student wants to challenge herself by going for a book that will require more support to get through, and other times when students want to read an easier book for fun.

"Saying to a student, 'You are a Level __ so you can only read Level __ books' is deeply problematic," Serravallo writes in her book. "We can use reading levels to help guide student choice, but levels should never be used to shackle a reader."

What to do instead: Use reading levels as a shortcut to knowing some likely features of books, but allow other factors to influence book choices. In her book, Serravallo shows us how to adjust our language to help students make these decisions for themselves: Instead of saying something like, "That book is too hard for you," she recommends saying something like, "That book is harder than what you typically read. Let's think about how I/your friends can support you as you read, if you find you need it."

4. Organizing Books by Level

While Serravallo admits to organizing the books in her classroom library in leveled bins years ago, "I've changed my thinking after seeing the consequence of what that does to kids' reading identity. What ends up happening is kids go to the classroom library and they say, 'I'm a Q. I'm going to pick a Q book.' And they go to the Q bin and they only look in the Q bin."

What to do instead: "I would organize them by topic, by genre, by author," Serravallo says, "So the first thing kids see when they go to the library is identities. And they think about themselves first before they think about level: Who am I as a reader, and what am I interested in reading?"

For her own purposes, Serravallo would still keep text levels on books, but put them in an inconspicuous place on the book, like on the inside of the front cover. "That way, when a child is holding a book, it's not like everyone can see the level on the book, so it's a little bit more private. But I like that having them on the book, because if I haven't read that book, I can peek at the level and be like, oh yeah, okay. Complex characters in this one. And I can use that to guide my discussions when I'm working with kids."

To learn more, check out Serravallo's book Understanding Texts and Readers, join the Reading and Writing Strategies Community on Facebook, or visit her website at jenniferserravallo.com.

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What Are the Best Ways to Use Leveled Texts?

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Power Point - Analyzing Writing and Writing Across Genres

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Power Point - Analyzing Writing and Writing Across Genres

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Riverdale Cycle 2 Grades 4-6 - Analyzing Student Writing and Writing Across Genres - padlet