What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know about Reading Tests (from Someone who Has Written Them)


Book Description

The content of tests can be puzzling to students and teachers alike. While a state test purports to measure the curriculum, often the curriculum standards seem mysterious as well--written in code or so general in meaning that it seems impossible for teachers to know if their instruction will adequately prepare their students. --Charles Fuhrken When he was a student struggling to concentrate on dreadfully boring passages of standardized reading tests, Charles Fuhrken remembers thinking to himself, "Who writes this stuff?" He had no idea that one day it would be him. Fuhrken has spent years working as a writer for several major testing companies, and he believes that what he's learned about testing could be very useful--even liberating--for teachers interested in teaching effective reading strategies as well as preparing students for reading tests. In What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests, Charles takes the mystery out of reading tests. He explains how reading tests are created, how standards are interpreted and assessed, and how students can apply their knowledge of reading to standardized tests. What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests sets the record straight about the myths and realities of tests and offers extensive, practical strategies that help students perform well on test day. This ready to use, easy to understand resource provides a wealth of information about reading tests, including high-quality preparation materials; samples of the most frequently assessed reading standards; and more than thirty engaging, core-reading activities. Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge-application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. That's why teachers need to provide students with sound, specific information about reading tests. Only then can students feel prepared and confident on test day.




What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests


Book Description

When he was a student struggling to concentrate on dreadfully boring passages of standardized reading tests, Charles Fuhrken remembers thinking to himself, 'Who writes this stuff?' He had no idea that one day it would be him. ' Fuhrken has spent years working as a writer for several major testing companies, and he believes that what he's learned about testing could be very usefuleven liberatingfor teachers interested in teaching effective reading strategies as well as preparing students for reading tests. In What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests (From Someone Who Has Written Them), Fuhrken' takes the mystery out of reading tests. He explains how reading tests are created, how standards are interpreted and assessed, and how students can apply their knowledge of reading to standardized tests.' ' What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests sets the record straight about the myths and realities of tests and offers extensive, practical strategies that help students perform well on test day. This ready to use, easy to understand resource provides a wealth of information about reading tests, including high-quality preparation materials; samples of the most frequently assessed reading standards; and more than thirty engaging, core-reading activities. ' Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge-application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. That's why teachers need to provide students with sound, specific information about reading tests. Only then can students feel prepared and confident on test day. '




FTCE Reading K-12


Book Description

Pass the FTCE Reading K-12 Test Are you working on your reading endorsement? The NavaED FTCE Reading K-12 study guide with practice tests is fully aligned to the skills and competencies assessed on the exam. The study guide has content and test questions that cover everything assessed on the FTCE Reading K-12, so you can pass your exam the first time you take it. The study guide includes: Detailed content sections for all competencies of the test, so you understand everything covered on the exam. 10 practice test questions after each competency, so you can practice the specific skills for each type of question you'll see on the test. Detailed answer explanations for every test question in the study guide, so you know exactly why you answered correctly or incorrectly. Multiple teaching scenarios and assessment questions, so you are prepared for complex situational questions on the test. Test tips and strategies specific to the FTCE Reading K-12 Test, so you can think like a test maker and not a test taker. A full 120-question practice test with detailed answer explanations, so you can practice your skills. A list of "good words" to look for in the answer choices, so you can identify the correct answers and eliminate incorrect answers quickly. The 9 competencies covered in this study guide are: Knowledge of research and theories of reading processes Knowledge of text types and structures Knowledge of reading assessment and evaluation Knowledge of learning environments and procedures that support reading Knowledge of oral and written language acquisition and beginning reading Knowledge of phonics and word recognition Knowledge of vocabulary acquisition and use Knowledge of reading fluency and reading comprehension Knowledge of reading program development, implementation, and coordination




Everything a New Elementary School Teacher REALLY Needs to Know (But Didn't Learn in College)


Book Description

Not your typical how-to manual for new teachers, this no-nonsense, jargon-free guide offers a wide variety of tools and tactics for getting through every school day with grace and sanity. Covered in glue, glitter, orange juice—or worse? Make a quick change into the spare set of clothes you keep on hand for just this purpose. Butterflies in your stomach before your first-ever Meet the Teacher Night? Keep your cool by writing the agenda on your board—it’ll double as a crib sheet for you. These tips and hundreds more, covering virtually every aspect of teaching, have all been learned the hard way: from real-life classroom experience. Otis Kriegel’s “little black book” will be a treasured resource for teachers who want not only to survive but to thrive in any situation.




Differentiated Reading Instruction


Book Description

This book provides a research-based framework for making differentiated instruction work in the primary grades. It includes scientifically validated techniques for teaching each component of the beginning reading program. The authors describe how to use assessment to form differentiated small groups and monitor student progress; plan which skills to target and when; and implement carefully selected instructional strategies. Vivid classroom examples illustrate what differentiated instruction looks like in action in each of the primary grades. For additional helpful resources, including classroom-ready lesson plans, teachers can purchase the complementary volume, How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction: Resources for Grades K-3.




Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties


Book Description

Practical, effective, evidence-based reading interventions that change students' lives Essentials of Understanding and Assessing Reading Difficulties is a practical, accessible, in-depth guide to reading assessment and intervention. It provides a detailed discussion of the nature and causes of reading difficulties, which will help develop the knowledge and confidence needed to accurately assess why a student is struggling. Readers will learn a framework for organizing testing results from current assessment batteries such as the WJ-IV, KTEA-3, and CTOPP-2. Case studies illustrate each of the concepts covered. A thorough discussion is provided on the assessment of phonics skills, phonological awareness, word recognition, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Formatted for easy reading as well as quick reference, the text includes bullet points, icons, callout boxes, and other design elements to call attention to important information. Although a substantial amount of research has shown that most reading difficulties can be prevented or corrected, standard reading remediation efforts have proven largely ineffective. School psychologists are routinely called upon to evaluate students with reading difficulties and to make recommendations to address such difficulties. This book provides an overview of the best assessment and intervention techniques, backed by the most current research findings. Bridge the gap between research and practice Accurately assess the reason(s) why a student struggles in reading Improve reading skills using the most highly effective evidence-based techniques Reading may well be the most important thing students are taught during their school careers. It is a skill they will use every day of their lives; one that will dictate, in part, later life success. Struggling students need help now, and Essentials of Understanding and Assessing Reading Difficulties shows how to get these students on track.




Third Grade Angels


Book Description

The long-awaited prequel to the bestseller FOURTH GRADE RATSGeorge, aka "Suds," has just entered third grade, and he's heard the rhyme about "first grade babies/second grade cats/third grade angels/fourth grade rats," but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded "the halo" - which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he's finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?A warm, funny return to elementary school from master storyteller Spinelli.




Language at the Speed of Sight


Book Description

We’ve been teaching reading wrong—a leading cognitive scientist tells us how we can finally do it right




Checking for Understanding


Book Description

A teacher presents a lesson, and at the end asks students if they understand the material. The students nod and say they get it. Later, the teacher is dismayed when many of the students fail a test on the material. Why aren’t students getting it? And, just as important, why didn’t the teacher recognize the problem? In Checking for Understanding, Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey show how to increase students’ understanding with the help of creative formative assessments. When used regularly, formative assessments enable every teacher to determine what students know and what they still need to learn. Fisher and Frey explore a variety of engaging activities that check for and increase understanding, including interactive writing, portfolios, multimedia presentations, audience response systems, and much more. This new 2nd edition of Checking for Understanding has been updated to reflect the latest thinking in formative assessment and to show how the concepts apply in the context of Fisher and Frey’s work on gradual release of responsibility, guided instruction, formative assessment systems, data analysis, and quality instruction. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are the creators of the Framework for Intentional and Targeted (FIT) Teaching™. They are also the authors of numerous ASCD books, including The Formative Assessment Action Plan: Practical Steps to More Successful Teaching and Learning and the best-selling Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention.




Handbook of Reading Research


Book Description

"The Handbook of Reading Research is the research handbook for the field. Each volume has come to define the field for the period of time it covers ... When taken as a set, the four volumes provide a definitive history of reading research"--Back of cover, volume 4.




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