Running Record Historiography

Recently, I performed a running record with a young student. She read from a book entitled “Dinner for Maisy;” an ‘H’ level book. As she read, her understanding and knowledge of letter sounds/blends became very apparent. For example, each time she came upon the name of the character “Maisy,” she would sound out the letters, clearly articulating and blending the letter sounds to create her best guess at the word. In the case of the name Maisy, as in the case of other words, this student demonstrated an awareness of visual cues. Visually tracking her reading, this student also demonstrated an adeptness in tracking reading from left to right and top to bottom, and as a skilled reader would, this student took initiative, using her understanding

I found it difficult to find a balance between the running recording notation and the notes about student comprehension and fluency. In the text Taking Running Records, Shea (2000) highlights the importance of gathering information about the entire reading experience (p. 23). Personally, I found it difficult to focus on every detail because I felt overwhelmed by the process. I remained focused on the running record notation as the student read, noting as much as I could remember about expression, pauses and fluency after completing the running record. As a result, I missed revealing details about the student. On page 20, Shea (2000) suggests that teachers start by “practicing” the running record experience, mainly focusing on the fluency and comprehension behaviours of the student. I plan to practice as much as possible to help myself, and my future

I found it difficult to formulate questions from each level of Bloom’s taxonomy, consequently, I may have devised questions to simple, or unclear to truly evaluate the comprehension of the student. For example, one of the questions I asked was “can you think of extra personal connections to the book?” I mistakenly asked the question in such a way that the student could simply say no (which is what happened). In the text “How to Take Running Records” the importance of comprehension is emphasized (Alphakids Assessment Kit Teacher’s Guide, 2002, p.10). Aiding students as they become critics and analysts of written work is part of the role of the teacher. If I expect both an accurate view of student abilities and a comprehensive running record, it is my duty to practice creating effective questions addressing all levels of comprehension!

My final thoughts about children 's reading and learning are about the nuances between students that are so important to note as a teacher. I did a running record for two students and the differences between the students were astounding. One student read without confidence, while the other student, facing a similar situation (uncertainty of words, no previous experience with the book, no knowledge of me) read confidently. I felt obliged to assist the struggling emergent reader, while I felt that the girl, a beginning reader did not need as much assistance from