Detail of Assessments of Student Progress
Sample of Assessments
Interaction (Discussion of Self as a Reader): Three of the four children in the music group identified themselves as readers. One of the students in the music group commented "Now that I am six and big, I can read. I'm getting good at it too. I like to read." When I asked the second child in the music group if he is a reader, he said "I just like music and books. I am a little boy and I will learn to read when I am six." The third child in the group said "I am a reader. I read to my parents at home and they are proud of me." The fourth child in this group was reading when he entered kindergarten. He responded by saying "Yes, I am a reader. I have been reading since I was little." All of the children in the group without music identified themselves as "readers". The first child in the group said "I practice reading at home. I practice everything. Reading is fun, but it is hard to read, but it is fun." When I asked one of the girls if she is a reader she said " I am a real good reader. I can really read." Another child in the group said " Yes, I am a reader. I read to my cat Cloey. I bet she can read too." The fourth child in the group said "Yes, I am a reader, but I like legos and trucks better."
Observation (Monthly observation of student reading behaviors and concepts of print with a teacher-made checklist): The following checklist represents the checklist that was used while observing the children's reading behaviors. All of the children in both groups showed gains in their knowledge concerning Concepts About Print. All of the children in both groups showed evidence of the various reading behaviors with the exception of "re-reads when no one-to-one correspondence is made" and "self-corrects when miscues distort meaning." Three of the four children in the music group as well as in the group without music showed evidence of "re-reading when no one-to-one correspondence is made." Three of the four children in the music group showed evidence of "self-correcting when miscues distort meaning." Two of the four children in the group without music showed evidence of "self-correcting when miscues distort meaning." One child in the group without music asked for help when "miscues distort meaning."
| Concepts of Print | Reading Behaviors |
| recognizes the front of a book | enjoys listening to someone read |
| recognizes high frequency words | sits for a time with own book |
| knows that letters stand for sounds | joins in the shared reading |
| shows one-to-one correspondence when reading | responds to reading |
| understands that print is what is read | uses illustrations to aid in comprehension |
| understands that print starts from the top left of the text | uses knowledge of oral and written language to predict |
| knows directionality of print-left to right progression | uses context and own prior knowledge to predict |
| recognizes conventions of punctuation-period, question mark | rereads when no one-to-one correspondence is made |
| knows the concept of "word" | self-corrects when miscues distort meaning |
| recognizes the title of a book | |
| knows that speech can be turned into print | |
| knows the names of letters | |
| is curious about print an what it conveys |
Clay, M.M. (2000). Concepts about print: What have children learned about the way we print language? Portsmouth, N.H: Heinmann.
Performance Analysis (weekly assessment of student's ability to read the sight words): The following line chart represents the progress made by the eight children in learning to read the eight sight words. Assessment was done once a week beginning on October 24, 2003 and continuing until March 26, 2004.
Group 1-"With Music": Group 1 is represented on the line chart in navy, pink, yellow & aqua.
Group 2-"Without Music": Group 2 is represented on the line chart in purple, brown, green & blue.
Weekly Assessment of Student's Ability to Read the Sight Words
# Words 
Dates of Assessment (Checklist)
Student's Self-Reflection (Self-reflection of overall reading experience): The children in both groups described their shared reading experience in positive ways. I asked the children to tell me what they thought about "literacy time". The responses from the music group were as follows: "It is fun. I like matching the words with the pictures and knowing the story. I like the drum too." "It's good but I don't know how to read you know so I read the pictures." I like reading all my books to everyone. I want to take the drum class after school. I like reading when the drum is talking too." " I like reading. I have been reading since I was little. I like to read and I am a good reader-really good." In the group without the music, the responses were as follows: "Reading is good. It is hard. I like it and I like learning stuff." "Everyone in my family can read. I can read now too. I like to make pictures in my head when I read. I like to do new things and pretend that I am in the book too." "I am learning to read books and even words that are not in books. It is easy sometimes and it is hard sometimes. I like it." "I am trying to read. It is hard to do. I like legos and trucks better."
