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Saturday, January 28, 2012

DIBELS... I did not realize!

So those of you who know me in my real life know that I am DATA CRAZY!  I keep specific data on EVERYTHING and I use it to drive my instruction and groupings.  Literally, you will see me teaching with a checklist in hand to make sure I can eyeball kids who need it! 

So this week while looking at my DIBELS data I realized something... check this out...



Do you notice what I notice, that I have never noticed before?  This student met in all three areas that we are told to focus on (FSF, PSF, NWF) but did not Benchmark overall... she came up Yellow Strategic. 

After asking around and getting no real answer, I started really to think about what this means and came up with this  (someone even told me to take it up with DIBELS... LOL). 

Even though a child can be OK in each individual area, they can still be strategic because strategic means "keep an eye on this one." If you look at the LNF she scored a O and the WWR is also O and so they are right.. I need to keep an eye on her.  For once, I realize that the Composite Score is just as important as each individual test (because ultimately I would like to NOT have any red or yellow dots, as when you look at the chart your eye attracts to the colors and not the numbers, making it look as if my kids did not do as good as they actually did!) 

How is knowing this going to change how I teach?  Believe it or not it really is.  Before realizing this I was like "Oh LNF don't really count AND WWR don't either" so I taught but did not really emphasize it through routine practice.  Boy was I holding myself back!  If this student had scored in those two areas, her composite score would have been higher and she would have had a green dot at the end of the row!  Duh!   (Please head over to PreK and K Sharing for what I include in those folder!)

So I quickly added a LNF into the students daily practice folders.  These are folders the kids keep at their tables that have sheet protectors in them and where they can put unfinished work.  When we come in from recess of as a fast finisher they can get a sand timer and practice.  I also created these great NSF pages for each month to have the kids slide in.  When I walk around I make sure the kids are BLENDING them, thus helping that WWR score skyrocket!  We have even done the words together as a class as warm-up before blending our words for our regular reading lesson.  =)    I really feel like it is going to make a difference so here it is for you for free! 



I hope someone else can learn from my little realization!  Please share any AHA's you have had too... (or maybe I am wrong?)  Have a great weekend everyone!

Sorry for the extra click... but I am moving all of my content over to Simply Kinder (since so much of what we do is for the primary grades in general!)
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19 comments:

  1. I love using nonsense words!! I start the beginning of the year with short vowels and then work my way of the phonics continuum...and the kids think reading "silly" words is fun!! lol
    Even my 3rd graders like it
    The Teachers’ Cauldron

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  2. I did not realize this either! We are working on these skills as well. Thanks!

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  3. Hello from your newest follower!! We aren't using DIBELS in our district, but the realization is the same no matter the assessment tool - thanks for the information! :)

    Amanda

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  4. We are considering adopting DIBELS-now I will know to look for this and bring this up in our discussions prior to making the final decision. Thanks for sharing! I love your blog and am you newest follower : )
    ❤Tanya
    Ms. Solano's Kindergarten

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  5. I think your practice pages are a great idea! If you'd ever have time to do some for grade 2 level, I'd LOVE it!!!
    Thanks for sharing-
    Pam

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  6. Thanks I pinned these. Here are some I created for January on my site:

    http://teacherscannotlivebyapplesalone.blogspot.com/2012/01/nonsese-word-fluency-winter-themed.html

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  7. Love!
    You've been tagged! Come check out my post here: http://sweettimesinfirst.blogspot.com/2012/01/im-it.html
    ❤ Sandra
    Sweet Times in First
    sweettimesinfirst@gmail.com

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  8. Our district uses DIBELS as well. This is why the company went to a composite score. I had one student who scored core in everything, but also received a Strategic composite score. After looking at her testing bookelt, there was a miscalculation of one of her tests. After the change, her composite score was Core. I'm sure that you, being the wonderful teacher that you are, will bring your friend's score up to Core.

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  9. Ha ha ha - I ALSO "TAGGED" you on my blog. Scoot on over and check it out.
    ❤Tanya
    Ms. Solano's Kindergarten

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  10. Oh, oh! You've been tagged one more time. -What a compliment to be so liked by all of these teachers:)

    -Lidia

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  11. WOW! I love it! Thank you so much for sharing... WWR is hard for those lower readers because we continually teach them to sound out then read the word. I can't wait for our next progress monitoring in the next few months!

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  12. Thank you for these wonderful practice sheets! We asses LNF and NWF thru our reading program...we need lots of practice on Nonsense words! You are awesome! =)

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  13. I cannot get it to come up....and would love a copy. Could you possibly send it to me?

    Thank-you,
    Roxanne

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  14. I can't seem to find your freebie. Would you please send it to me?
    kaysercandace@yahoo.com

    Thanks!
    Candace

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  15. Thank you for the freebie! My students have been sounding out every letter, which brought their scores down as well. We will definitely practice more NW in class!

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  16. I cant seem to find the freebie on non sense words can you please send to apeanutsmommy@gmail.com
    thanks

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  17. Please don't *teach* nonsense words. There is no research that supports reading nonsense words helps children become more proficient at decoding and reading. Like you said, DIBELS should be used to identify students who need more support. It's amazing that you love data and that you're using it to design instruction. Yay!!! However, DIBELS is designed to flag students who haven't mastered a particular *broad* reading skill. NWF measures the alphabetic principal - the understanding that letters represent sounds and the ability to blend the letter sounds together to form words. Students must know their consonant and vowel letter sounds as well as the systematic relationships between letters and phonemes. When you teach nonsense words, you invalidate this *measure*. It's like giving a child Tylenol before taking his temperature. Then his temperature isn't an accurate measure of his overall health. Instead, identify why the students can't read nonsense words. Is it because they don't know all of their letter sounds? Is it because they haven't learned to blend CVC words? Practicing CVC words and CV words will help children a lot more in the long run than practicing nonsense words. The risk is that they memorize the nonsense words and don't get flagged and thus don't get the necessary instruction that they need to master the skill. It sounds like you're a great teacher! Many, many people are misusing DIBELS.

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