This year as I had the opportunity to work as an online Spanish immersion teacher, I needed to learn how to evaluate students’ reading levels using different digital platforms in order to help them progress and develop their literacy skills. One of my first questions was: is this really going to work in the virtual classroom?
Teaching with technology has its pros and cons, learners need interaction with peers, a balance between screen time and independent learning and in a dual language program focus on the target language and ways to practice it was the priority. But how did I find out my student’s reading level to be sure they were ready for advanced textbooks or not? The possibilities with technology are endless and finding solutions through the obstacles was key to success in this process.
First, I needed to gather information and have an overview of my learner’s reading ability. A year before the remote learning, my students were using Reading A-Z (Raz Kids). This teaching platform included interactive level books in English and Spanish and offered online resources, running records, and content knowledge for bilingual education. For the first semester, I usually shared my screen and pulled up a passage to read together during live lessons, and I also assigned asynchronous work based on the book story. Throughout this process, I was able to recognize my student’s strengths and weaknesses and have an idea of their reading level.
Another similar platform that I utilized specifically to be sure of my students’ reading level was Benchmark Universe. In the last period of the school year it was key to track their progress and identify students that need more support in reading. Based on the experience with Raz Kids, we decided to do running records during the last period of the school year.
Running records help teachers identify the following steps to boost the learner’s strengths and skills regarding reading and language acquisition, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and comprehension.
There are two ways to administer reading assessments with Benchmark Universe. One is working with students one-on-one during the online meeting (for virtual school). For this option, students need to have access to the complete print book or an e-book, and the teacher reads the title and gives brief information about the passage before taking the assessment. Then, once the student is ready, they read the text orally, and teachers can mark reading behaviors, track their fluency, and determine the student’s accuracy and comprehension. The idea is to measure the words that are read correctly and evaluate their proficiency level.
The other option is assigning the work to be completed independently; students record themselves using the online platform while they read the passage. When they finish, the teacher will have access to the recording and complete the same process guided by the platform.
The proficiency level is determined by the student’s accuracy and comprehension in three categories:
Independent (level texts that students can read without assistance).
Instructional (texts that are appropriate during instructional time).
Frustrational (texts that are beyond a student’s current capabilities).
After reading assessments are evaluated, the next step is to set up goals to help students progress and grow in their reading skills.
Here is an example of the reports given by Benchmark Universe.
Working in the online environment opens new opportunities for teaching and creates new ways to help students succeed in their learning. I recommend the digital platforms as a valuable tool for young learners even though elementary students need more support in the area of literacy and technology is not always the best place to develop these skills. However, parents and teachers can work together through this experience and plan better practices when the only option is virtual learning.
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