Using Running Records to Inform Instruction

This resource includes … 1) background information on the types of cueing systems that are important for
students to develop; 2) examples of miscues so that a teacher can identify strengths and weaknesses in a
student’s cueing systems; 3) ideas for how to group students using Miscue Analysis data; 3) ideas for how to coach
students to improve their cueing systems; 4) a sample unit plan for how to introduce/reinforce cueing system use.
When and Why should I use this?
You should use this if you are using any reading assessment where you are tracking student errors (e.g. Running
Records, DIBELS, DRA) and want more information to figure out why students are making certain mistakes.
How should I use this?
If you are familiar with the cueing systems and just want strategies for how to coach students when they exhibit
certain weaknesses with cueing systems and word attack strategies, skip to Section 3 of this resource. Otherwise,
you should read through the resource to get background information on the cueing systems and ideas for how to use
the information Miscue Analysis provides to deliver very targeted instruction to your students. If you are a Program
Director, this resource is written to be used independently by teachers.
Additional Notes (if needed)

Using your Running Record data to inform your instruction is the most strategic way to meet your students’ needs. The information you get from
analyzing your running records tells you exactly what knowledge and skills your students need to move to the next level and meet their goals. This
information can come directly from Miscue Analysis, which is one specific way to analyze your Running Record data.

This resource will walk you through three important aspects of miscue analysis:
1) Miscue Analysis – What are the cueing systems? This section will show you how to use the different facets of a reader’s cueing system
to help you identify what your students are struggling with the most.
2) How Do I Use Running Record Data to Form Reading Groups? This section will detail some ways to think about grouping students
based on your miscue analysis.
3) How and When Do I Teach and Remediate Cueing Skills? This section will explain how to identify when and how you would teach
and remediate these vital skills.

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Miscue Analysis – What are the cueing systems?
Miscue analysis is a tool for looking closely at the types of decoding and word-solving strategies a reader uses. The kinds of miscues (incorrect guesses)
a reader makes will give the listener clues about how familiar or unfamiliar the reader finds the subject matter and how easy or difficult they find the text
to read. Tests of phonics skills alone do not give this sort of information because reading is so much more than just looking closely at each letter and
every word.

Three ‘cueing’ systems underlay the reading process:

A. The Meaning Cues
B. Structure Cues
C. Visual information Cues

The pattern of miscues can suggest a reader’s strengths as well as their weaknesses. If we put together the miscues (what word was read incorrectly,
and the substituted word) with what the learner can tell us about how the miscues were made, then we can begin to understand what is really going on
when a text is read. Ideally students are using all 3 systems simultaneously to most easily “solve” unknown words. Below you will find more detailed
information about each of these systems.

If you need a refresher on taking running records and the process of recording miscues, reference your Elementary Literacy text, pages 26-28.

The following information and examples have been pulled directly from “Miscue Analysis” an educational pamphlet from the United Kingdoms
Department of Education and Skills. Another good resource for learning more about cueing systems is Guided Reading by Fountas and Pinnell.

A. Meaning Cues
Meaning Cues: If a child is using meaning cues while reading, their substitution makes sense and does
not interrupt the general comprehension of the sentence, paragraph, or passage up to the point of error.
Meaning cues are also referred to as semantic cues.

Examples: (words in italics are the student’s substitution for the word in the text)

cage meat
• Bears live in the cave. I like to eat hamburgers.

How acceptable is the miscue in terms of the text’s meaning?

Semantic strength (i.e. the relevancy of the substitution) is high when the original meaning of the sentence is relatively unchanged. Most miscues will
modify the meaning to some extent, but they are acceptable when they are close to the author’s meaning. Semantic strength is partial when the miscue
is appropriate within a single sentence or part of a sentence but not within the overall context e.g. horse/house.

Some examples of miscues with high meaning (semantic) acceptability:

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 Text Miscue
violent volcanic
disruptive destructive
afford offer

Examples of partial semantic acceptability:

Text Miscue
pigeons penguins
rewarded regarded
species special

Examples of poor semantic acceptability:

Text Miscue
pigeons pigments
owner over
present parent

B. Structure Cues
Structure Cues: If a child is using structure cues while reading, their substitution keeps sentence
structure intact (though they may or may not keep meaning intact). Structure cues are also known as
syntactic cues.

Examples:

lived we
• Bears live in the cave. I like to eat hamburgers.

Does the miscue work grammatically in the context of the sentence?

Miscues are either appropriate or not appropriate.

Examples of miscues that show syntactic strength (i.e. miscues that use the same part of speech as the actual word, so that the phrase still makes
sense, or it would make sense if it were taken out of context of the passage):

Text Miscue

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 (send him as a) present patient
(he had huge) arms hands
fully (mature) finally

Examples which show syntactic weakness, i.e. that are not syntactically appropriate:

Text Miscue
(was quite) devoid (of hair) devote
(both) sides (of his face) besides
(a) glitter (of ironic laughter) greater

C. Visual Information Cues

Visual Information Cues: If a child is using visual information cues while reading, their substitution is
similar in letters and sounds to the intended word. Visual information cues can be based on the initial
(first), medial (middle), or final (last) letters/sounds of a word. Visual information cues may also be
referred to as (simply) visual cues.

Examples:

Bees ham.
• Bears live in the cave. I like to eat hamburgers.

Examples of miscue with effective visual similarity:

Text Miscue
waist wrist
straightened strengthened
owing owning
detriment determent

You will see that the miscued words are almost identical in length and shape to the original words. The choice of words would not alter the meaning of
the text to a serious extent. The author’s intent will stay mostly intact.

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Examples of miscues with partial visual-cue similarity:
Text Miscue
present patient
fortitude fortunate
sedately sadly
acclimatization accumulation

Examples of miscues with little or no visual-cue similarity:

Text Miscue
present perched
almost awfully
usual surface
flickering blinking

Coding Miscues
In trying to identify which of the three systems the miscue fits into, it is best to choose the most obvious. However, there will always be times when a
miscue could fit more than one system. For example, if someone says waist for wrist we have noted that this is an effective visual miscue, but arguably it
also has meaning and structural acceptability. The important thing about this sort of miscue is that it probably does not affect the overall meaning of the
text and unless the reader the reader made many errors of this sort, it could be pointed out, but not dwelt upon.

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How Do I Use Running Record Data to Form Reading Groups?
The easiest way to group students based on Running Record data (or any reading test that assigns a “level”) is to form homogenous groups from high to
low based on their reading level (or fluency score). The primary benefit of this type of grouping is the ability to provide more students with exposure to
text that is at (or closer to) their instructional reading level on a regular basis.

Although it is highly recommended to continue to pull groups based primarily on reading level, Miscue Analysis provides a way to form dynamic groups
that may be heterogeneous in terms of reading level, but are targeted to address specific cueing system needs. To clarify, these groups may have the
same or different members than groups pulled by reading level only.

For example, take a look at the following sample dataset from a recent Running Record assessment:

Reading
Student
Level
Timothy 24
Jonas 24
Erin 24
Jacob 22
Luis 22
Tatiana 20
Sam 20
Isaac 18

If the teacher were creating two groups by their Fountas and Pinnell reading level above, she would likely group the top 4 together and the bottom 4
together. However, if she were to also include Miscue Analysis ratings she may be able to create different groups targeted to specific reading needs.

Take a look at the following dataset. Please note the following symbols: + (strength), / (partial), and – (weakness).

Reading Meanin Structur Visua

Name
Level g e l
Timothy 24 / + /
Jonas 24 - + /
Erin 24 / - +
Jacob 22 / - +
Luis 22 / - +
Tatiana 20 - + /
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 Sam 20 - + /
Isaac 18 / - +

Looking at the data from these three simple categories adds a lot of information. As a teacher, you want to avoid getting paralyzed by looking at all the
additional information, and instead make an efficient assessment and move forward with grouping. After reading with the students, you may want to
identify the major cueing system that, if addressed, would lead toward greater reading comprehension and fluency.

Looking at the above data sample, three students have weaknesses in using meaning clues when reading difficult words. The words may have some
visual similarities to the real word, but the guesses do not retain meaning. This would be a good group to pull to work on these skills: Jonas, Tatiana,
and Sam. Timothy could also benefit from this instruction.

The other students appear to be making mistakes that are very connected visually to the real word, but sometimes distract from meaning and don’t make
sense in terms of the structure of the sentence. This fits Erin, Jacob, Luis, and Isaac.

My miscue analysis-based groups don’t include altogether different members than my reading level groups, but the biggest change is that I know
specifically how to target my instruction when reading with these students in small groups.

I know have two groups based on the cueing system I feel will most rapidly accelerate student reading process – a group for meaning cues and a group
for structure cues. I may also want to create groups that address areas for growth despite whether it is a major area (-) or a minor area of weakness (/).
This may look like a composition of the following groups:

Group A (Meaning cues): Group B (Structure cues): Group C (Meaning cues): Group D (Visual cues):
Jonas Erin Erin Timothy
Tatiana Jacob Jacob Jonas
Sam Luis Luis Tatiana
Timothy Isaac Isaac Sam

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How to Teach and Remediate Cueing Skills
Below is a list of several activities that you can use to build students’ fluency and comprehension and overcome some of the miscues we have been
discussing (meaning, structure, and visual information cues). Below you will find:
1) traditional word attack strategies and how they corresponding to cueing systems;
2) specific strategies for handling common miscues and other mistakes students may make when reading
3) a unit plan you may use to introduce and/or remediate the basic cueing systems in whole or small group settings.

When do I teach cueing skills?

The cueing skills and strategies should be taught and reinforced throughout your reading block. You may choose to introduce, teach, and remediate
cueing skills as part of whole group mini-lessons, when modeling during read-alouds, or during your small group guided reading structures. Many
teachers implement a time of the day designated as “Reader’s Workshop”, where a mini-lesson is given on a reading strategy and students are given
independent time to apply these strategies and reflect on their use. The teacher may work individually or in small groups with students to reinforce these
strategies.

See the following resource for more info on guided reading: http://www.tfanet.org/wps/myportal/teachinglearningcenter/resourceexchange/resourceprofile?
resource_id=4ffa44dae06433a9:19c75692:1251326711a:-614e

Word attack strategies

You may be familiar with many of the below strategies that are often used with beginning and fluent readers when they encounter a new word. The
following table is designed to help you identify when and why you may want to use certain strategies given the information you know about a student’s
cueing system use. This table may also help you identify gaps in your instruction regarding cueing system reinforcement.

Word Attack Strategy Cueing System(s) Reinforced How I Can Prompt Students to Use This Strategy?
Look at the picture • Meaning cues • Look at the picture.

• Are there people, objects, or actions in the picture that might make
sense in the sentence?
Try to sound out the word • Visual information cues • Start with the first letter, and say each letter-sound out loud.

Look at the beginning letters
• Visual information cues
• Meaning cues
• Blend the sounds together and try to say the word. Does the word
make sense in the sentence?
• What is the first letter(s) you see? What sound does it make?
• Look at the first letter. Do you see a word in the picture that might
match that word?

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Look at the ending letters
Look for a smaller word inside
the word
Skip the word and read to the
end of the sentence
Try to guess. Does your word
make sense? Does your
guess look like the word?
Use the words around it.
Go back and re-read.
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• Visual information cues
• Visual information cues
• Meaning cues
• Structure cues
• Meaning cues
• Structure cues
• Visual cues (does your guess
look like the word?)
• Structure cues
• Meaning cues
• Meaning cues
• Structure cues
• Look at the first letter(s). What word may make sense in this sentence
that uses those letters?
• Look at the last letters – what sounds should they make? Try the word
again using those sounds.
• Look at the ending. What sound does that ending make? Try the word
again with that ending.
• Do you see an ending in this word that you know?
• Look for familiar letter chunks. They may be sound/symbols, prefixes,
suffixes, endings, whole words, or base words.
• Read each chunk by itself. Then blend the chunks together and sound
out the word. Does that word make sense in the sentence?
• Think of a word that looks like the unfamiliar word.
• Compare the familiar word to the unfamiliar word. Decide if the familiar
word is a chunk or form of the unfamiliar word.
• Use the known word in the sentence to see if it makes sense. If so, the
meanings of the two words are close enough for understanding.
• Read past the unfamiliar word and look for clues.
• If the word is repeated, compare the second sentence to the first. What
word might make sense in both?
• Look at the first letter. Do you see a word in the picture that might
match that word?
• Look at the first/last letter(s). What word may make sense in this
sentence that uses those letters?
• Read the words just before that word again. What word would make
sense? (meaning) What word might sound right here
(meaning/structure)?
• Hold your finger on that word and read on. Now read the sentence
again. Think about a word that might make sense/sound right in this
sentence.
• Read the sentence more than once.
• Think about what word might make sense in the sentence. Try the word
 and see if the sentence makes sense/sounds right.

Put another word in its place.
Look at the dictionary.
• Meaning cues
• Structure cues
• Visual cues (if looking up
phonetic pronunciation)
• Think about what you know about the subject of the book, paragraph,
or sentence.
• Do you know anything that might make sense in the sentence? Read
the sentence with the word to see if it makes sense.
• Does that word sound right in this sentence? Look it up in the
dictionary to see if it has another pronunciation that makes more sense.

• Meaning cues (if looking up

Ask a friend or an adult.
definition to confirm
pronunciation)
• No cueing system use. • Ask someone at your table what strategy they would use to figure out
Although friend/adult may this word.
prompt to use cueing system.

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More strategies for handling miscues and other common mistakes

The following table includes more strategies for how to work with your students when they exhibit either weaknesses in certain cueing systems or other
common errors.

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What I see in student’s
running record
Uses 1 or 2 source(s) of
information
Uses Meaning and Structure • Direct teaching and prompts to focus on visual information
but neglects Visual
Does not address
punctuation and text features • Teach during Shared Reading and writing activities
Applies substitutions
Neglects meaning (may
focus primarily on visual
cues)
Rarely self-corrects
Read slowly word for word
This resource
Struggles with high-
frequency wordsA tool recommended
What I can do
•Direct teaching to the other sources of information in Guided Reading and Shared Reading through teacher
prompts:
“Does it make sense?” (direct to meaning)
“Does it sound right?” (focus attention on structure)
“Does it look right?” (focus attention on visual cues)
• Encourage the student to check an attempt:
“It looks like come, but does that sound right?” (structure)
• Teach effective ways to solve new words (such as chunking, initial sound, repeating and attempting the new
word)
• Model during Read Aloud and writing sessions
• Provide opportunities to practice in Guided Reading
• Emphasize punctuation with texts that the student knows well
• Emphasize attention to visual information
“It makes sense but look at the first letter.”
“It sounds right but look at the end of the word.”
• Provide comprehension strategies and prompts for meaningless errors:
“You said…..Does that make sense?”
• Provide direct teaching:
“Good readers think about what they are reading.”
• Encourage the student to reread something when it is unclear or doesn’t make sense
• Encourage the student to predict or check what is happening
• Teach pre-reading comprehension strategies like predicting, taking a picture walk, questioning and making
connections during Shared Reading
• Practice strategies during Guided Reading
• Teach self-monitoring (checking that the words read make sense, sound right and look right)
• Provide checking strategies such as re-reading, checking the picture and confirming visual information:
“You said….Does that sound right?”
“Look at the picture.”
“Try this part again. Does that match?”
• Use Guided and Shared Reading sessions to model and prompt for checking strategies
• Read familiar books with the student, focusing on fluency, not on decoding
“Make it sound smooth, like talking.”
• Model reading with phrasing and fluency
• Prompt during Guided Reading and Shared Reading:
“Make it sound like talking.”
“Let’s try smooth reading.”
• Use choral reading
• Provide the student with books on audiotape
• Pair the student with a fluent reader
• Tape the student reading, then play back the tape
• Encourage reading aloud in shared writing experiences
• Find books that lend themselves to fluent reading (patterned text, songbooks, rhymes)
• Choose books that hold a lot of interest for the student
• is a PD
Create wordRoundtable “Top
banks and a word Pick”
wall with high frequency words
• Encourage the student
by a group to use the words,
of experienced sort them
Program and refer
Directors to them (and their mentors).
for teachers
• Select texts that include the high-frequency words. Before reading the text, look at the word(s) with which the
student has trouble. Use magnetic letters, little cards or a whiteboard. Then find the word(s) in the text
before reading the whole book. Say, “Find ‘is’. Good, that says ‘he is’”.
Sample unit plan for teaching cueing systems and the self-monitoring of their use

The following are two unit plans you may want to use with your students to teach, remediate, or review the use of cueing systems. The second plan
represents a way you could integrate these strategies into your modeling and think alouds to remind students that good readers are always using these
strategies.

Example Unit Applying Reading Cues as Read

Unit Overview
Concepts of Comprehension
Vocabulary in Context
First Grade
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
1.) Use visual cues to read unknown words.
2.) Use meaning cues to read unknown words.
3.) Use structure cues to read unknown words.
4.) Students will be able to use visual, meaning, and structure clues together to determine the meaning of a word.
National Reading Panel Teaching Strategies: Prior Knowledge, Summarization, Active Listening, Comprehension Monitoring, Answering
Questions
Books:
Lesson 1: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Lesson 2: The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
Lesson 3: Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
Lesson 1: Visual and Meaning Cues
Learning Outcome(s):
Students will be able to use visual cues to read unknown words.
Students will be able to use meaning cues to read unknown words.

(I) will explain that when we do not know a word while reading, we can think about what word would make sense in the sentence (meaning)
and look at the letters in the word to help us identify the word (visual). I will use The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (big book) to model how
to use visual and meaning cues to decode unknown words. I will model substituting the word “fall” for “autumn” (visual) on page 1. I
will stop and think aloud: The picture on this page shows trees with leaves of all different colors. II know that leaves change colors in
the fall. I think it is “fall”. But if I look at the letters in the word, that doesn’t make sense. I know that “fall” starts with “f” and this word
starts with an “a”. Another word for “fall” that starts with an “a” is “autumn”. I think this word is “autumn”. I know this because I
thought about whether it made sense in the sentence and if the letters looked right. I will substitute “bun” for “burn” (meaning) on

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 page 3 and think aloud about how that doesn’t make any sense. This word looks like the word “bun”. I will read the sentence again
and see if that makes sense. “The sun’s hot rays bun it up.” That doesn’t make any sense. It must be another word that starts with
“bu–”. I know the sun is very hot and the sun’s rays can burn. I think the word is burn because that makes sense in the sentence
and the word looks like “burn”. I will continue to model these cueing systems by substituting “ice” for “icy” (meaning) on page 6 and
“small” for “tiny” (visual) on page 6.

(We) will listen for any visual and meaning errors as the teacher reads the rest of the book aloud. The teacher will substitute “downs” for
“drowns” (meaning) on page 9, “dessert” for “desert” (meaning) on page 10, “flies” for “comes” (visual) on page 12, and “ground” for
“earth” (visual) on page 15. We will stop reading at page 15 and discuss how thinking about which words made sense and looking at
the letters of the word helped us read the beginning of the book. (The remainder of the book will be read in Lesson 2; assessment is
provided.)

(You) will use visual and meaning cues to decode unknown words in independent and guided reading. The teacher will assess these strategies
using the attached recording form.

Lesson 2: Structure and Meaning Cues

Learning Outcome(s):
Students will be able to use meaning cues to read unknown words.
Students will be able to use structure cues to read unknown words.

(I) will remind students that yesterday we learned two new strategies for identifying unknown words in a text – thinking about the meaning
of the sentence and looking at the letters. Today we will learn another strategy: listening to the sentence as we say it aloud and
thinking about whether it sounds right (structure cues). I will use The Tiny Seed (big book) to model how to use structure and
meaning cues to decode unknown words. I will begin reading on page 16 and model substituting the word “grewed” for “grow”
(structure). I will stop and think aloud about how that didn’t sound right and I will reread the sentence as I listen to establish if the
sentence sounds right. “Grewed” is not really a word and doesn’t sound right in the sentence. What word does sound right and
would make sense? I think “grow” sounds right and makes more sense. I will model this strategy again by substituting “no more” for
“anymore” (structure) on page 16. I will substitute “hurray” for “hurry” (meaning) on page 16 and think aloud that that doesn’t make
sense. I will continue to model these cueing systems by substituting “wanting” for “waiting” (meaning) on page 18, “children” for
“child” (structure) on page 18 and “packed” for “picked” (meaning) on page 23.

(We) will listen for any structure and meaning errors as the teacher reads the rest of the book aloud. The teacher will substitute “growed” for
“grows” (structure) on page 24, “talker” for “taller” (meaning) on page 24, “new” for “now” (meaning) on page 29, “day” for “days”
(structure) on page 29, “blewed” for “blows” (structure) on page 30, “bents” for “bends” (structure) on page 30 and “sharks” for
“shakes” (meaning) on page 30. We will discuss that what we read needs to make sense, look right and sound right.

(You) will use structure and meaning cues to decode unknown words in independent and guided reading. The teacher will assess these
strategies using the attached recording form. (Assessment is provided.)

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Lesson 3: Strategies for Determining the Meaning of a Word
Learning Outcome(s): Students will be able to use visual, meaning, and structure clues together to determine the meaning of a word.

(I) will explain that sometimes when I am reading, I can read a word by sounding it out, but I don’t understand what it means. I will explain
that I can stop and think about which word would make sense in the sentence, based on the pictures and text. Then I can guess
about what the word in the sentence means. I will use Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert to model this strategy. I will stop at page
8 and think aloud about the words “nursery workers”. I will think aloud about what the words might mean based on the sentence. The
sentence says that these types of workers came to the woods to collect tree sprouts. The picture shows hands with gloves holding
tree limbs. So a nursery must have something to do with trees. Nursery workers must be people who work with trees. I will explain
that thinking about the meaning of the sentence and looking at the pictures helped me understand the meaning of the word.

(We) will turn and talk with a partner about what the word “transplanted” (page 10) means. We will then discuss as a group the meaning of
this word and how we determined the meaning. We will repeat this strategy with the word “uprooted” (page 11).

(You) will think about what the words “crown of leaves” (page 24) might mean and what makes sense in the sentence. You will explain how
you determined the meaning of the phrase. (Independent Practice is provided.)

Note: The overall objective for first grade is for students to independently use all three cuing systems (visual, structural and meaning).
These lessons will need to be taught repeatedly throughout the year.
Additional Ideas and Activities:
Comprehension Instruction and Reading Groups:

• Have students determine the meaning of new vocabulary words during read aloud sessions, shared reading and guided reading by
using visual, structural and meaning cues.
• You can play a memory game with new vocabulary words learned in reading. Write the vocabulary word on an index card and have
students tell you what it means or use it in a sentence.
• Write new vocabulary words on index cards. On a separate set of index cards, draw a picture for each word. Have students match
the word to the correct picture and sentence that describes each word.
• When students are reading and come to a word that they have a hard time decoding or do not understand, have them cover parts of
the word, such as the prefix or suffix, to see if there are any parts of the word that they do know. Use the part of the word that they
know to read the word and figure out the meaning of the word. Teachers should model this strategy for students using direct
teaching, guided practice and independent practice so students can fully understand how to use this strategy.
• Have students brainstorm words with a root word. Place a root word in the center and have students brainstorm words that contain
the root word. (See Additional Activity: A.)
• When students encounter a new word and figure out its meaning and how to read it, have them complete a graphic organizer with
the word, a sentence using the word and an illustration. (See Additional Activity: B.)
• Have students complete a cloze activity to practice new vocabulary words. (See Additional Activity: C for an example.) You can also
create your own cloze activities by photocopying pages of a book and covering words that you would like students to practice.
• Use a bookmark or create a poster of strategies to hang in the classroom that students can use to read new vocabulary and
understand the meaning of words. You can add any ideas to the bookmark/poster included in this unit. More advanced students can

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 create their own bookmarks or posters of strategies they find useful. (See Additional Activity: D.)

Writing Extensions:

• During shared writing, rewrite some stories with new vocabulary or rephrase a sentence to include new vocabulary. For example, “It
was funny” can be rewritten as “It was hysterical.”
• Make a class vocabulary book. Have students use the new vocabulary words from a book in sentences and illustrate what they
mean.
• Have students use one new vocabulary word in their writing exercises.
• Create a list of boring words that students can no longer use in their writing. Brainstorm more interesting vocabulary to use instead.
For example, “big” can be replaced with “huge,” “humongous,” “gigantic,” or “enormous.”

Other Connections:

• Discuss new vocabulary during General Knowledge and Science. Have students keep a list of words in journals specific to a topic or
subject area. They can illustrate each word and use it in a sentence.
• Send home a list of new vocabulary words for parents to use in their daily routines (sofa vs. couch, carpet vs. rug, insect vs. bug).
• Brainstorm a list of words to describe how you are feeling (sad, angry, frustrated, excited, and joyful).
• Create a math word wall with new mathematical vocabulary such as “sum,” “addend,” “hexagon,” or “centimeter.” You can also
create a topic-specific word wall related to General Knowledge or Science.

Example Unit Plan with Objectives for Teaching Self-Monitoring

Literacy: Reading and Writing
Week # Standard Student Learning Goal (Objective) Book Titles
UNIT 1: Self-Monitoring (2 Weeks/Ongoing)
1 1.R.2.1. (Teacher Modeling: Day 1) SWBAT listen as teacher explains/models using picture Pigsty, Mark Teague
to determine what the text says

The Bag I'm Taking to Grandma's,

1.R.2.1.
(Guided/Independent Practice: Days 2-4) SWBAT use the picture in a story to Shirley Neitzel; A Winter Day,
1 1.R.2.2.
determine what the text says Douglas Florian; If You Take a
1.R.2.3.
Mouse to School, Laura Numeroff

1.W.2.1. (Teacher Modeling/Independent practice: Ongoing) SWBAT contribute ideas to a

1&2 -
1.W.3.1. whole group piece of writing
1&2 1.W.2.1.
1.W.3.1. (Independent Practice: Days 1-10/Ongoing) SWBAT use text and illustrations to
-
write complete sentences about one another during "Awesome Person of the Day."

This resource is a PD Roundtable “Top Pick”

A tool recommended by a group of experienced Program Directors for teachers (and their mentors).
 (Teacher Modeling: Day 5) SWBAT listen as teacher explains/models using the
1 1.R.2.1. Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina
initial letter of a word to determine the word (Guess the Covered Word)

Bear Wants More, Karma Wilson; If

1.R.2.1.
(Guided/Independent Practice: Days 6-8) SWBAT use the initial letter in a word to You Give a Pig a Pancake, Laura
2 1.R.2.2.
determine what the text says (Guess the Covered Word) Numeroff; There's an Alligator
1.R.2.3.
Under My Bed, Mercery Mayer

(Teacher Modeling: Day 8) SWBAT listen as teacher explains/models making self- The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the
2 1.R.2.1. corrections by asking, "Does it look right? Does it Sound Right? Does it make Wash, Trinka Hakes Noble
sense?"

1.R.2.1. The Big Hungry Bear, Don &

(Guided/Independent Practice: Days 9-10) SWBAT make self-corrections while
2 1.R.2.2. Audrey Wood; Madeline, Ludwig
reading by asking, "Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?"
1.R.2.3. Bemelmans

This resource is a PD Roundtable “Top Pick”

A tool recommended by a group of experienced Program Directors for teachers (and their mentors).