Reading Assessments

With my field placement being in a fourth grade mathematics classroom, the students do not read as much as the literature or science classes do.  However, in the class, my mentor teacher does have students read aloud the questions to the class.  This is the only form of reading that the class does and therefore I was unable to observe a reading assessment or instruction in action.  I was able to talk to my mentor teacher about ways the reading literacy coach performs reading assessments.  In our conversation I found that strategies such as reading fluency of full paragraphs followed by reading comprehension questions.  Students seem to struggle with reading comprehension including reading in the mathematics class.  Some students have trouble with multi-step problems because of the phrasing of the words.  In the fourth grade, students start off the day in the core classrooms that they need the most intervention.  There is a hand full of student in the literature classroom, especially with the STAR testing that is about to take place.  Another strategy my Mentor Teacher uses is "preferential intervention strategies where a team meeting with the teachers will take place to discuss the students progress in the classroom.:  Also at the beginning of the school day and if any free time presents itself, then the students are supposed to read their books.  Most students are excited about reading their books so allowing them to read at the end of class in an extra incentive.