Running Records

You are probably wondering what a running record is and what it is used for. I assess your child on the benchmark books we have in class. It is used in the early stages of writing. It assesses their reading performance. Only the first 100 - 150 words are used in longer books. A blank running record assessment is available at this website:

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/read/runningrecords.pdf

You grade children on errors that they make, self corrections, and you evaluate the errors. Meaning is part of the cueing system in which the child takes her or his cue to make sense of text by thinking about the story background, information from pictures, or the meaning of a sentence. These cues assist in the reading of a word or phrase. Structure refers to the structure of language and is often referred to as syntax. Implicit knowledge of structure helps the reader know if what she or he reads sounds correct. Visual information is related to the look of the letters in a word and the word itself. A reader uses visual information when she or he studies the beginning sound, word length, familiar word chunks, and so forth.

It is a great way to assess students reading. And it is also something you can use at home as a parent too.