Word Warm-ups: Monitoring student progress

2296 Views

As a student works in the Word Warm-ups program, you should observe his or her progress to make sure that the student is using exercises that fit his or her current level of development. Each hot timing gives you an opportunity to periodically monitor the student's progress on reading words with the featured patterns to decide whether you should make any adjustments to your use of the program with the student.

Use the Word Warm-ups Student Assessments to monitor progress. Administer the assessment mid year and at the end of the year to gauge progress and to help you decide whether a student should continue in or exit from the program.

Consider administering the assessment when the student completes the exercises to help you determine if the student needs additional instruction in the sounds, phonics patterns, and/or syllable patterns he or she has already studied.

• If you reassess a student and he or she has total scores of three or higher on a few sections for which he or she has already completed packets of exercises, make adjustments to the Word Warm-ups program for the student. Some possible adjustments are described below.
• If you reassess a student and find that he or she has made little or no progress, consider using a more in-depth phonics program with the student.

Here are some suggestions for adapting the program format for students who are quickly developing their phonics skills or making insufficient progress.

Student Passes Exercises Too Quickly

If the student's cold timing rate for exercises in a section is at or near the goal rate and/or the student needs only one or two practices to pass lesson, review, and challenge exercises, consider making one or more of the following adjustments:

• If, after listening to the audio, the student needs only one or two practices to pass an exercise, he or she may do future exercises without listening to the audio. The student will go straight from cold timing to practice.
• Move the student to the next section of exercises if appropriate.
• Review the results of the student's assessment, and consider placing the student in a more challenging section.
• Reassess the student to help you make a more appropriate placement.

Student Has Difficulty Passing Exercises

If a student is unable to reach the goal rate for the level with three or fewer errors on lesson, review, and challenge exercises, even after ten practices, consider making one or more of the following adjustments:

• Require the student to read along with the audio of exercise instruction and word list two or three times to see if this added practice with the modeling can help the student increase his or her reading rate.
• Lower the goal rate for the student, choosing a rate that is challenging yet within reach. The student should reach the goal within ten practices.
• Review the results of the student's assessment and consider placing the student in an easier section.
• Reassess the student to help you make a more appropriate placement.

Student Has Difficulty With Patterns Already Studied

If progress monitoring indicates that the student continues to have difficulty with the sounds, phonics patterns, and/or syllable patterns he or she already studied, consider one or more of the following:

• Require the student to redo the exercises for the patterns not yet mastered, and add the following steps:
  • Have the student read along with the audio of the exercise instruction and word list two or three times before practicing it.
  • If you have not been doing the spelling activity during the Hot Timing step, dictate five to ten words containing the featured pattern(s) and have the student write them on the back of the exercise sheet.
• On all subsequent exercises, require the student to add the steps listed above to the regular Word Warm-ups steps.

Word Warm-ups Student Assessments