Reading Specialists

Kristin Linne and Dawnie Payne

 

 

The foundation of education begins with reading and writing. The value of the spoken and written word facilitates attaining knowledge in any academic part of the curriculum and in all parts of life.  We believe all children are capable of achieving success.  It is our responsibility to determine which methods of learning best lead to each and every student’s success.  Reading opens up a whole new world!

 Take the Readers' Pledge!

 

"I promise to read each day and each night.
I know it's the key to growing up right.
I'll read to myself, I'll read to a crowd.
It makes no difference if silent or loud.
I'll read at my desk, at home and at school,
On my bean bag or bed, by the fire or pool.
Each book that I read puts smarts in my head
'cause brains grow more thoughts the more they are fed.
Come rain or shine, snow, wind or sleet,
Each day of the week reading's a treat.
So I take this pledge to make reading my way
Of feeding my brain what it needs every day."

                                                   — Debra Angstead (www.bookpals.net)

 

 

                         What is D.I.B.E.L.S.

 

The Arizona State Board of Education mandates the selection and use of  early screening and progress monitoring assessments for Kindergarten through 3^rd grade reading progress.    Queen Creek School District utilizes the Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (D.I.B.E.L.S.) to assess reading skills in K-3rd grade students.  This assessment takes about 4-8 minutes and is administered individually to students three times a year.   Queen Creek Elementary students participated in the first  DIBELS benchmark assessment during the week of August 4-8th.   Our second benchmark will be December 8-12th.  The third and final benchmark assessment will be in early May.

 

The DIBELS Assessment measures skills that are consistent with the essential early literacy domains discussed in both the National Reading Panel (2000) and National Research Council (1998) reports.   These essential skill areas are:

 Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.

 Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words.

 Fluency with Connected Text:  The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text.

 Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning.

 Comprehension:  The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning. 

   

DIBELS is made up of short individual tests, called subtests. Each DIBELS subtest focuses on a different skill and takes one minute to do. Your child may be given two to five of the DIBELS subtests depending on his or her grade level.   Each DIBELS subtest takes only about one minute to do because they are used as indicators.  Much like using a thermometer to take a child’s temperature is an indicator of overall health, each subtest is an indicator of how well a child is doing in learning a particular early reading skill.  A child’s score on a subtest tells us whether the child is likely to be “on track” for learning to read, or whether that child may need some help in learning important reading skills.   Information we obtain from these measures will help us refine our classroom instruction and guide instructional interventions for students whose scores indicate they are at-risk for acquiring literacy skills.  We also utilize this assessment to monitor student’s some students’ progress between the three major benchmark periods.

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

— Emilie Buchwald

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for information on the

Title I Reading

Intervention Program