Building Reading Skills with Universal Screening
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 Students share a book during reading time in Andria Booth's first grade class. |
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Audio Podcasts Assistant Principal Jack Zellner and first grade teacher Andria Booth talk about the way universal screening is used at Pleasant Union Elementary to strengthen student reading skills. Pleasant Union Elementary parents Amy Fetzer and Rhonda Crum say they devote time with their children at home to follow the reading lessons teachers provide and to show their children how much they value reading. |
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 Students read during literacy time in Andria Booth's class. |
October 5, 2010 - Universal screening is a tool teachers use to measure reading skills. Teachers time students in short literacy tasks, with younger children naming sounds that letters make and older children reading passages of texts.
At Pleasant Union Elementary, first grade teacher Andria Booth screens her students three times during the school year.
“Universal screening consists of various probes that help the teacher find out where the student is in relation to letter naming, letter sounds, being able to segment and blend words,” said Booth. “And what that tells the teacher is this is one of the screening tools that we use to predict future success in reading.”
Booth works individually with students looking at reading skills with several one-minute tasks that measure the ability to name letters, hear sounds in words and read accurately.
“I’m trying to find out where the student is,” said Booth. “They come into first grade at all different levels. They come in maybe not knowing all their letters, whereas some of the children come in and they are reading chapter books. So when I look at that information, I look at who’s at the risk level that I need to reach and zero in on those students, but at the same time those students that are doing well, I need to keep them on that path to reading success.”
Teachers use the data they collect through the screenings to strengthen student reading skills.
“If a student is struggling in letter naming or letter sounds, before we can even go into reading a book, we need to go back to the letter sounds and the letter naming,” said Booth. “That might entail something fun in a small group as letter bingo. It might entail letter sounds, a letter sound chart, going through that in our reading groups, making words. The activity depends on where the student is.”
Parents and Literacy
Teachers share their findings with parents during parent-teacher conferences. The screenings provide data that is clear cut and easy to read. Teachers discuss the role parents play in building their children’s literacy skills.
Amy Fetzer is the parent of a child in Booth’s class. Fetzer sets aside time for her child to complete Booth’s daily reading assignments.
“My son brings home a book that has been picked out for his level of reading and he’s instructed to read the
whole book or so many pages of the book and we keep a log of that every day,” said Fetzer. “He’s rewarded after they have read so many number of books. He gets a punch mark.”
Rhonda Crum is a parent with twins in the fifth grade in teacher Chad Teres’ class. Crum likes the blog Teres created to encourage students to comment on what they’re reading.
“My fifth graders get on the computer and they communicate with their teacher through the blog about the book that they are reading,” said Crum. “They talk about the characters in the book and why they picked the book and it’s a good way for the teacher to kee
p tabs on the students and see what they are reading.”
Screening Continues for Established Readers
Students reading skills develop as they mature, read more and explore more challenging materials. Teachers screen students to chart their progress.
“It allows us to assess the students with two different probes: the DIBELS probe which is decoding fluency and the maze probe which assess the kid’s comprehension,” said Teres. “It’s a really beneficial piece of data that we as teachers can use so we can see are the kids below reading level, are they on reading level, or are they reading above level. And that helps us to differentiate instruction.”
The Wake County Public School System seeks to provide all students with a solid foundation in reading by grade three so they can enhance their skills and use of strategies as texts become more complex.
Pleasant Union Elementary School Psychologist Heather Lynch is one of the school’s experts on the use of universal screening.
“Reading is important because it is a foundation for everyday life,” said Lynch. “You have to read to go to the store. You have to read to be at school. You have to read when you are at home just to do daily functioning. And it also gives you better opportunities in life with your education and career path.”
Reading is a key to student success. Universal screening is one tool used in helping children to become more successful readers.
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