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Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

WHOLE LANGUAGE OBSERVATION CHECKLIST WITH ANECDOTAL NOTES, DEVELOPING TO INDEPENDENT STAGES

Talking and Listening

Reading

Writing

Name Chris N = not included NT = not included in the book I = included
Date	Story
9/15	Mr. Floop's Lunch Oral Unguided read to student	N	I	I	5/5	N	4/6	N	N	I	N	N	Student includes main character, supporting characters, some episodes, and ending. Setting refers to place. Needs sequence and details for reader to follow story. Must include problem and resolution.
10/1	My Little Island Oral Unguided read by student	N	I	I	3/4	N	7/7	N	N	I	N	N	Includes main character, supporting characters, all episodes , place, and ending. Needs introduction, problem (clearly stated), resolution, proper sequence, and when the story occurs.
10/13	Tub People Written Guided read by student	I	I	I	5/5	I	6/7	N	I	I	N	I	Included introduction, main and supporting characters, problem, resolution, ending and setting. Guided prompts have resulted in student including more elements. Still needs proper sequence and additional details.
10/30	Frosted Glass Written Unguided read by student	I	I	I	5/5	I	8/8	I	I	I	N	I	All necessary story elements included. Provided reader with details in sequence. Still needs to identify when story action takes place.

You set yourself the task of recording everything that a child says and does as he tries to read the book you have chosen. Once you begin such recording, and after about two hours of initial practice, no matter how much you might be miss- ing, you have made a good start. The more you take records, the more you will notice about children's behavior.

On each line, make a check ( ) for each word correctly in that line or record miscues as read.

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3	Who's
Line 4
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 8
Line 9
Line 10
Line 11
Line 12	afraid
Line 13
Line 14
Line 15

A miscue is something said or read in place of the printed text. Ken Goodman (1969) first defined miscues as "windows on the reading process." He described children's deviations from the text when reading aloud as "miscues," rather than the more pejorative term, "mistakes." We don't expect readers to read with 100 percent accuracy, even as adults. It's not the number of miscues a reader makes that is important, but the types of miscues. We're interested in whether the miscues affect meaning. A miscue analysis can reveal a student's concepts about reading and reading strategies. Miscue analysis is a practical, diagnostic assessment technique that complements the whole language curriculum. Miscue analysis helps reveal the strengths, weaknesses, and strategies a reader uses in processing written texts. Unless you are a Title I, Resource Room, or ESL teacher, you probably won't need to do a miscue analysis with every student. It requires making a copy of the text the child reads and can be rather time-consuming. (You might consider a running record instead. See previous pages.) A miscue analysis would be helpful, however, when a student is just learning to read or struggling with the reading process.

To analyze the miscues a student makes, you need to understand the cueing systems: graphophonic (letters/sounds), syntactic (grammar), and semantic (meaning)(see chart at end of Chapter 2). You should also have a good understanding of reading strategies. We've outlined a very simple procedure for analyzing miscues below, as well as a form for recording the information.  

1. Let the student choose a passage from his/her textbook or literature book.
2. Photocopy the selection. (If a copy is not available, do a simple running record.)
3. Ask the student to read the passage aloud.
4. Record the student's miscues on the copy of the text. (It is helpful also to tape-record the reading.)
5. Ask the student to retell the passage. Score the retelling formally or informally to determine comprehension.
6. Afterwards, record the miscues on a summary sheet, then analyze the information to determine the student's reading abilities and needs.
7. Based on the results, develop instructional strategies to help the student become a more proficient reader.