Oral Reading Records

In the early 1970s, Dr. Marie Clay introduced the idea of oral reading records: While a child reads to you, take note of any words that are omitted, substituted, self-corrected, or cause hesitation. This information, along with the amount of time it takes for the child to complete the task, helps inform a teacher on what strategies students already use.

Though informative and helpful, these records can be difficult to maintain. You don’t often have the time to sit next to every student in the class as he or she reads an entire book. And with “teacher” by their side, tallying mistakes, some students feel enough anxiety to skew their scores.

With Imagine Learning English, you don’t have to sit by your students’ side with a stop watch. You can track their progress at your own convenience. Using specific stories, student recordings, and our reading record equations in your Supplemental Guide, you’ll have all the resources you need to analyze student progress. We’ll show you how.

First, log on to Imagine Manager and click Reports in the left menu. Then click Student Recordings. You will see a list of classes and students. Click the student whose recording you want to analyze, and then click View Recordings to see a list of songs, chants, and stories this student has recorded.

Every sixth story your students read is recorded without a model to emulate. Use one of these to keep a running record--it will reflect how your student reads without the help of a native speaker to mimic. Before you listen to the recording, you'll need a pen, a stopwatch, and a printout of the story text. (You can access story text in Imagine Manager. Simply click Support in the left menu and then Teacher Guide to get pdfs of any story.)

Now you're ready to start. When the recording begins, start your watch and pick up that pen. Cross out every word the student reads incorrectly. At the end of the recording, stop the clock. Then fill in the chart below, found at the bottom of the story text printout, to score for speed and accuracy. Keep this on file 'til the next time you track, and you'll soon have enough information to analyze student progress.