Building Classroom Reading Communities

Rita A. Moore, a former Title I reading teacher and high school language arts teacher, is a professor of education and associate dean at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She and her colleague Victoria N. Seeger have worked continuously together since 2001 on research including professional development schools, classroom research for teachers, and RMA, from which they have coauthored several articles. In addition to Reading Conversations: RMA with Struggling Readers Grades 4-12 (2005), coauthored with Carol Gilles, Moore has written Classroom Research for Teachers: A Practical Guide (2004) and has published over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals on topics related to literacy education and the preparation of preservice teachers. Moore holds a master's degree in reading from Southwest Missouri University and a PhD in literacy education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is dedicated to the notion that the integral and often seamless connectivity between language and literacy defines us as human beings and empowers us as learners. Victoria N. Seeger is a former classroom teacher. A veteran public school teacher of 14 years, Seeger is now a literacy coach for a large school district in Topeka, Kansas, as well as an adjunct instructor at Washburn University in Topeka. She and her colleague Rita A. Moore have worked continuously together since 2001 on research including professional development schools, classroom research for teachers, and RMA, from which they have coauthored several articles. Additionally, Seeger contributed to the book Reading Conversations: RMA with Struggling Readers Grades 4-12 (2004) coauthored by Rita Moore and Carol Gilles. Seeger regularly conducts professional development workshops on literacy strategies and curriculum development in the Seaman 501 School District in Topeka. She has also served as consultant to preservice literacy education classrooms through the University of Montana-Western. Seeger holds a master's degree in education from Washburn University and will finish her PhD in literacy curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, in the fall of 2009. She is dedicated to the notion that the integral and often seamless connectivity between language and literacy defines us as human beings and empowers us as learners.

List of Figures Foreword by Dorothy Watson Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Revaluing Readers: Introducing Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) 2. RMA and the Theoretical Premises Involved 3. Connecting the Reading Process to Miscue Analysis 4. Marking and Coding Miscues for RMA: Simplifying the Process for Classroom Teachers 5. Organizing the Classroom for RMA 6. Assessing Reading Performance Through RMA 7. Informing Instruction Through RMA 8. RMA Conversations Focus the Classroom Literacy Curriculum 9. Socratic Circles and RMA 10. RMA and Proficient Readers 11. RMA and Developing Readers 12. RMA and Striving Readers 13. Concluding Thoughts and Follow-Up Interviews Resources Resource A: A Summary of the Research Resource B: Example of a Marked Transcript Resource C: Retelling Guide for Narrative Text Resource D: Retelling Guide for Expository Text Resource E: Practice Text for Miscue Marking Resource F: Focusing on Miscues: For Student Reference Resource G: Reporducible Simplified Miscue Organizer Resource H: Burke Reading Interview Resource I: Thinking About Reading: Reproducible Survey Resource J: Socratic Circles Reproducible Tracking Sheet References and Resources References for Children's Literature Index

"By using retrospective miscue analysis, teachers can help students improve reading comprehension and fluency. This book emphasizes student strengths and gives students the tools they need to reflect on their reading and become better readers." -- Bridget Stegman, Title I Reading/Instructional Coach "The authors open the windows to a new perspective on reading by merging research-based Retrospective Miscue Analysis with adapted Socratic Circle discussions, thus empowering all elementary readers to collaboratively identify and verbalize reading strategies, individually experience ownership and control as readers, and effectively build both literacy and language confidence and competence within a united classroom community." -- Marjorie R. Hancock, Professor Emerita of Elementary Education "The authors not only clarify the details of examining conversations about reading miscues and retellings, they take you inside Seeger's third-grade classroom. Here you see firsthand how RMA works, from demystifying the coding process for miscues to watching each member of her class benefit from learning in Socratic Circles. Real classroom examples and vignettes, not to mention the variety of reproducible resources included, show how RMA and Socratic Circles engage students at every level of development in critical thinking and critical reflection-activities that empower students' reading development and become an essential assessment tool to guide further instruction." -- Kathleen Strickland, Professor of English and Elementary Education "Moore and Seeger have developed an approach that combines RMA and SC in such a way that SC functions as a catalyst to greatly magnify the benefits of RMA for groups of students. As students are involved in RMA and SC, they begin to understand how they can use different strategies to make sense of what they are reading and how they are reading. This is quite an extraordinary method to help students become actively aware of their own reading strategies and comprehension processes." -- Lee Gunderson, Professor of Language and Literacy "Moore and Seeger provide an extremely comprehensive look at retrospective miscue analysis and Socratic circles. The powerful snapshots into Seeger's classroom provide invaluable insight on classroom application. The readability of the text and the practical application strategies motivate and inspire educators to really get their students talking about reading." -- Karen Williams, Fifth-Grade Teacher "Readers will directly experience how productive use of retrospective miscue analysis can become a regular classroom routine. They will find concrete resources for reading and retelling assessment that center reading as an authentic practice, not as a disconnected set of skills. The excellent examples of teaching invite ownership of literacy processes as a classroom community." -- Curt Dudley-Morling, Professor of Education