IRLA Presentation for Professional Development

1. IRLA for Super
Heroes
Progression and FAQs

2. February IRLA Data

3. March IRLA Data

4. April IRLA Data

5. Progression by Month

6. Where could we show
growth?
— Standards Already Taught
— Look back through KUDs and Scales from previous units.
— Anecdotal Notes/Observations
— You may know a student well enough to know he or she already
knows certain skills.
— Small Reading Groups
— Have your small groups been working on IRLA skills or goals?
— Foundational Skills
— Most of these should be acquired before the level or as the level
progresses. Check to see if there are points the student should
have.

7. Frequently Asked
Questions…
IRLA FAQs for Super
Heroes
What is the purpose of Power Words?
• Power words serve two purposes:
1. Words that cannot be decoded.
2. Words that are smaller chunks of bigger words; see them and know what to do
**Students should know power words before adding consonants and blends.
How could this tie into small reading groups?
• In general, teachers should determine what a small-guided group is supporting and whether they will be
continuing to meet students at their current levels or taking students forward from the whole group
instruction.

8. **Students should know power words before adding consonants and blends.
How could this tie into small reading groups?
• In general, teachers should determine what a small-guided group is supporting and whether they will be
continuing to meet students at their current levels or taking students forward from the whole group
instruction.
• If choosing to meet students at their current levels, groups could be arranged:
o by color
o by Power Goal
• Focus on appropriate text that the students can continue to meet Power Goals in
small groups.
• Enter evidence into eIRLA based on small group discussion and understandings
as well.
• These groups would be very flexible.
How do we find the focus for Power Goals in
Intermediate?
! !
• Questions to ask/statements to make:
O Are there any words on this page that you don't say with friends?
o Here is what you need to do to be a better reader…

9. What if we are unsure if we are consistently leveling with
our teammates?
• Collaborate on IRLA questions and thoughts amongst teammates and consider switching students at
similar levels to conference with.
What is the difference between the Memorizing List and
the Decoding List?
• !he Memorizing List requires true memorization.
• The Decoding List teaches the skill and not specific words.
**Research supports color-coding word families and blends (phonemic awareness).
Is there research to show that Independent Reading
time is effective?
• Students who read engaged for an hour a day can increase their reading ability by 2.66 years per year
(Guthrie).
What could a conference schedule look like?

10. (Guthrie).
What could a conference schedule look like?
• Ask yourself:
o How is your conference schedule flexible?
o How is your conference schedule purposeful?
• Consider a 7-day conference schedule day with a “bubble day” built in for make- ups.
• The Power Goals drive the conference schedule. Schedule high-level readers at the beginning and end of a
conference schedule so they have time to finish their novel, especially if they are working on higher-
level comprehension skills, such as comparing texts or determining theme.
How can IRLA support our tiered interventions?
• Consider tying interventions to Power Goals. Align instruction so the most struggling students can
increase the rate of their progress.
• Tier III instruction could focus directly on the students’ Power Goals. This means instruction would
change as Power Goals are mastered.

11. What is the extent of academic vocabulary in
Intermediate text?
• White text contains 1-2 academic words per page.
• Black text contains 4-6 academic words per page.
• Orange text contains 7-9 academic words per page.
• Purple text contains 10-12 academic words per page.
How do we establish routines for Independent Reading
ensure the time is used wisely?
**If you're needed for a routine, it's not a routine.
**If it takes away from instructional time, then it's not a routine.
• Consider having a “Reading Ready Position” where there is “No walking, no talking, just read, read,
read!”
• Consider telling students before beginning Independent Reading to “Get everything out you need and
nothing out you don't.”
• Consider having everyone begin reading at the same time-“Ready, Set, Read!”
• Students should know to always bring a book to the conference and the teacher
• also has a book for students to read for a specific purpose.
• Teacher should keep texts to model with for different Power Goals.

12. How do we know when students are ready to move on?
**Be cautious in this, as we do not want to create gaps that don't already exist; the purpose of IRLA is to close
gaps!
• Ensure students are reading deeply and widely before moving levels up.
• Students should complete all of the entry requirements and at least half of the foundational and
comprehension skills before a teacher should consider testing the student for the next level.
How can we fit 5 conferences in 30 minutes?
• Keep a schedule posted; students tap the next conference so as not to interrupt the rest of the class as
teacher inputs evidence into eIRLA.
• Have an “at bat” and “on deck” plan. Prepare for what you will do when students have mastered a Power
Goal, and what you will do when they have not.
• Decide ahead of time how to practice the Power Goal-what will students do?
• Use the Independent Reading Conference Feedback Form until you are familiar with the process.
**Research supports a 5-7 minute conference because that is all that is needed.
**Students will not always understand the first time the teacher models the Power Goal and that's okay;
it is more important to revisit that skill several times briefly than once for a longer period of time.

13. Independent Reading Conference Feedback
Research
!" Looked to see if the student mastered his or her
Power Goal.
#" Listened to the student read a short passage of
unfamiliar text, watching for what the student
does and doesn’t already know.
Decide
$" Used the IRLA and the student performance on
this passage to help identify a new Power Goal.
%" Decided how the student will practice this Power
Goal.
Teach
&" Modeled it.
'" Provided guided practice.
(" Transferred responsibility to the student.
Record
8. Recorded notes (evidence) and scores in student’s
IRLA.
9. Updated student’s IRLA score in SchoolPace to
reflect the new points he or she earned today.
How have you been using your conference schedule to
meet the needs of your students?
What did you do to prepare for this conference?
Feedback:
Think about…

14. Time to Talk J
With your PLCs, pull up your classes
on School Pace. Look through the
requirements and see if there are
places students have grown that
could be identified.