Using Anecdotal Records to Drive Instruction

I kind of enjoy data.  Yes, I know that may sound weird, but if you have stuck with me for very long you know that I am a supporter of RTI and that is definitely data driven.  I like to apply that same thinking to my guided reading groups.  

I keep an anecdotal notebook to help me keep all my data organized and easy to use.  Actually, I have 8 anecdotal notebooks- one for each of my groups.  I tried keeping it all in one notebook, but it was much easier for me to keep them in separate notebooks and just grab the notebook for that class when their group begins.

I do a lot of running records and I like to keep notes on what I see students doing or areas they still need more teaching.  With pages like the one above, I can also keep track of reading behaviors the students should be showing and mark those off as I observe them.  Those behaviors that I am not seeing but should become teaching points.

A great way to differentiate your instruction is to know what skills each of your students have mastered and then move them forward on the ones they have not.  Making tally marks on a quick check sheet helps me do that.  I can quickly glance at a page and know where most of my group is at and what skills I need to go back and work on with other students.

I do the same thing with phonics too.  Since most of my students are behind, I must find a way to close up the gap as quickly as I can and move them forward.  

If you are one who likes to keep short notes on what important teaching targets you want to focus on, small group target notes are a good way to do that.

I try to quickly check my younger students on their letters and sounds while they are busy reading or working in a center.  I can drop in and quickly check what letters and sounds they know.  Then later when I am conferencing that student or even in small group, we can go over those letters and sounds they haven't mastered yet.  Love doing these quick check-ins!

A lot of my students are working on mastering their sight words to achieve automaticity with them.  I can just quickly check in on words we have been working on and mark the ones they know.

We use the Dolch sight word lists, but the same thing can also be achieved with the Fry List.  

So that is how I keep all the information on each of my students organized and use that information to drive my instruction to move my students forward as quickly as I can.  I can keep a lot of information in my head, but not all of this, so an anecdotal notebook is a must for me.  It is also a wonderful resource when a parent wants to chat about how their child is progressing.  You have all the data you need right there at your fingers!