READING RUNNING RECORDS LEVEL-TWO ANALYSIS: (Part 1) MISCUE ANALYSIS (MSV) ANALYZING WHAT SOURCES OF INFORMATION ARE USED AND NEGLECTED.
MEANING Does the error make sense? Think about the error in the context of the story. In this sentence, to this point, is the error meaningful? Is it possible that the reader is bringing a different version of meaning than the author? If so, does this error make sense in the sentence context to this point of the sentence?
MEANING COMES FROM PICTURES, TOO! When a student checks the picture, it may be noted on the Running Record. ( pic.) This behavior has the reader searching for meaning. It is cross-checking visual information from print with the meaning of the story coming from pictures. THIS IS USE OF MEANING, not visual information
From Mrs. Wishy-Washy s Tub The water is in the tub. Student reads: The walrus is in the tub Does this error make sense in the context of this story and to the point of error in this sentence?
INTRODUCTION: In this book, Mrs. Wishy-Washy gives four animals a bath. The error is walrus for water. Does walrus fit the meaning of this story? It is an animal and the story is about animals. Previous pages had an animal for the second word in each sentence.
YES! The error is meaningful It is an animal name and all other pages used an animal name in this position in the sentence context. Do you think, in the mind of the reader, they may have interpreted the water in the picture to mean an animal that lives in water is next in the tub?
Check M for MEANING Using the grid next to the text, you should check M for Meaning. M S V
STRUCTURE In the English language syntax, would we say it that way? Does this error fit the structure of the sentence context to the point of error in the sentence? Thinking about the parts of speech, is the error the same part of speech as the original word in the sentence?
Text: The water is in the tub. Reader: The walrus is in the tub. To the point of error, is the sentence structurally correct? Yes! Are we replacing the original word with the same part of speech? Yes! We are replacing a noun with a noun. Is syntax maintained? Yes!
MARKING STRUCTURE IN THE GRID We have established that this error has meaning and structure. This is how you would check it: M S V
Note about Structure when error is the first word in a sentence. In 2002, Marie Clay decided that she would maintain that every beginning word in a sentence had structure. You can not think of any word in the English language that we could not begin a sentence with. That s the rationale for this change!
VISUAL INFORMATION The visual information refers to what the error looks like compared to the original word. Does this visual information influence the error in the sentence?
Knowing that the child has a tendency to reverse letter order when writing words (writes last letter first), did that influence the error? Does the error use visual information from the end of the word?
SOME CHILDREN LOOK AT PRINT DIFFERENTLY Some children look at print from right to left instead of left to right. It is most telling in their writing because you see the reversed letters they write. Do they write or read words in reversed order: was/saw or no/on?
Text: The water is in the tub Reader: The walrus is in the tub Considering the initial letters of both words, is there a similarity? Considering word length, is there visual similarity? If your answer is yes, then this error uses visual information.
MARKING VISUAL INFORMATION We have established that the error has used Meaning, Structure, and Visual Information. Mark the grid like this: M S V
NOW, YOU TRY SOME! Text: The soap is in the tub. The s-o-a-p-/sap is in the tub. The soap is on the tub. The soap is in the pail. The s-/-ap/ sap is on the animals.
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS: s-o-a-p-/sap for soap is a visual response. The student is trying to sound out the word, letter by letter. Even though the sounds were blended, it resulted in an error.
CHECK YOUR WORK: The soap is on/in the tub. To the point of error, this miscue has Meaning, Structure, and Visual information used. You would check all three in the grid column.
CHECK YOUR WORK The soap is in the pail/tub. This error uses Meaning and Structure. There is no visual similarity seen. You would mark your grid for Meaning and Structure only.
CHECK YOUR WORK The s-/-ap/sap is on the animals. There are 2 errors in this example: s-/-ap/sap is a visual attempt, neglecting Meaning and Structure. animals/tub uses Meaning and Structure, but it does not use visual information.
MORE EXAMPLES Text: I saw the pig and the goat. Reader: I was the pig and the goat.
CHECK YOUR WORK The error was/saw is an examples of the reader using Meaning, Structure, and Visual Information. You must analyze the error to that point in the sentence. The text could read, I was You must give credit for M, S, V, but you can note that the reader needed to reread and correct after reading the complete sentence.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE Text: Is it hot? Reader: It is hot
CHECK YOUR WORK This resulted in 2 errors: It/Is and is/it. Both errors use Meaning, Structure, and Visual information. This is a common error pattern in The Cooking Pot
BIBLIOGRAPHY Clay, Marie, 2002, An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement, Heinemann, NH. Cowley, Joy, 1998, Mrs. Wishy-Washy s Tub, Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, IL. Morrison, Ian, 1994, Getting It Together, Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, WA. The School District of Palm Beach County, 2005, Teacher Guide for the Districtwide Kindergarten Through Grade 3 Reading and Writing Assessment System.