Introduction

Reading is not defined as the mastering of small separate skills. Research holds that reading is dynamic: a process by which the reader constructs meaning by interacting with the text. We now know that several interactive factors play dynamic roles influencing the ability to read: prior knowledge of the reader, type of material, application of strategies and purpose for reading.

A teacher may develop assessment strategies based upon three basic developmental stages of readers: Beginning, Developing and Fluent. Any reader may be at any stage given the familiarity of the genre being read.

The classroom program should reflect a three-stage process for the instruction of reading. Characteristics of the last two stages fallow.

The Developing Reader

• reads for pleasure regularly,
• reads to other people with ease,
• has personal purposes for reading,
• reads silently for an extended period, 
• reads with enjoyment and discrimination,
• can state the theme or main ideas of a passage,
• shows awareness of characterization and theme,
• shows an interest in different genres,
• recognizes morals from reading,
• demonstrates a widening vocabulary,
• identifies supporting detail,
• skims and scans,
• recognizes and classifies information,
• draws conclusions and predicts outcomes.

• talks about personal responses,
• enjoys a wide range of fiction and nonfiction,
• understands author’s purposes,
• demonstrates well-developed research skills,
• synthesizes information from several sources,
• demonstrates insights in response to reading and viewing experiences,
• varies reading rate according to purpose,
• recognizes bias, propaganda, and messages,
• recognizes the tone of language in a text,
• forms and defends personal judgements about text,
• recognizes recurring ideas,
• understands how the printed word can comment and reflect upon a society,
• compares points of view in various texts.

Learn more about the reading process in the classroom at a grade specific level below.