Tyler,

Thanks for reading my post and adding your comment. I hope you are enjoying your pre-service teaching! I am not exactly sure if I understand what you are asking since we may have a different understanding of the word "tracking." When I say that I "keep track" of my students' skills, this is done so that I can better understand them as readers. Most of my record keeping is done in the form of notes that include my personal observations of what I notice about my students as readers. As students are meeting in groups, the discreet notes that I take do not interfere with the discussion. Oftentimes students are unaware that I am even writing, and there are also times when I makes notes after the group is finished meeting. I am not sure if there would be any difference in their performance if I did not keep anecdotal records, but I do know that I would be less capable of providing them with appropriate reading instruction in future lessons if I did not keep track of the things I notice as they are reading. I love this strategy group organizer because it allows me to reread my notes and better organize my students by needs rather than just by their reading "level."

I hope I've answered your question! Good luck with the rest of your pre-service teaching!

-Beth Newingham

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I am a pre-service teacher and had a question. I see that you have them read individually and then in a group with you while you keep track of their skills. Have you ever let them read in groups with out you tracking their skills to see how they do? For example, let's say that you have three students in a group with very similar reading capabilities and they are reading the same book. Do you think that they would help each other and improve on their reading capabilities if you were not tracking them? Thanks!