The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom is chock-full of ideas, assessments, and activities for using the Traits of an Effective Reader with student readers of varying ages and ability levels. Developed by the Laboratory's Assessment and Evaluation Program, the six-trait model breaks down reading performance into a manageable group of teachable and assessable skills. The Journey of a Reader in the Classroom builds on this framework by creating a picture of what trait-based reading instruction and assessment look like in the classroom. Teachers want assessment models that help students become more active readers by setting clear targets for success, point out Dwyer and Thompson. By integrating assessment and instruction, teachers are able to continually diagnose students' strengths and challenge areas in reading.
Teaching becomes a dynamic decisionmaking process generating focused, purposeful lessons.
Instruction and assessment get equal play in the book, comprising its two main sections. The Instruction section describes each trait in detail and demonstrates how teachers can use the traits in the classroom to create more focused teaching. Each activity indicates appropriate grade levels, lists necessary materials and preparation steps, explains what both teachers and students should do, describes desired outcomes, and includes targeted trait skills from the book's accompanying scoring guides. The goal, stress Dwyer and Thompson, is to gradually release responsibility for learning onto the student. The traits define clear achievement targets for students.