Looking for a Guided Reading Checklist for Teachers?
Funnix Teacher’s Guide, Testing & Placement, and Mastery
Looking for a Guided Reading Checklist for Teachers?
Funnix Teacher’s Guide, Testing & Placement, and Mastery
Teacher’s Guide
Our Teacher’s Guide will help you learn more about using Funnix in the classroom for guided reading sessions, testing and placement, scheduling, adapting the program to small groups, and more.
What follows is the Table of Contents, with links to selected sections.
In the Classroom – Program Components – Funnix Beginning Reading – Funnix 2
Testing and Placing Beginning Readers
Teaching the Five Letter Names – Retesting the Children – Placement Criteria for Groups
Placing Children Who Have Some Reading Skills – 9
Procedures for Mid-Level Placement – Placement Criteria for Readers
Critical Preparation – 12
Critical Exercises for Mid-Level Entry in Funnix Beginning Reading – Critical Preparation
Transition Exercises -14
Transition Exercises for Entry at Funnix Beginning Reading 101 and Beyond
SCHEDULING AND GROUPING THE READING LESSONS -14
Grouping Children for Instruction – Possible Setups – Daily Schedule and Progress Through the Program
Basic Correction Procedures
Start Up-Directing the Presentation of Lessons – Lesson Events
ADAPTING THE PROGRAM TO TEACH SMALL GROUPS – 19
Group Responses – Group Responses After Lesson 88 – Individual Turns – Touching Items on the Screen – Written Work
How Skills are Taught – Scope and Sequence Chart – Funnix Word Lists
Sounds for Consonants – Sounds for Vowels – Sounds for Irregular Letters – Blue-Letter Combinations – Other Combinations
Correcting Sound Identification Mistakes
Correcting Sounding Out Errors
Correcting Sounding Out Errors on
__ Blue-Letter Words
Correcting Whole Word Errors in Word Lists
Correcting Story Reading Errors
Promoting Rate-Accuracy Performance
Workbook Activities – Lined-paper Activities
Passage Reading – Additional Seatwork
Additional Fluency Practice – Funnix 2 Fluency Guidelines
Projections – Show-Off Lessons – Placement Passages – Repeating Instruction – Fluency
ACCELERATING FUNNIX – 35
Acceleration Schedule – Worksheet Acceleration
USES FOR FUNNIX – 36
Funnix as a Supplement – Funnix as Summer School or After-School Programs – Funnix as Programs for Learning-Disabled Children – Funnix as Reinforcement – Funnix for Peer-Tutoring – Funnix as a Program for Midyear Lower Performers in Grades K-2 – Funnix for Paired Practice
Spelling Word List from Funnix Beginning Reading – 40
Alphabetical Reading Word List from Funnix Beginning Reading – 41
Alphabetical Funnix 2 Reading Word List – 44
Funnix Word Lists by Lesson Numbers – 50
APPENDIX A – 53
Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test and Record
APPENDIX B – 54
Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Passages – 54
__Passage 40 – Passage 60 – Passage 80 –
__Passage 100
Funnix 2 Placement Passages – 57
__Passage 1 – Passage 30 – Passage 57
APPENDIX C – 60
Funnix Placement Record for Children with Reading Skills
APPENDIX D – 61
Funnix Record of Groups
APPENDIX E – 62
Corresponding Lessons for Funnix Beginning Reading and Horizons
APPENDIX F – 63
Corresponding Lessons for Funnix 2, Horizons B and Journeys 2
APPENDIX G – 64
Story Exercises for Funnix Beginning Reading
Testing & Placement
Testing & Placement Resources
Appendix A (Placement Test and Record) [pdf]
Appendix B (Placement Passages) [pdf]
Appendix C (Placement Record for Children with Reading Skills)[pdf]
General Placement
Funnix Beginning Reading was designed with the assumption that the child will be starting with some ability to identify some letters. To determine whether or not a child is ready, have him or her play the Alphabet Game as a placement test.
The Alphabet Game is a great way to teach recognition of the letters that appear early in Funnix.
Placement in the School Setting
These excerpts from the Funnix Teacher’s Guide will help you learn more about the placement and acceleration of children in school.
Testing and Placing Beginning Readers
Use the Funnix Beginning Reading Placement Test and Record (Appendix A) to test all beginning readers. Here’s an example of a completed form for a group of eight children who took the placement test.
Present the game for no longer than 10 minutes each time. If the children still need more practice, play the game again later in the same day or on the following day. Retest children whil they all do well on the game.
Placing Children Who Have Some Reading Skills
Children with some reading skills should start somewhere in the middle of Funnix Beginning Reading or at the beginning or middle of Funnix 2.
- Children who enter the school midyear.
- Children who have completed Funnix Beginning Reading.
- Children who can identify letters, know many sounds and can read some words.
Use this procedure to determine which children qualify for mid-level placement.
Beginning Reading, lesson 40
Beginning Reading, lesson 60
Beginning Reading, lesson 80
Beginning Reading, lesson 101
Level 2, lesson 1
Level 2, lesson 30
Level 2, lesson 57
Placement Criteria for Readers
Based on reading level, some children will be placed in Funnix Beginning Reading at lesson 10, 40, 60, 80, or 101.
- For children placed at lesson 10, use an accelerated schedule in the program (see pages 35-36, Accelerating Funnix).
- For children placed at lesson 40 or beyond, present critical exercises or transition exercises to prepare them prior to lessons.
If the child makes 2 or fewer errors, present passage 60.
If the child makes 6 or more errors, the child will begin at lesson 10 and do the subsequent lessons in order using an accelerated schedule.
If the child makes 2 or fewer errors, present passage 80.
If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 40 and makes 6 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 40 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 40 and makes 6 or more errors, present passage 40.
If the child makes 3 or fewer errors, present passage 100.
If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 60 and makes 9 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 60 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 60 and makes 9 or more errors, present passage 60.
If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 1 from Funnix 2.
If the child has passed the criteria for lesson 80 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 80 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for lesson 80 and makes 11 or more errors, present passage 80.
If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 30 from Funnix 2.
If the child has passed the criteria for Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 101 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100 and makes 11 or more errors, present Funnix Beginning Reading passage 100.
If the child makes 4 or fewer errors, present passage 57.
If the child has passed the criteria for passage 1 and makes 11 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 1 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for passage 1 and makes 11 or more errors, present passage 1.
If the child has passed the criteria for passage 30 and makes 10 or more errors, the child will begin on lesson 30 and will do the subsequent lessons in order.
If the child has not passed criteria for passage 30 and makes 10 or more errors, present passage 30.
Critical Preparation, Transition Exercises,
and Accelerating Funnix
If children place at lesson 40, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, and 36. (Note: Children will need their workbook.)
If children place at lesson 60, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, 36 45 and 48.
If children place at lesson 80, present the critical exercises from Funnix Beginning Reading lessons 15, 17, 18, 33, 35, 36, 45, 48, 60 and 66.
Present these exercises in chronological order. You should be able to get through all the critical preparation exercises during a single period and may even be able to begin the child’s first lesson.
Present all five Transition Exercises if children place at Funnix 2 Lesson 1, 30, or 57. These exercises can be presented in about 10 minutes and can be accessed from the main menu on the Funnix 2 Placement and Review disc.
Fast forward to the next part of the lesson and repeat. If children make mistakes when going through items without the narrator's help, correct any mistakes, then have the children read the list again.
If you find that children make more than one mistake per list, it might be best to revert to the narrator presenting the exercises. Accelerating too early can inhibit learning.
The part that you may not want to accelerate is the second reading of the story. This part contains fun and comprehension items you don't want to skip.
1. Click “Pause” at the beginning of a worksheet section that presents words or sentences.
2. Direct children to identify what's on the screen.
3. If the items ask questions or require matching words with pictures, direct children to say each answer.
4. Do any activities children prefer on the worksheet.
5. Let children finish other worksheet parts later.
Note: All of the acceleration procedures are explained in detail in Accelerating the Program on the Overview of Program Guide.
Mastery Tests
Assessment Booklet
We’ve developed an assessment booklet for Funnix Beginning Reading that you should use to assess mastery every 10 lessons. If children have not mastered the material, the booklet also includes remedies you can use to work with the children before proceeding.
Test lessons are consecutively numbered: Test 1 through Test 12.
The tests are designed to assess the performance of children on the most important skills taught in the preceding 10 lessons.
Each test has a scoring system and a standard for passing.
The goal is not to evaluate a child’s ability to learn, but instead to make sure they have mastered the skills they need to perform in the later lessons.
If a child has not mastered certain skills, they should receive a remedy for additional practice and mastery.
Test 2: Letter identification, sound identification, reading words, and writing words.
Test 3: Writing letters, writing words, letter identification, sounds, and reading words.
Tests 4-10: Writing letters, writing words, sounds, reading words, and reading passages.
Test 11: Writing letters, writing words, letter identification, sounds, reading words, and reading passages.
Test 12: Writing letters, writing words, sounds, reading words, and reading passages.
Tests 2 through 12 have two sections: One that is group administered to all children in a particular reading group, and one that is individually administered.
The group-administered sections involve writing words (spelling) and writing letters, and takes less than 10 minutes.
The individual sections take about two to four minutes per child.