A running record is a powerful tool that provides a window into students' orchestration of skills and strategies across multiple dimensions of reading.

Richardson, Bates, and McBride take teachers beyond calculating a simple accuracy rate to observing their students' reading behaviors with classroom tested ideas for individual, small-group, and whole-group instruction, as well as for independent practice. They offer the "why" behind instructional decision making to help teachers take next steps to plan targeted lessons.