Artifact # 4
Spelling Assessments and Word Study Lesson: This group of spelling papers were used for assessment and evaluation purposes. From the Spelling Assessment, a Word Study Lesson was designed for a particular student.
Context
While learning about strategies to assess
students in the area of reading in my RE 3900 class, I used this set of
papers to practice my assessment skills then designed an appropriate lesson
for one particular student.
Impact
As an educator, I have to know how to first
assess my students to determine the best instructional strategies to use.
In this instance, I graded a spelling assessment, and designed an appropriate
Word Study that focused on the needs of the learner.
Alignment
The first thing I did when looking at the
Spelling Assessments was to grade them, then evaluate what stage of phonic
development each student was in. I focused on one student and studied
the particular stage of development he was in, noting what in particular
he was having difficulties with. I researched possible lessons that
I could use to help the student learn the rules for "doubling" words when
adding suffixes and rules for using "-el" verses "-le" at the end of a
word. All these concepts build upon the student's previous knowledge
to introduce new concepts of sylable junctures (prefixes and suffixes).
The lesson consisted of two Word Sorts, an activity where the student is
responsibile for sorting words into appropriate categories according to
established patterns. During this activity, the student may be asked
why he placed certain words in a particular category, encouraging the student
to verbalize his reasoning skills. The two sorts focused on the two
areas that the student was having difficulties with. The lesson also
had two different games, again with each one focusing on the two areas
of difficulty. (INTASC Principle 2)
When designing this lesson, I had to have
an understanding of where this student was in her learning. I was
able to assess this by using a specific tool, the Spelling Assessment,
from which I was able to structure a specific lesson to fit that child's
educational needs. The games that were used in the lesson will help
make the concepts more practical for the student. (INTASC Principle
1)
Throughout this lesson, there are many possibilities
for me to evaluate and assess the student's learning, both formally and
informally. The first assessment, the Spelling Assessment, was a
good formal assessment to design a lesson from. As the student is
sorting the words into the appropriate category, I can mentally evaluate
the student's performance and then ask the student why he chose to place
the words as he did. Likewise, the games are a wonderful opportunity
for me to formally assess the student as he plays with me or a small group
of his peers and record how he is progressing. At various points
within the school-year, I would give the Spelling Assessment again and
note his progress or lack thereof. (INTASC Principle 8)