Spelling Assessment/Word Study Unit

Words Their Way Ch. 2 Spelling Assessment: The Assessment of Orthographic Development

·        Guidelines for Assessment p. 37 WTW

·        3 steps in using qualitative assessments p. 36 WTW

    Select and administer a spelling inventory

    Analyze students’ spelling

    Monitor Growth and plan instruction

·        Primary Spelling Inventory (K-2)

   p. 300-301 Administration   p. 302 Feature Guide     

   p. 303 Error Guide

·      Elementary Spelling Inventory (3-5)

   p. 304 Administration   p. 306 Feature Guide     

   p. 307 Error Guide

p. 53 Important information about administration of inventories

   p. 42 & 43 how to score analyze inventories (Words Spelled Correctly/Total Feature Points + Words Spelled Correctly by Spelling Stages)

·        Assignment: You will choose a student or students and through informal observations and an informal assessment, you will assess their orthographic development.

·        You will collect samples of their writing (preferably drafts of writing and not copied work), observe them reading orally, and administer either the Primary Spelling Inventory or the Elementary Spelling Inventory to a student in your internship classroom.

·        You will complete a feature analysis and an error guide on the student’s spelling.

·        From this information, you will type up a response that addresses the following: a profile of the child (include information about the child’s reading level, writing, spelling instruction in the classroom, and any relevant background information) and the features and errors of the child’s spelling. You will also determine in which spelling stage you feel the child is spelling (p. 14, 16, 18, 20). From this information you will write about a possible word sort you feel to be appropriate based on the above criteria and justify your placement in the word sort.

·        Word Study Unit: During your full-time internship, you will complete the sort with the child as part of a word-study unit and write about the unit. However, please do not complete the sort (unit) until I have given you feedback about whether or not you have placed the child in the appropriate word study instruction. For the Word Study Unit Assignment, you will plan the word sort as well as the entire week of sorting, games, and daily activities you will do with your child. Once again, you will actually complete and teach this week long word study unit with your child during the full-time internship and then complete the write-up. You will need to include a pre-test and final test of the words.

For the word study write-up please include the following:

·        Your impression of word study

·        What you felt prepared to do

·        What made you feel uneasy/awkward?

·        After your child has completed a sort, ask him to write the sort down and reflect on the sort, why he sorted the way he did. Did this turn out like you thought it would? Why or why not?

·        Were there any surprises? Did things go as you planned?

·        Do you feel this to be a worthwhile assignment? Comment on your learning as well as the impact on your student’s growth and learning.