M5U2A2: Planning Assessments

Grade Level Expectation:  Early Learning Center (ELC) - EL 1 (Ages 3 / 4)

Content Area: Literacy        

Standard: 1. READING: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development

Vocabularies and Concept Development

Objective:Identify and sort common words in basic categories (e.g., animals, colors)

Types of Formative Assessments

1.  Word Play

Condition: During center games related to appropriate standards, large group and small group instruction

Observation: Participation and accurate responses to games that involve rhyming, syllable play, and phonemic manipulation. Teacher should note student’s ability to manipulate phonemes, syllables, and words.
Games may include:

•  Sorting simple animal and color pictures (into the correct categories) by first sounding out the words

For example:

c.a.t = cat

r.e.d = red

• I Spy a red cat (student must blend word(s) after teacher segments it)

Game assessments are fun for young learners, because according to Klopfer, Osterweil, and Salen (2009), games refer to structured or organized play. Play is voluntary, intrinsically motivating, and involves active cognitive and/or physical engagement that allows for the freedom to fail (and recover), to experiment, to fashion identities, and freedom of effort and interpretation (Klopfer et al., 2009; Pellegrini, 1995; Rieber, 1996). Different from 'free play,' a game is usually a contest of physical or mental skills and strengths, requiring the player to follow a specific set of rules to attain a goal (Hogle, 1996). In my opinion, the ‘I spy’ game is a clever reasoning game that allows children to solve puzzles, and gives them an opportunity to ‘stump the teacher’. Children learn to be more observant about the world around them, learn about colors, shapes, and textures, and use logic and reasoning to draw conclusions. Despite its simplicity and repetitiveness, the game grows a child's vocabulary and can also serve as a distraction for an impatient child. It will keep their minds occupied just about anywhere. In short, I find games to be an appropriate form of assessment tool for preschool students.

2. Color Animal Book

Condition: During large group and small group instruction

Observation: Participation and recognition of color words. Teacher should note student’s ability to manipulate phonemes, syllables, and words. Teachers should also note student’s ability to hold a pencil correctly and trace.

Students will make a book by themselves. They will:

1.    Read the color word – p.i.n.k = pink

2.    Trace the word

3.    Color the animal on the page pink

After putting the book together, students can practice and show off their reading skills by pointing at the words and reading to teachers and parents.

For example: This is a pink fish.

I find this an effective activity for formative assessments during lessons, because students demonstrate different skills through this activity, such as reading, tracing / writing and coloring. I find it important that students learn to trace and write words by moving from left to right and from top to bottom. They also learn to read short sentences. Moreover, this activity is also suitable for large groups of students, because most students are usually kept occupied with coloring, until the teacher gets to read with everyone.

3.     Sing Animal and Color songs

 

Condition: During large group instruction or Music class

Observation: Participation and recognition of animal and color words.

Use different colored beanbags when singing a color song. When a specific color is sung, students can hold up the beanbags. To reinforce recognition of animal words, the teacher can hold up picture vocabulary cards, after singing several animal songs. This form of assessment can also function as an exit ticket for class dismissal.

I found it sensible to use music (singing songs) as a form of assessment, because young children like music. Since research has indicated that young children have fun with music, then in my opinion, learning ought to be fun too, because the more fun it is to learn a language (vocabularies), the more a child will want to stay with it.

References:

(Accessed on 25 May 2015)

http://www.breathitt.k12.ky.us/docs/KFormativeAssessmentGuidanceSheet-0.pdf

http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/teaching/RyanCowanISP.htm

Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward: Obstacles, oppor- tunities & openness. Cambridge, MA: The Education Arcade.

Pellegrini, A. D. (1995). The future of play theory: A multidisciplinary inquiry into the contribu- tions of Brian Sutton-Smith. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Rieber, L. P. (1996). Seriously considering play: Designing interactive learning environments based on the blending of microworlds, simulations, and games. Educational Technology Research and Development, 44(1), 43–58.

Hogle, J. G. (1996). Considering games as cognitive tools: In search of effective “Edutainment”. Retrieved January 12, 2005, from ERIC, ED 425737.

Lim-Kemper, D. (2014) Can songs increase the English vocabulary learning of a group of mixed first language children attending an international school in Germany? 

MA in Education Research Project, Birmingham City University. 

Available at:  

https://www.academia.edu/9435217/Can_songs_increase_the_English_vocabulary_learning_of_a_group_of_mixed_first_language_children_attending_an_international_school_in_Germany