Assessment Day: Spelling and Reading

Carla Miller: Good morning, friends. How's everybody doing?

Students: Good.

VO: This week, Dr. Carla Miller's first graders at Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta have been learning how to read and write words with the suffix '-ed'.

Carla Miller: Okay, friends, it's time for our Friday probe. I want you to go ahead and put your name and the date on your paper.

VO: What Dr. Miller calls the Friday probe is a quick end of the week assessment. It tells her which students have mastered suffix '-ed' and who needs more instruction.

Carla Miller: We're going to start with sounds.

VO: She'll assess both spelling and reading today, with spelling first. Dr. Miller starts by asking her students to spell suffixes in isolation.

Carla Miller: The first suffix I want you to write is the suffix that means past tense.

VO: Next come words. Notice how Dr. Miller draws her students' attention to the base word first, giving them a strong foundation to spell from.

Carla Miller: The word is spilled. What word?

Students: Spilled.

Carla Miller: Base word.

Students: Spill.

Carla Miller: I want you to write spilled.

VO: While today's assessment is focused on suffix '-ed', Dr. Miller includes previously learned suffixes as well.

Carla Miller: Next word. I want you to write bunches. What word?

Students: Bunches.

Carla Miller: Base word.

Students: Bunch.

Carla Miller: I want you to write bunches.

VO: Dr. Miller gives her students four to six words before moving on to sentences.

Carla Miller: "We crossed the path to get to the mall."

Students: "We crossed the path to get to the mall."

Carla Miller: Pound.

Together: [pounding their fists into their palms with each word] "We crossed the path to get to the mall."

Carla Miller: Scoop.

Together: [scooped fingers for each section of the sentence] "We crossed the path to get to the mall."

VO: The spelling assessment can be given to the whole class at once, but reading calls for a different approach.

Carla Miller: I'm going to call friends over to read to me. I want it to be nice and quiet in the room. Can we do that?

Students: Yes.

Carla Miller: Thank you.

VO: For the reading assessment, Dr. Miller will ask each student to read words in isolation and then sentences. She starts with Aurora.

Carla Miller: Are you ready?

Aurora: Yes.

Carla Miller: I want you to put your finger under the first word. Can you read it for me?

Aurora: Test.

Carla Miller: Next word.

Aurora: Spelled.

VO: As each student reads, Dr. Miller is taking notes on accuracy and any mistakes that need to be addressed.

Carla Miller: Next word.

VO: Dust.

Carla Miller: Okay, good job. So now we're going to move on to the sentence. You read the first sentence, put your finger under the first word.

Aurora: "Brad jumped in the pond and then ..."

Carla Miller: You can go on.

Aurora: "On the dock."

VO: She'll use this information to make decisions on what skills to focus on and how to group students for instruction the following week.

Aurora:
"I sniffed the milk and it smelled bad."

Carla Miller: Good job, Aurora. High five.

VO: Let's watch a one-on-one assessment all the way through with Jude.

Carla Miller: Okay, Jude, are you ready for our reading probe?

Jude: Yeah.

Carla Miller: Okay. I'd like for you to put your finger under the first word and read for me.

Jude: Tasted, spelled, camped, grilled, dusted.

Carla Miller: Excellent. Good job. Let's move on to our sentences. Can you put your finger under the first word for me?

Jude: "Brad jumped in the pond and then rested on the dock."

Carla Miller: Excellent. Next sentence.

Jude: "I sniffed the milk and it smelled bad."

Carla Miller: Good job. Last one.

Jude: "Dad honked at the passing truck."

Carla Miller: Excellent.

VO: These Friday assessments aren't just routine check-ins. They provide the data teachers need to shape their instruction and give each student the support they need to become a strong reader.

Carla Miller: Thank you so much for reading for me today and showing what you know. Hi five. Awesome.

VO: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; the AFT; and several anonymous donors. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy, Reading Is Essential For All People, and Atlanta Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA Washington D.C. and was developed in collaboration with the Barksdale Reading Institute and First Book.

Carla Miller: This is Reading Universe