Best Ways to Assess a Second Grader's Reading
Looking for some bully literacy assessments for your Kindergarten, outset course, or 2d class students? In this blog post, I'thousand sharing v of my favorites!
Earlier I share them, though, please keep these points in mind:
- No single assessment is comprehensive! We don't want to over-appraise our kids, but at the same time, no one measure out is going to give us sufficient knowledge about a child's literacy evolution.
- Some kids don't perform particularly well on tests. We can help past creating a low-force per unit area surround. But we tin likewise observe their work on a daily basis and not over-rely on benchmark exam results, especially if they don't seem to be authentic.
- The purpose of assessing is to inform your educational activity. Assessing can feel overwhelming or tiring at times. Merely utilize it to your reward – take those results and use them to focus and strengthen your teaching!
Phonics or Spelling Inventory
This is my favorite for late Kindergarten, first grade, and 2d course students! (It can also exist helpful with older students, too.)
In a phonics or spelling inventory, you lot have students spell words, like on a spelling exam. However, the words have been carefully chosen to include sure phonics features (i.e. digraphs, long vowels, etc.).
When you analyze each pupil's work, you can chop-chop see learning gaps or areas of weakness. For case, if a student spelled "ship" every bit "sip," you'll know that they probably need to work on the digraph "sh."
If y'all need a phonics inventory, you can grab i for gratis from my phonics plan From Sounds to Spelling. Go to the website and click the "costless trial" push button. The phonics inventory will exist available in your login after you sign upwards.
Note: If you're using a phonics inventory other than the free ane linked here, make certain information technology includes words that students are non likely to already know how to spell. For case, many kids accept memorized the give-and-take "sun," but they may not have memorized how to spell the word "pun." Having them write "pun" is a meliorate way to determine if they know the short u sound, because they probably won't take memorized that word.
Nonsense Give-and-take Reading Assessment
Earlier I became a reading specialist, I didn't fully understand why nonsense give-and-take assessments are valuable. Just at present I get it, and I honey them!!
A nonsense give-and-take reading assessment helps you understand what phonics patterns students can decode. For example, if they successfully decode the word "floud," you'll know they tin blend f and 50, as well as recognize the diphthong "ou."
You might be thinking, "But why not just give them a real give-and-take? Who cares if they tin decode floud? They'll never see it in their reading."
That's what I used to think, likewise! But hither's the issue:
Some readers "get by," particularly in the lower grades, by memorizing words. They either aren't receiving strong phonics instruction, or they aren't arresting it.
Nonsense words "force" kids to use their phonics noesis. I know that a kid probably hasn't seen the word "floud" before, merely I don't know for sure that they haven't memorized the word "deject" or "flower."
A nonsense word reading assessment can be super revealing! If you're in my start and second grade literacy guild, check out the nonsense word inventory in the Phonics section of "Intervention Central."
Or, if you lot use my phonics program, From Sounds to Spelling, certain assessments contain nonsense word reading tasks.
Running Record
In a running record, you:
- Mind to a student read
- Record errors and self-corrections
- Make notes about the student'south fluency
- Ask comprehension questions later on they end
- Analyze the phonics patterns the student struggled with
- Clarify reading behaviors, both positive and negative (i.e. trying multiple strategies, noticing and cocky-correcting errors oft asking for aid, over-relying on context/meaning, etc.)
A running record requires one-on-ane piece of work with a student, merely it's time well-spent!
I take running records A) on an ongoing basis, and B) during benchmarking several times a year.
For running records on an ongoing basis, I have my students read either a new text or a text they've read one time during small group. Meanwhile, the other kids are rereading familiar texts. (This is so good for fluency!) You can take a running record on a blank running record form or simply a canvas of newspaper. The data I get helps me plan my small group lessons.
Sometimes, however, it can be helpful to take a running tape form where the words are already printed on the page (this makes information technology easier to have notes about the student'south reading). My guided reading bundles and leveled texts all come with running record forms.
Reading A to Z books besides accept running record forms. For benchmarking a couple of times a twelvemonth, check out the Fountas & Pinnell Criterion Assessment System.
To acquire more nearly running records, check out this blog post.
Timed Reading Test / Reading Fluency Test
Once students are beginning to read a chip more, a 1-minute fluency examination can be very helpful. I use grade-level text and meet how many words a student tin read correctly in a minute.
All y'all demand is a grade-level text and a timer! (EasyCBM has some free and affordable options for fluency assessments, if y'all demand some.)
Note: I think it'south so important not to accidentally stress students out about the timed aspect of a fluency exam. I don't discuss their scores with them afterward, because I don't want to communicate the idea that speed reading = good reading. Merely my stance – there are better opportunities to give kids feedback on their reading than after a fluency test.
Writing Sample Graded with a Rubric
In this type of assessment, you give students a topic to write almost. For instance, you might accept them write a persuasive letter of the alphabet to the principal, explaining why they shouldn't have to wear uniforms. Or you might ask them to choose an animal they know a lot almost and write about that fauna.
Students work independently on the writing chore. When they're finished, yous grade their writing with a rubric.
A rubric is helpful because it allows yous to pinpoint very specific areas of strength and weakness. Here's an example of a first form narrative rubric (annotation: the goal is for students to get to a four or at least a 3 past the end of the schoolhouse yr.
Rubrics are a powerful assessment tool, only they tin can likewise be used to help guide what you teach. If you notice, for example, that many students in your course are not using transition words, you might re-teach that skill.
Y'all can catch my Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd class writing units (for narrative, informational, and opinion writing) here in my TpT store.
Helpful Tips for Giving One-On-One Assessments
This, of grade, is non an exhaustive list of assessments. I as well apply tools similar letter sound, alphabetic character ID, and phonological sensation assessments.
Regardless, one of the challenges of giving i-on-i assessments is that you oftentimes still have an entire classroom of kids to manage!
The other students can easily get noisy or interrupt y'all as you're assessing – which makes the whole process take that much longer!
So here are some tips to help:
- Go over expectations EVERY fourth dimension you assess. Students need to know what to do if they have to use the restroom, demand help, etc. Railroad train them how to solve their ain problems as much as possible, so they don't interrupt y'all!
- If your classroom often gets noisy during your typical literacy center rotations or independent work, forego this routine while you're assessing. Instead, provide students with a list of tasks to piece of work on, one after the other. You can even so provide some level of choice – and brand certain to include some of students' favorite activities so they stay engaged!
- Swap partner or group activities for independent tasks, as this can cut downwards on the racket level in your classroom. My solo literacy centers are fun and game-like, even though students are playing by themselves.
- Requite the class breaks as much as possible (i.e. when you've finished with a pupil, earlier yous've started working with a some other student).
- If you lot need to rely on technology a bit more usual (i.e. having students play learning games or heed to books), that's okay! If students are engaged, information technology can assist you get through your assessments more quickly.
If you demand some ready-to-use (aka no prep!) activities for your students to work on while you lot're assessing, check out my solo literacy centers for Kindergarten, first grade, and 2nd grade.
And don't forget – catch the gratis phonics cess (and other phonics goodies) at this link!
Happy assessing!
Source: https://learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/5-helpful-literacy-assessment-tools-for-k-2/
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