Early Assessments

As an early childhood educator, I understand and see the importance of assessment at an early age. The earlier teachers can determine, distinguish and implement strategies for a child to learn, the better and more successful they will be in their future academics. The two articles I chose to focus on were Tile Assessment and Early Childhood Assessments.

Article 4 and 5 shared two main themes ; 1. the first being that both assessments increase child success as well as help teachers prepare for instruction and strategy to help the child become that successful and 2. both assessments create guided steps and tools having to do with phonological awareness, letters and spelling in helping children with literary skills in comprehending and obtaining the  English language.

According to the article Tile Assessment, "one can examine students’ understanding of the English orthographic system. It provides a hands-on interactive experience with letters and sounds for teachers who want to delve more deeply into students’ underlying thinking." Similary, Early literacy assessments such PALS 1-3 defines as "a multilayered assessment that extends as needed to document the beginning literacy strengths of students" (Invernizzi & Meier, 2003). 

Both Assessments begin with steps of recognition. While the Tile Test focuses on decoding words and their sounds, PALS focuses on words themselves with out sounding it out. Later on both steps go on to include spelling in assessments. Spelling is a crucial part of both assessments because phonolicial awareness as well asinitial and final conso- nants, digraphs, short vowels, consonant blends, long vowels, r- and l-controlled vowels, and am- biguous vowels all come into play depedning on grade levels. Children need to be aware and prepared in order to obtain this skill as well as be provided the necessary recourses and assistance if needed. However, on the contrary Tile Test allows students to create the words while PALS require the children to spell them out as they are told. Lastly, tile test require sentence and PALS is oral reading in text. The words used in the previous activity are now used to read and build sentences. According to Tile text article, they "recommend that the student read the sentence after building to allow for self-correction and to provide additional assessment information." In comparison to PALS children "In this task, students read a graded passage of text and are scored for ac- curacy, fluency, and comprehension."

Both are similar in their purpose but while one observes perspectives and thinking, another is preparing and sort of molding ways in order to make that way of thinking solid and strong.
From reading about these assessments, I then began to observe different forms of assessment. Depending on the grade level children can have formative, interim and summative. Formative mostly reflect on early child and are authentic forms of assessing children and their growth through daily class routines, interim assess through curriculum based units and summatives are given state wide. I found this interesting in linking the assessments because though they help improve and increase English and reading skills, they are also in a way state or curriculum based. The assessments go based on what is expected or should I say what we expect of a current grade to be when that is not always necessarily the case.

Below I have attached additional links to forms of assessment as well as the accuracy and stability of these assessments. And now I ask you which assessment do you believe is most accurate and beneficial to a child and why?



https://pals.virginia.edu/
https://prezi.com/i6lxum0cfepx/tile-test-a-hands-on-approach-for-assessing-phonics-in-the/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx42-CXt448

Orlando Case and Graphic Organizer

Orlando’s case is one that can be very common but must be approached at first hand before problems can progress. In helping Orlando improve the strategies implemented are as follows: Predictions, Re-reading, re-telling, Summarizing, and questioning. I have ordered it in these specific steps to not only target certain domains but also keep track of persistence and expansion through out the lessons.

 One of the first strategies implemented strategies formed in order to help children obtain reading comprehension skills are making predictions. While a teacher introduces the story, she can use not only the basic components of a title, author and illustrator but also incorporate the cover, picture visuals and colors. By using the images shown on the book first hand – teachers can begin to form higher order thinking questions such as “what do you think this book is going to be about?” or “What do you think is going to happen based on the title of the book?”

 Once the child has expressed their perspectives and opinions, the teacher can then introduce the story and also read a second time if needed. The second step in re-reading stories allows for the child to pick up repetition skills as well as alliteration. Using these exercises helps create awareness of initial letter sounds, phonological awareness and letter recognition as well. In the article Emerging Literacy, they state that the existence of memorable repeated language or refrains and the presence of objects integral to the plot increase engagement in interactive read aloud. Therefore, allowing the children to not only interact but allow opportunity for re-telling the story.

 In allowing the child to retell a story it gives the teacher an opportunity to record not only authentic assessments but also allows the child to create connections. Rowe states that play and comprehension serve “as a supportive environment through which multiple

Connections to books could be made.” Furthermore, in my current curriculum of Tools of the Mind we too use visuals of three different cards asking the children to make connections to another text, the world or themselves. The most common connection is to the child because they can relate to fantasy, fiction, fun and lively engaging animations and messages in a story. This in turn connects with a summary because they are expressing themselves verbally not only their understanding of the story but comparing a similarity between the story and their own live.

 Lastly, the final strategy to further solidify and excel not only Orlando’s case but also any child’s comprehension is HOT questions or higher order thinking questions. In using play, props and visuals this increases the child’s verbal skills. The articles states ''As the actor, a student must rely on developing verbal skills to maintain and advance the play by speaking in character, suggesting actions, or directing other players (Giffin, 1984)."

 A primary example would be when children play family, school or doctor. They change to their roles to those they see in the outside role whether it be teacher, daughter, mother etc. The conversation they progress and use is also absorbed from seeing their own families verbalize. This is an opportunity to not only enhance play but also expand their vocabulary and incorporate advanced language.

 

Creating scenarios or graphic organizers that allow the children to visually see and re-enact what happens in a story also helps implant further strategy for comprehension. According to Vygotsky (1978) identified play activities as the center of young students’ zones of proximal development, where new knowledge was gained through social interactions with more competent players.

 

Below I have used the book Goldilocks and the Three Bears to help Orlando in obtaining his reading comprehension. First I took into consideration that he loves to draw. Incorporating a child’s self interests is always a plus and secondly I incorporated repeated language with an opportunity for him to show the actual image applied to the bowls, chairs and beds. Lastly, I attached an actual visual so he could guess and check his work. If he gets them all correct, positive praise and if now this creates an opportunity to go back to the story and re tell it again.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEWitdYB6_Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpsVODqPpro&ebc=ANyPxKoZOGGXtVN4u_VNVoM8cEC9G6S5nV7qhYkGE0zZFlR2f9eeBW80Y5PgVIMxFoyJ-UOSsacx6U4nzbIbcUH8JnxB60xmeA

 

 

 

Module 2, WEEK 2

This article is to bridge the gap between literacy and early childhood education. The problem being targeted is connecting literary skills and concepts and implementing them into a young’s child daily life and classroom setting. In order for this to be done there are steps and each step must be targeted individually. The main steps follow as language, vocabulary, comprehension, phonological awareness followed by print awareness and concepts. In order for this to be done teachers need to ask HOT* ( higher order thinking questions), expand descriptive language, set child prompting and continue positive praising. By using child friendly language and building upon that, I  think it can be effective learning and as long as each step is taught and modelled individually by both teachers and parents, weekly or monthly, I believe it can be effective and create a solid foundation in early childhood literacy.

Currently, i am teaching with a tools of the mind cirriculum.This cirriculum has stories labs that relate to the steps in building language. The obvious is making it child friendly and asking higher order thinking using prompting or visuals but the other aspect is connecting them and you expand not only their experiences to the books but their experiences to reading. Each story lab has a different focus of the day relating to either voabulary, character empathy, visualization, connections, predictions, inferences and higher order thinking. After reading the story, a visual is used to either ask the child how the characters felt, how they relate or what can happen next. This process creates a link in connecting children to reading without actually being told this is reading or this is literacy. My part as an educator is to keep the engagement alive - interest and involvement and surprisingly, the steps the article states is the process my program enables and this makes me proud. My goal is to bring life back into reading and educate our children in the process.

Literacy Autobiography

Thinking back to my early childhood years – the first thing that comes to mind in connection to literacy is Dr. Suess. I loved reading Dr. Suess books with my mother. I vividly remember she had brought me a little back pack that had the collection of books and I carried it with me everywhere. I cannot remember if it was the colors, the fact that it was my first back pack, the rhyming or maybe a combination of all three but I loved reading in kindergarten. Attending a catholic elementary school, they were very strict on phonological awareness and spelling and I remember not being able to spell octopus and elephant (maybe because of the trick consonant and vowel sounds) but those two words drove me crazy and from then on I was determined to get better and be better. I practiced reading and letter sounds with my older cousin and I also loved the positive praise in school as I got better – which motivated me even more. My grades and reading had improved and shortly after I moved to New York around the age of 8.

Requirements in New York in comparison to New Jersey were very different. My fourth grade teacher – Mrs. Ben-Ari had a 25 book reading competition that we had to read AT LEAST 25 books and write a book report with an illustration as well. My favorite part about this competition was that the books could be based on our free choice as long as they were age appropriate. The winners received special prizes and a pizza party which at that point what 8 year old wouldn’t love pizza!?!  It was in 4^th grade that I was introduced to one of my favorite childhood authors, Beverly Cleary. My teacher had the Ramona Forever collection and I fell in love! At this point I was becoming an older sister and I think I enjoyed the sisterly bond and comical side as well. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Garfinkel had made the class read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” which at the time I found difficult but also enjoyed because of the fact that it let your imagination run and the teacher never limited us to a certain setting or perspective so we were never wrong giving our incentives and opinions. My next two vivid books were in junior high school 7^th and 8^th grade – the House on Mango Street and Speak. I enjoyed the House on Mango Street because of its culture and background. Coming from a Hispanic background there weren’t many books that incorporated language, culture or diversity and I think this is memorable for me because it was my first experience in connecting myself and my family to a book. Following in 8^th grade my language arts teaching was in the midst of her masters and chose two students to share her assignment with. We read the book Speak and that book triggered many emotion I never realized lied within my body. As a child I had been through a similar experience and again this was the first book that had triggered all the emotions I had previously suppressed. In addition, it was also a very mature read for an adolescent but it made me feel empowered, it made me feel intelligent and reminded me I wasn’t alone.

It wasn’t until I came to high school that the literature and my love for reading began to go downhill. In high school back to back the literary texts and structure were repetitive. It was always based on “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, “Anne Frank”, “Gone With The Wind”, “The Crucible” and, Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Hamlet”. For four years these texts were repetitive and boring. Not only did they imply the same questions, assignments and projects but also they did not incorporate creativity, higher ordering thinking or something to connect to. Reading and literature began to be based on passing tests and exams as opposed to pleasure and learning for fun. High school for me made reading dull and in return I began to stop reading. Instead, I would seek easier sources and ways such as pink money or cliff notes or sharing notes with classmates to find an easier way. Reading to me was no longer fun and also the texts began to lack substance.

Reflecting back I see that education made literature based on passing tests and credentials rather than impacting imagination, creativity and individuality. It limited the readers perception, reflection and opinion as opposed to helping it grow and build because comprehension questions and essays already had an outline of what it should be. Reading is supposed to be an open door to escape in words and in your mind. It is supposed to be a way to increase knowledge with expanding your current thoughts and perspective and it is also supposed to be something you enjoy doing and for me it stopped. Personally now, I enjoy reading literary pieces that I can connect to whether it be drama, love, or murder – something with suspense and based on true stories. In terms of writing and speaking I always enjoyed the aspect of self expression and increasing vocabulary or learning through conversation and expeirnce but reading – reading was something that was taken away from my enjoyment and I hope to be an educator that gives it back to the youth because it something so wonderful and amazing that is underrated for all the wrong reasons. As a teacher, I want to bring life back not only into literacy but into helping and encouraging children to enjoy reading not because they have to but because they truly want to – something I once did and hope to do in time again.