Hello everyone!
This week was filled with a lot of information to read and reflect on! Ashleigh and I had a lot to talk about at the end of the week! I first started out by reading about the 6+1 Writing Traits. I thought this information was very helpful because it listed the characteristics to remember when assessing and teaching writing in the classroom. I learned that it’s important consider student’s ideas, organization, voice, word choices, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentations when examining their writing (http://educationnorthwest.org). By reading over and discussing this information with Ashleigh, I know just how important it is to make sure that students must understand the main message of a given text. “Good” writers tend to have elaborate ideas and give details about things other people may leave out. Furthermore, students may come up with great ideas but organization should play a big role in their writings. They need to make clear points that make sense and give the reader something to think about. I was reminded that a writer’s voice needs to be heard through their work. It’s funny to me how you can read something a person writes and kind of “hear” them talking in your head. I think that is what it means consider their “voice” in their writings. I think a person’s voice plays a big role his/her choice of words. The website suggested that word choices often reflect the writer’s skills in using everyday vocabulary. Another thing to consider when analyzing writing is the sentence fluency of a given piece. I think this can be tied in with the organization characteristic. It’s important that a sentence is easy to understand and has a nice flowing tone. I took the Conventions characteristic to be an important, yet easily overlooked trait when assessing reading. This requires careful assessment of the mechanical aspects of writing (grammar, punctuation, etc.). Lastly, I learned about the presentation trait associated with assessing writing. Here, I may ask myself questions such as “how does this student’s handwriting look?” “Does the student include pictures or graphs that grab my attention?” Although others may not agree, I think this is one of the most important aspects to consider. People have to be drawn to read something, so making it look “good” is essential. I’ve always know that such characteristics are ones to look for when reading other’s writings but it was nice to be reminded of such things!
The next item I read over (and listened to) was the Assessing Writing PowerPoint provided by Dr. Powell. Ashleigh and I talked about how helpful it was to have a voice recording along with the text to explain the content. Ultimately, I felt that this presentation was a continuation to the 6+1 Writing Traits I mentioned earlier. However, some of the things she revealed were interesting. For example, I was surprised to learn that about 50% of the text students read will be non-fictional. Also, it’s great to know that under the new Standards, narrative, informational, and argument/opinion based writing will be introduced to students (slide 1). I like how she pointed that “writing is for reading” (slide 3). It took me a few minutes to take in this statement. Just as the first module led me to ask myself: “what is reading?,” I am finding that I am now asking myself “what is writing?” in this module. And she’s right! Writing IS for reading! We write for many different reasons and I like how the PowerPoint stressed the importance of having children write about things that interests them if you want them to improve on their writing (slide 3). Slide 4 went into detail about conferencing. This reminded me of information I read in Module 2. Serafini touched on this concept in Chapter 9 and explained how he tried to have one-on-one sessions with students. Although he was talking about improving their reading skills, I can see this working to improve their writing skills as well. Slide 6 emphasized the importance of engaging children in writing. I think having children make a writing folder and listing ideas by answering the three questions is a great brainstorming tool! I noticed that this was a step listed in the directions for when I begin to tutor my student. I was reminded that this step is something that I might have to complete with my student, especially if he is a younger child (slide 7). I liked how Dr. Powell gave some tips on what not to do during this time. I think the most important thing to remember is to be there to help but let the student take over! (slide 8). Although I found the Writing Continuum chart to be rather confusing, I was glad Dr. Powell went through the charts as I read and followed along. That really helped! I didn’t feel so bad when she said that it may take some time to get used to the process (slide 9-10). I liked how the rest of the PowerPoint gave various examples of student writing on different levels.
Within this PowerPoint, I was able to analyze and dig deeper into Kyle’s writing. It was a bit difficult to understand, but honestly, I don’t think it’s the worst I’ve ever read. I think there are well-educated grown adults who tend to write and spell like that in e-mails and text messages! It’s really sad to think about! Anyways, I was interested to see what level Kyle’s writing falls under. Although I had some trouble really understanding how to assess Kyle, I was glad that Dr. Powell held a WebEx session to clear up some confusion. During this time, we went over a few of the initial assessments and then talked about Kyle’s 2nd draft writing. I like how she touched on assessing his writing and went over examples of how he substituted different letters for words he misspelled. Ultimately, we agreed that Kyle spelled words based on how they sound. Also, he may make frequent spelling errors because he does not know correct patterns to use or has a difference in dialect. I remembered reading about this concept in the PowerPoint I mentioned earlier. Based on what I recall from that and other problems Kyle faces in his writing, I would say that Kyle has a big issue with developing mental orthographic images (MOI). Dr. Powell also introduced us to the use of a new website and helpful tool called the Universal Writing Continuum. She walked us through the site and explained how teachers can use it to analyze and record individual student’s writing and compare such works to other children’s work. I realized this would be a helpful tool to use when I assess my tutee’s writing. Towards the end of this particular class “meeting,” I noted something interesting Dr. Powell said. She explained that the process of spelling is based on three different things: sound, sight, and meaning. I think that sums up spelling in general. When we spell, we normally sound out the word (out loud or in our heads), we envision the word (writing on paper or seeing the word in our heads), and then associate it with something meaningful. I think the last part is especially true! This makes me think about writing in foreign languages. Some people don’t know that “libro” means “book” in English. Therefore, “libro” means nothing to them. But if you tell them that it means book, then they can sound out the word, envision the word, and understand what “book” means. I’m not sure if anyone else thinks of it that way, but that’s just me!
Ashleigh and I also talked about the information about the language of reading and spelling on speechpathology.com and thought it was interesting. Here, we learned the definition of phonological awareness. Before reading further, I tried to think of what this could possibly mean. Well, I related the word: “phonological” to phonics—or speech sounds. I took phonological awareness to be a reader’s awareness of speech sounds. As I read kept reading, I discovered that I was on the right track. The website mentioned that phonological awareness is used to break down words into smaller units and identify phonemes. Readers also use this process to understand that a difference in sound signals means there has to be a difference in the meaning of a word. I’m glad that I was given an example to help me see what they meant by this. Take their example of the word pet vs. pit. Of course “pet” has a much different meaning than “pit” but I was able to use my phonological awareness to understand that they also do not have the same sounds. Further reading on this concept revealed that readers use phonological awareness to separate individual sounds and blend them together. The next concept introduced on this website was the idea that we use orthographic knowledge when reading. Before reading more about it, I tried to come up with my own idea of what it meant but I was lost, so I read on. It explained that we rely on our knowledge of common sound-letter relationships to convert spoken language into written word.
The information I read about these two ideas brings me back to my (and Ashleigh’s) initial belief that reading happens when our eyes see the text and our brain recognizes common combinations. Our brain takes those sounds and places them together to form a word. After reading about the similar process on this website, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of how reading occurs.
I read through the “A Detailed Look at Spelling Analysis” document and was surprised to learn that there are different forms of spelling errors that are considered “legal” and “illegal.” Ultimately, I can see how the “legal” misspellings are acceptable mistakes to make. I realized that just as I learned last week about reading miscues, it’s okay for beginners to make some spelling errors too. I am glad that I have this document to help me identify similar spelling errors my tutee may make when it comes time to assess his/her writing. I am anxious to see what he/she knows!
As I mention the task of spelling, I am reminded of the “Assessing Spelling” PowerPoint provided by Dr. Powell. This presentation covers A LOT of helpful information. First of all, it was interesting to read about how spelling works. I’ve always known that English is a very complex language and I agree that it is highly irregular (slide 2). There are many words I often look at and say “why is it spelled like that?” Words like “know” and “knife” have always amazed me because the “kn” seems like an odd combination. It’s interesting that many people say words differently but they are all spelled the same. This reminds me of how different Southerners talk versus how Northerners talk. The accents may be different but they both spell words the same. I like how this Power Point stressed the importance of assessing a child’s spelling. I was reminded that with anything learned by students, there is a difference between being taught spelling and being assessed in spelling (slide 3). This document helped me see how to go about assessing spelling. It was helpful to have the “Spelling Analysis” chart handy so I could follow along with each slide. This helped me see that spelling assessment is based on common strategies children use in spelling (slide 4). Before I read further into the content, I realized that I needed to brush up on some basic phonic/spelling facts. I took the quiz to see just how much I remember about phonics. I would highly recommend for anyone to read over the phonic rules before starting the quiz. Ashleigh and I talked about our experiences with the quiz, and both of us had some trouble! There were so many rules and vocabulary associated with spelling that I forgot about! I recognized the word “diphthong” but couldn’t remember the last time I personally used it! As an efficient reader and speller, I was surprised that I had trouble answering some of the questions. I know I need to spend some time re-learning the rules for long and short vowels! It was an eye opening experience!
As I think about assessing my student’s writing, I am reminded that he/she will be placed on a scale of one of four possible phases: Emergent, Novice, Transitional, and the desired Independent phase. I know that studying his/her writing will let me know the student stands (slide 7-8). I like how assessing writing/spelling is somewhat similar to assessing reading in that we analyze miscues. However, in spelling errors, we focus on things such as Mental Orthographic Imaging (MOI), sound, and visual/meaning. We are to then take the miscues and compare them with the correct spelling of a word (9-10). The rest of this Power Point guided me through how to use the Spelling Assessment chart. I was reminded that during assessment, we must check for phonic alternatives and dialect/faulty auditory perception (slide 13-14). It’s interesting to think about how some children spell the way they talk to think words are said. As I read about this, I was reminded of when my nephew was younger (about 4 or 5). He used to love going to K-mart to pick out toys. Each time we made a visit, he would shout: “yay! We are here at K-mark!” I know this is a little different since he wasn’t spelling, but I think of it as the same concept. Just as the Power Point mentioned, I think he was not hearing some sounds or wasn’t distinguishing them at the time (slide 14). I like how the presentation advises adults to encourage students to use space holders in place of missing letters they may not know (slide 15). As I continue reading, I thought it was interesting to read about transposing letters (slide 17) because I understood exactly what it is talking about! There are many times I spell words and have to look at them and say “now that doesn’t look right.” A lot of times I am right, but there are still words I need to use my mental orthographic imaging (MOI) to make sure I have the correct spelling. I do this with words such as “license” and “exercise.” I learned that substituting letters is one of the most common types of miscues children (and even adults) make. This means that a child may need to develop a better MOI (slide 19). It was interesting to learn that although a word a child writes may be “unclassifiable,” it can still be written with a particular strategy in mind (slide 23). The rest of this Power Point was very helpful in that it gave me a better understanding of the spelling analysis and how to record a child’s miscues (slide 26-30). Ashleigh and I are confident that this, along with the information about the spelling inventory (slide 33) will help us when it comes time to assess each of our tutee’s spelling/writing.
The required readings from Pinnell and Founta’s text: Word Matters revealed a lot of similar information presented throughout this module. Chapter 10 highlighted the topic of assessing what children already know. Ultimately, I think this is a more detailed description of what I have learned in the past couple of modules. This chapter explained the importance of assessing children in such areas as their attitudes for learning, knowledge vocabulary, word meaning, letter and sounds, and use of effective word solving strategies (pg. 104-105). I like how the authors gave helpful questions w teachers/tutors can ask themselves when assessing students in each category. I’m sure these will come in handy when I assess my tutee. The text further discusses the process of shared, guided, and independent reading. I learned that through guided and independent reading, we can see how a child does reading alone and can see how he/she approaches the use of new vocabulary (pg. 108-109). I thought it was important to learn and note that independent writing is much similar. I see it as an essential part of writing. Teachers are able to examine student’s written works and understand how the language system works (pg. 111). The text adds that self-assessment has major benefits for students. I can see how it can not only promote independence, but allows them to identify their own errors/weaknesses without having the teacher point it out to them (pg. 111). I was glad to read up on some familiar information throughout the rest of this chapter. The sections discussed conducting different types of introductory assessments such as running records, miscue analysis, and IRIs. The introductory interviews and conferences mentioned in this chapter reminded me a lot of the Interest Inventory and the Burkes Interview I will use in my tutoring sessions (pg. 112). I recognized a lot of other information in this chapter. The section about assessing speech and written word (pg. 115-119) reminded me a lot about assessing Kyle’s writing. I liked how that text gave examples of other student’s writing so I could see how they may interpret language.
Chapter 19 of Pinnell and Founta’s text focused on forming appropriate benchmarks and standards for student progress with learning words. I agreed with what the authors said about learning words being a continuous process (pg. 249). I feel this is so true because I continue to learn new words as I read books watch T.V., talk with other people. Another thing I read that sparked a lot of thought was when the authors mentioned that most of the time, kids are genuinely interested in reading and writing, even at such young ages. I was reminded that constant interaction with a student developing such skills is the key! Teachers and adults need to work with children on their level and build them up. I agree that they must make sure that this is an exciting and easy experience for the child (pg. 249-252). This is what I want for my tutee! I like how the rest of this chapter gives detailed characteristics of the different types of word solvers. I learned about emergent, early, transitional, self-extending, and advanced word solvers (pg. 252-260). As I read through this, I was reminded of the Universal Writing Continuum I mentioned earlier. I think it has a lot of familiar concepts in that I can use that website to place a student in similar categories based on their writing.
Speaking of word-solving, chapter 20 of Word Matters allowed readers to think about developing appropriate programs for children as the learn words. I like how the authors gave detailed steps that support the development of an acceptable program to help children approach word study (pg. 262-269). As I read through the end of this chapter, I read about professional development. I understand that just as children develop their learning skills, teachers grow and develop professionally as they get more experience (pg. 269-270).
Wow! So as you can see, the readings for this week gave me a lot of insight about a lot of different things. Ashleigh and I enjoyed discussing our thoughts and ideas with one another. It’s great that I was able to learn so much!
Thanks for reading my blog! See you next week!
Kelsey
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