MichellePaquinJournal+2

Michelle Paquin EDC 452 2-17-09 Assessment Journal #2

This week in my third grade classroom, I observed an Affective Assessment activity. Affective Assessment is a measurement of students’ attitudes, interests, and/or values. This particular assessment was on reading. It was a worksheet with five questions on it. They included questions such as, how do you feel about reading now compared to last year? I like reading… The student would circle either: more, about the same, less. Another question was about reading comprehension, such as, how much do you understand what you are reading now compared to last year? I understand… The student responds with either: more, about the same, or less. Following questions asked things such as; What types of things help you to understand reading better? What might be some reasons why you do not like to read or that makes it harder for you to read? Name your favorite story that you have read so far this year and explain why. Once the students completed these worksheets, I reviewed them with the teacher. The majority of the class answered that they either liked reading about the same or more than last year. There were only a few that circled the “less” option. The same results came true in the second question about comprehension. However, the answers to the other questions varied. Some students responded that their spelling dictionaries and the way that the teacher goes over stories with them helps them understand better. Some students talked about how their parents help them with their homework and help them to understand. Some students said that they do not like to read because they have to read so many books. Others said that they do not understand many of the words in their books that they read so it makes it harder for them to read and comprehend it. However, one student was clever enough to report that reading with the light on may make it easier for him to read and he might enjoy it more. Many students responded with their favorite books being the ones that they read in class from their __Reading Street__ books because they are exciting and they do activities to help them understand. Also, many students reported that their individual books, which are part of the 25 books that each child has to read in the year, that they choose from the class library, are their favorites because they get to choose them by themselves. After this activity was completed, many of the students asked the teacher why they even had to do this if they were not being graded on it. The teacher responded that she needs to see where they are at in this point in time. She wants to know which students enjoy reading, which students understand or do not understand what they are reading, and which books each child enjoys. For the students that explain that they do not like to read and do not understand most things that they do read, this is extremely helpful to the teacher. Once she reads this, she now knows that some students are struggling. She can use this to her advantage and now focus on the students who are struggling and find ways to make reading fun for that child. I would definitely use this assessment to help me understand students reading interests. Some students may say that they liked a certain book when discussing it with the class because everyone else liked it or they may say that they understood it because they feel embarrassed that they were not able to understand it. However, by having the students write down if they are understanding their readings or enjoying them, the teacher is able to see their responses without the students having to tell the whole class.

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