jessicaturco_journal1

<<Back to Jessica Turco's Journals <<Back to EDC 452 home page <<Section 1

January 30, 2009

Assessment Journal # 1 Each Friday between 8:30am and 12:30pm I visit a first grade classroom at Hope Valley Elementary School in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. Each morning I observe, the classroom engages in the same morning routines. The students start off with a morning greeting and move write into a free writing exercise, where they write in a journal at least three sentences about anything they want and then draw a picture incorporating their writing. Moving on to a quick snack and recess, the students come back to reading, which is from 10:30 till 12. Students are placed in reading groups based on levels and move to different reading stations to work on phonics, individual reading, and activities based on their readings.

I have seen my teachers reading groups in action each and every week I observe the classroom. In doing so, I have seen how each student improve their reading skills immensely! What a difference from the beginning of the fall to now. My cooperating teacher is also proud of their students. While the students are in their reading groups, a teacher is placed at each group to assess their learning. One teacher might keep anecdotal records while another simply observes.

The group where a teacher keeps anecdotal records of the students is in the individual reading group. One at a time, a student reads their assigned reading book to the teacher, reading on their own while the teacher listens and follows along with the student. While the student is reading, the teacher writes in the student’s individual notebook. The teacher is the only one to write in this notebook, documenting progress or problem words or letters the student is having trouble with or doing well in. My cooperating teacher has shown me a few of these notebooks and it is neat to see the documented progress of the students reading abilities.

What I like about the anecdotal records assessment is how the student is able to go on with their reading and is not interrupted by the teacher. The student reads their book and when they need help with a word, the teacher is able to assist them. I think this is a great way for the teacher to know how each student is learning and understanding the concepts of reading. It is a way to document where each student needs more work on or where they are improving from. I believe at the end of the year, the notebooks are given to the students to take home to their parents. Parents are able to see how their student progressed throughout the year and praise their child for becoming a great new reader.