MAKING ASSESSMENTS MEANINGFUL
Meaningful assessments come in many forms. No matter what the format of the assessment a student is being evaluated with, it is important for me to inform my students why a particular assessment has value. For all phonics, M-Class, and sight word assessments students know that the assessments are a way of measuring how close we are to Our Big Classroom Goal.
Our Big Classroom Goal is for all students to make it to level D reading by the end of the year TRC assessment. To do this students must take active ownership of their studies. They must practice phonics, sight words, and reading strategies daily. Students are able to see progress towards the Big Classroom Goal all over our room and in the halls.
Student Accountability System
All Students have a number in my class. Students know their number and that helps them identify where they are when it comes to reading level goals, DIBELS goals, and sight word goals.
One of my students' favorite walls in the classroom is our reading wall. Here we have Our Big Goal listed and the placement of our reading monsters. Each monster has a student number on it. When students move to a new reading level their monster moves too. Anytime a monster moves students notice and we celebrate. Student do not know other students numbers but they do enjoy celebrating the fact that one of the classmates has been studying hard enough to move their monster.
Another wall that students constantly have their eye on is right outside our classroom. Students work diligently to see their name on the Kindergarten College Sight Word Wall. Students take a sight word test every two weeks. The sight word tests build on one another. You have to accurately identify all the words from previous sight word challenges and the new words from the last two weeks. Students who identify all the sight words correctly and receive 100% get their certificates hanging in the hallway for all to see and an invitation to the Friday dance party.
Tracking Reading Stamina
To encourage students to become independent readers, we track our reading stamina. Every day students work by themselves using their reading folders.
Students work together to build their independent reading stamina. When we make it to our goal of 38 minutes of independent work students are rewarded with a stamina party to celebrate this big accomplishment.
