Portfolios

Portfolios are used as an assessment guide throughout our district.

Components of the Portfolio

Reading	Writing	Spelling
Handwriting	Self Portrait	Mathematics

Reading

• Sight Word List: Students will be asked to read 60 sight words.
• Encoding/Decoding: Students will be asked to use their sense of sounds to write the whole word for pre-determined pictures. They will be encouraged to write all of the sounds they hear. Children are encouraged to use their developmental spelling. The following items will be assessed: initial consonants, short vowels, final consonants, long vowels, blends and digraphs. Scoring: Short Vowel Words: one point for each correct initial consonant, short vowel, and final consonant. Long Vowel Words: one point for each correct long vowel combination (i.e. page=1 point, pag=0 points) Blends and Digraphs: one point for each correct blend or digraph (i.e. snake=1 point, smake=0 points, snak=1 point since the blend is correct) In April there will also be a cloze activity used in conjunction with a morning message. Children will fill in the missing letters and receive a point for each missing letter.
• Benchmark Books/Devopmental Reading Assessment: Benchmark books are used on a one-to-one basis with the children. The child will read aloud a selected book which approximates his/her reading level. Following oral reading, a series of questions pertaining to the story will be asked. Answers will be recorded. A new story will be selected based on the child's progress.
• Reading Continuum: The continuum is intended for use as a guide. The ability to master the skills which comprise effective reading occur at different stages or intervals along a continuum. The behaviors have been grouped to illustrate which are more characteristic of beginning, developing, and fluent readers. Students will progress through these stages at different rates. At any given time, the reading performance of a child will probably fit into more than one category.

Beginning Reader

Comprehension	uses picture for clues
	retells a simple story which is read to them
	recalls some details
Word Attack Skills	knows names of letters
	identifies consonant sounds at beginning and end of words
	uses configuration as clue to identify words
Fluency	reads by rote
	reads one word at a time-choppy
Independent Reading	selects simple repetitious books
	reads favorite books over and over
	silent sustained reading 5-10 minutes
Attitude Toward Reading	has the desire to be a fluent reader
	enjoys retelling stories

Developing Reader

Comprehension	sequences events in story
	tells main idea
	makes predictions
	identifies main characters
	identifies setting
	differentiates between fact and fiction
Word Attack Skills	identifies high frequency words
	some awareness of medial vowel sounds
	uses context clues
	begins to self correct
Fluency	understands the meaning of . ? !
	pauses and uses appropriate inflection for punctuation
	reads phrases
Independent Reading	selects a variety of books
	silent sustained reading 10-15 minutes
Attitude Toward Reading	begins to feel confident when reading silently or orally

Fluent Reader

Comprehension	recognizes plot of story
	recognizes problem and solution in a story
	evaluates character's actions or behaviors
Word Attack Skills	uses a variety of clues to decode unfamiliar words
	identifies blends, digraphs, dipthongs
	applies vowel rules to sound out words
	understands affixes
Fluency	uses punctuation correctly
	reads with expression
	reads smoothly
Independent Reading	selects a wide variety of books
	may select chapter books
	silent sustained reading at least 20 minutes
Attitude Toward Reading	confident
	enjoys sharing favorite books
	enjoys challenges
	selects reading during free time

Writing

• Twenty Minute Writing Sample: The purpose of collecting a twenty minute writing sample is to document pupil progress over time. The children are encouraged to use practice spelling. The first 5-7 minutes are to be used as a planning period. Children may wish to draw a picture before beginning their writing. Descriptors in the Writing Continuum are used to document child's progress.
• Stories: Daily writing activities kept in a journal will be selected by the children. This may be his/her best piece of writing, favorite story, etc. This selection should demonstrate how the child has grown as a writer.
• Writing Continuum: The continuum is intended for use as a guide. The ability to master the skills which comprise effective writing occur at different stages or intervals along a continuum. The behaviors have been grouped to illustrate which are more characteristic of beginning, developing, and fluent writers. Students will progress through these stages at different rates. At any given time, the writing performance of a child will probably fit into more than one category.

Beginning Writer

Ideas	uses environmental print
	draws a picture and writes a sentence
	writes about a single subject (i.e. self, mom, dad)
	expository
Organization	beginning to adapt to traditional directionality (top to bottom, left to right)
Word Choice	uses limited number of words
	noun/verb pattern
	repetitive
Conventions	upper and lower case letters used randomly
	runs words together
	uses developmental spelling
	usually able to write initial sound of a word

Developing Writer

Ideas	writes a short paragraph...2 or 3 related sentences
	writes about self, family, immediate environment)
Organization	uses sequential order to express thoughts
Word Choice	uses short, familiar words
	writes short sentences
	includes some details
Conventions	beginning to use . and ?
	beginning to use capital letters correctly
	leaves spaces between words
	able to use beginning and ending sounds to spell words

Fluent Writer

Ideas	story has clear beginning, middle and end
	writes for a variety of purposes
Organization	develops involved plots
Word Choice	uses wide variety of words
	selections include descriptive words and details
Conventions	consistently uses . ? !
	use capital letters correctly
	uses a writing dictionary as a resource
	uses vowel sounds and medial consonants to spell unfamiliar words

Spelling

This "word awareness" activity permits teachers to trace the development of literacy in young children. We know that when young children attempt to write words, their spelling errors reveal something about their understanding of how words are put together. The research suggests that there is a developmental pattern in the way children form words and that pattern is exhibited by many children as they move through the primary grades. Children's "invented" spelling may therefore be used as a source of information for the assessment of literacy development. The children will be asked to write the words as they are dictated. Reassuring the children that they are not expected to know the correct spelling of all the words, they will be encouraged to try to write the sounds they hear. Scoring: a scoring chart is used to analyze the student's developmental level of spelling.

Developmental Stages of Spelling

(Adapted from Gentry, "You Can Analyze Developmental Spelling-and Here's How to Do It," Early Years, May 1985)

Precommunicative	This is the "babbling" stage of spelling. Children use letters for writing words but the letters are strung together randomly and do not correspond to sounds.	(i.e. OPSPS=eagle)
Semiphonetic	At this stage, spellers know that letters represent sounds. Spellings are often abbreviated representing the initial and/or final sounds of a word.	(i.e. E=eagle, A=eighty)
Phonetic	At this stage, spellers spell word like they sound. The speller perceives and represents all of the phonemes in a word, though spellings may be unconventional.	(i.e. EGL=eagle, ATE=eighty)
Transitional	Spellers in this stage think about how words appear visually. Spellings exhibit vowels in every syllable and vowel digraph patterns.	(i.e. EGUL=eagle, EIGHTEE=eighty)
Correct/Standard	Correct spelling that develops over time by way of word study and writing.	.EAGLE .EIGHTY

Handwriting

The students will be asked to print their first and last name, copy a sentence, and print the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. Handwriting will be evaluated for size, shape, slant, spacing, and smoothness.

Self Portrait

Children will be asked to draw a self portrait.

Mathematics

Chapter Tests and the End-of-the-Year Book Test will be used to document assessment.

Collecting Work Samples

Whole Class Activities	Individualized Activities
20 Minute Writing Samples	Sight Word List
Stories	Benchmark Books
Word Awareness Test (Spelling)	Reading Continuum
Letters and Sentences	Writing Continuum
Self Portrait
Math Tests

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