Where are my students at?
I was lucky last year... I was able to keep four or five of my students for a second year due to a multi-age class system. It was absolutely wonderful... I knew where they were at; strengths, weaknesses, interests, I knew them well.
This year I changed grade levels and while I am extremely excited to teach grade three there is only so much I know about these students who are coming to me. The learning coach at my school has developed this amazing school profile that details information teachers want to know such as writing, reading, and mathematical levels.
That said, I still start my year our with a bunch of testing (How horrible does that sound?!). They are just ways I like to gauge where my new group of students are, rather than just getting started with curriculum.
This year I changed grade levels and while I am extremely excited to teach grade three there is only so much I know about these students who are coming to me. The learning coach at my school has developed this amazing school profile that details information teachers want to know such as writing, reading, and mathematical levels.
That said, I still start my year our with a bunch of testing (How horrible does that sound?!). They are just ways I like to gauge where my new group of students are, rather than just getting started with curriculum.
Spelling
Although spelling isn't a huge focus these days, I personally like to see the spelling abilities of my students as it informs me about their reading difficulties as well. I use a spelling inventory from the Words their Way program. It begins with the word, "bed" and ranges to "opposition". Although I have always previously taught in upper elementary, I have had students to needed to stop after the first word or two and be redirected to a different assignment, so make sure you have a back-up plan in case that happens. There is no reason for a child who struggles to write the word bed to sit through the whole 25 word assessment! This year I am going to try the Primary Spelling Inventory because I found this neat spreadsheet on TeachersPayTeachers that I want to try. It is meant for students in K-3, and ranges from the word, "fan" to the word, "riding".
Mathematics
I am very fortunate in this subject area as my district has created a Mathematics assessment that has zero reading... not even ONE word on it! This is incredible in my opinion. However, I also like to use the Excel Math grade placement document. It doesn't necessarily match the the Alberta curriculum by grade, but it does give me a good idea of where my students are struggling and where they are excelling. My number one tip is to always start low... if you think the child is at a grade 3 level, start with the grade 1 test.
Language Arts
My school starts us out well with L.A. reading and writing pre-assessments. Our students are assessed 2-3 times a year (minimum) using the F&P benchmark assessment system. Although they are generally tested in June, I do try to get my own in since they can be pretty subjective. We also have a reader response writing assessment done in the Fall and Spring that was created by our district.
I usually throw in my Garfield assessments for finding out how students feel about reading and writing.
I usually throw in my Garfield assessments for finding out how students feel about reading and writing.
There is this website "Professor Garfield" and they have two assessments for reading and writing. The reading determines how children feel about academic and interest reading, and the same for writing. They work pretty well, but they do take a bit to properly grade. I usually just flip through them and get a broad idea!