The content of the assessment will mainly focus on: concept of print, fluency of reading, vocabulary and reading comprehension. 

 

Concepts of print mainly contains concept of text, reading direction and knowledge of punctuation (Hill, 2006). Understanding how print works helps children use the right methods to start reading and make meaning of the language. 

 

Reading fluency is integrated with students’ comprehension and attitude to reading (CIERA, 2001). Sufficient fluency helps children to concentrate on understanding the meaning of the text. Assessing student’s reading fluency can also help teachers to find the problems of student’s reading. Students who read less fluently might have problems decoding words whilst students who read words slowly might have less interest in the books they are reading. 

 

Reading comprehension is a process where readers construct meaning from the text, evaluate the information and share opinions (Hill, 2006). This is beneficial for them to develop their own thinking and imagination and learning the rules of society. Being aware of student’s reading comprehension abilities will help teachers to use different strategies to improve student’s enjoyment and effectiveness of reading.

 

Cinderella is a widely known novel, which could provide Coco with a greater level of challenge and encourage her to share her opinions and understanding of the book. More details about her reading comprehension might be provided for assessing. Choosing the right text helps educators to target their teaching or assessing purposes more accurately (Winch, 2006). Leveled book is a useful resource for providing information about children’s literacy development and it is important to consider children’s interest at the same time (Hill, 2006). 

 

 

Through play-based assessment, children feel more enjoyable and motivated to engage with the activity, which is beneficial for gathering realistic data to evaluate children’s current literacy level (Thomas & Grimes, 2008). Children are actively and physically involved through this play-based assessment (Arzu, 2008). I played the role of the director and observer to help and guide the student experience and apply her knowledge to solve the problems, which is based on Piaget’s theory of Construcivism (Piaget, 1954). 

 

This activity acknowledges the socio-cultural theory of Freebody and Luke (1990), whereby children are said to take on four roles when they start to read: code breaker, meaning maker, text user and text critic. The questions on the quiz sheet also refers to the Bloom’s six ever-increasing levels of thinking (Hill, 2006). 

 

The questions in this activity were more difficult than the questions from the third activity, which provided a good chance for students to challenge themselves and also absorb new ideas from the teacher. This activity was inspired by the classroom talk that student could use language more flexibly and purposefully with the teacher’s assistance (Edwards-Groves, 2003). This is also related to the Social Learning Theories of Lev Vygotsky (1978) that learning takes place when children interact with peers or teachers. Through rolling the dice and taking turns, the routine and construction of this activity would be mixed up, which is helpful for improving student’s engagement and thereby assessing their learning. Learners could practice their fine motor skills by rolling the dice as well as the dice questions matching sheet could help visual learners concentrate more effectively.

 

The information people use to construct meaning can be described as semantic information, grammatical information, graphophonic information and visual information (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl & Holliday, 2014). Coco is able to use her prior knowledge of the text and correct grammar to retell the story she knew, this indicated she was playing the role as a meaning maker (Freebody and Luke, 1990). She also showed her capability of using the visual information when she tried to use pictures to recall her memories and retell. These indicate that Coco is able to combine information from all four sources and she is good at using semantic and visual information.

 

Vocabulary plays an essential role in helping children to learn and succeed (Hart & Risley, 1995). Coco was able to pronounce most of the high frequency words and known common words accurately. One word she pronounced incorrectly was ‘twig’. After reading the whole book, I asked if she knew the meaning of the word ‘twig’. Instead of directly saying she did not know, she turned the book to the page which has the word ‘twig’. She viewed the picture and the text and told me she thought that meant ‘something small’. She was trying to understand the meaning of the new word by linking it with the context and pictures. This also shows that Coco does not like asking questions even she does not know the answer.

 

After reading the book, Coco answered the comprehension quiz and all her answers were right. During the ‘roll your dice’ activity, she was able to share her opinions and evaluate the answers I gave. This showed she was capable of recognizing the significance of an event and making judgements (Caldwell, 2008). Her empathy for the feelings of others was evident when she told me she thought Cinderella did not deserve to be treated unfairly by her stepsisters (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998). She could link ideas from what she read and link the story to her personal experience, which presents that she has been exposed to the literal, inferential level and she is moving towards the evaluative level (Kiddey & Waring, 2001). However, she has started to build self-knowledge but did not recognize that her perspective on the book might come from a specific understanding or predisposition (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998).

 

As mentioned above, Coco has started to understand concept of the print. She did not know all the words in the book but she was trying to use letter-sound to work our unknown words. She knew how to reread when she did the comprehension quiz. However, when there are words she did not know she wouldn't stop and she wouldn't ask. This showed that while she is taking an active role as code breaker she was less active as a meaning maker.

 

In the last activity, Coco was able to share her feelings about how the book worked for her. Personal experience of her were mentioned when she was explaining her opinions. She was interested in discussing different questions, but generally her perspective focused on accepting what the book told her rather than challenging these points of view. This evidences she is only just starting to play the role of a text critic and she could be provided more chances to practice and develop critical thinking.

 

The classroom environment is regarded as the third teacher for the students (Stonehouse, 2011). An engaging, interactive and meaningful environment can support and motivate children’s learning. The concept behind the ‘vocabulary tree’ is through making use of the environment print to provide students more chances to learn new words. It also increases students’ enjoyment and engagement in studying.

 

After retelling the story on that page, the teacher will encourage students to participate and question the context of the book. The teachers will ask some questions at first then the students will think of a different story related to the book. The questions that the teacher ask might include  these questions: what is the text is trying to say? Do you agree or disagree with the ending? Can you imagine another ending of the story? Whose voices are missing from the text? What is the text trying to get me to think or feel? Whose voices are missing form the text? After discussing these questions, students can draw a picture of the story which shows some important clues of the story. The teacher can also encourage the students to imagine another ending of the story and draw it down. In addition, the children who engages actively will be rewarded by getting a ‘dojo’ point. When children accumulate enough dojo points they can exchange them for some small objects like a pen or a notebook from the teacher. 

 

This activity is designed to help reinforce Coco’s reading abilities of retelling, participating and analyzing. Through this activity students engage with reading comprehension actively and physically (Arzu, 2008). Acting out the content of the book enables students to contextualize what they read into their personal thinking and feeling (Booth, 1985). Considering that Coco likes drawing and learning with the peers, I see using the rewards system as a key way to increase her participation and encourage her imagination.

 

As mentioned before, Coco enjoys answering questions but she does not like asking questions. This activity is aiming to encourage her to ask more questions, which helps teacher to understand what she might be weak in. Instead of making Coco feel asking questions is a bad thing, it is important to improve her motivation in asking questions and solving the questions. In addition, planning a guide reading group for Coco does not only focus on her own learning needs but helps to cater for the learners who are at a similar stage of reading literacy. Through discussing and sharing, students participate in meaningful activities and learn from each other, which is supported by Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development that children are able to achieve more by learning with more capable peers or adults than when they learn alone (Vygotsky, 1978). Student’s vocabulary and reading comprehension can be promoted when students and teachers are interactively using language to communicate and express opinions (Flint, 2017).

 

Learning objectives: 

1. After teacher explains the meaning of the new words from the guided reading book, Coco can make a full sentence by using the new word to show she understands the meaning of the new words by the end of term 2.

2. In shared reading, Coco will be able to re-tell the content after a student acts the content out correctly by the end of term 2.

3. After shared reading, Coco will be able to draw a picture which represents a different ending of the shared book by the end of term 2.

 

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Caldwell, J.S. (2008). Assessing comprehension: What, how and for what purpose. In Comprehension Assessment: A classroom Guide. Retrieved from https://www.guilford.com/excerpts/caldwell2.pdf?t

 

CIERA. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Centre for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, University of Michigan.

 

Edwards-Groves, C. (2003). On task: Focused literacy learning. PETAA, Sydney

 

Flint, A. (2017). Literacy in Australia : Pedagogies for engagement (Second ed.).

 

Freebody, P & Luke, A. (1990). ‘Literacies programs : Debates and demands in cultural context’. Prospect, 5(3), p7-16.

 

Hart, B & Risley, T. (1995). The Literacy Dictionary : The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing. International Reading Association, Barksdale NJ.

 

Hill, S. (2006). Developing early literacy : Assessment and teaching. Armadale, Vic.: Eleanor Curtain Publishing.

 

Kiddey, P & Waring, F. (2001). Success for all: Selecting appropriate learning strategies. Curriculum Corporation, Carlton, Vic.

 

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read: An evidence-based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

 

Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child. New York: Basic Books.

 

Stonehouse, A. (2011). The ‘third teacher’ creating child friendly learning spaces. Putting Children First, 38, 12-14

 

Thomas, A & Grimes, J. (2008). Best practices in school psychology, V. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

 

Victoria Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2009). Victorian Curriculum: Foundation-10. Retrieved from https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/english/curriculum/f-10#level=4&search=5ba1f94f-1593-431e-a925-9e4600a2a3bc

 

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society:  The development of higher psychological processes.  Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press.

 

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. p. 85-97. Alexandria, VA: Association for Su p ervision and Curriculum Development.

 

Winch, G. (2006). Literacy : Reading, writing and children's literature (3rd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

 

Winch, G., Johnston, R.R, March, P., Ljungdahl, L. & Holliday, M. (2014). Literacy : Reading, writing and children's literature (5th ed.).