1 Ashley Suarez ELD 307 4/1/1 Writing Assessment Teachers use the writing assessment to understand and determine

what the students know about writing. For example, students are assessed on how well they understand the functions of writing, as well as language format, grammar, and understanding content. It is also used to understand how the student views himself or herself as a writer, and how he or she uses writing in life. The writing assessment consists of two separate parts in learning and observing the students writing skills. In the first part of the assessment, the student is individually asked a series of questions pertaining to his or her knowledge about writing. This allows the teacher to understand when the student writes, what the student enjoys writing about, other individuals who have influenced his or her writing, and the origin of his or her writing. The questions used in this interview part of the assessment can be found in Owocki and Goodmans Kidwatching book. The second part of assessment is based on the charts found in Kidwatching on pages 120 and 121. Along with a few pieces of the students writing throughout the year, these charts are used to assess the students writing skills, including their grammar and organization. Using multiple journal entries allows the teacher to clearly see how the student has improved throughout the year. The student I chose to assess happened to be of a lower learning level. He had difficulties with paying attention in class and struggled to find motivation to learn. The teacher would take note of the students attention after every five minutes. While interviewing the child, I was able to collect some information about how the student

2 views himself as a writer, as well as what inspirations he has as a writer. I took the student into the hall and began by asking the student if he knows how to write, in which he responded that he did. When I asked the student how he learned to write, he explained that he learned with the help of his first grade teacher. He recalled a chart that was once in his first grade classroom, where the teacher would make a chart with each letter in the chart, and a list of words beginning with that letter underneath. He also explained that his parents also helped him learn how to write. I then asked him what he likes to write about. He responded by telling me he enjoys writing comics and stories. He explained to me different characters he had made up to use throughout his various stories. For instance, the student created a fictional character named Max, which was a combination of two other characters from the Captain Underpants series. When asked if learning to write by himself would be difficult and why, the student responded by saying that it would be somewhat difficult because sometimes the student may have trouble knowing what letters to write and how to spell different words. I asked the student if and what the people he lives with write about, in which he responded that his parents sign permission slips for school and probably papers at work, and that they write in both English and Spanish since they are both from Guatemala. I concluded the interview with the student by asking why he writes and why he thinks other people write. The student explained that he writes because it is fun, and he is able to make up new stuff and be creative. He also believed other people wrote for that same reason. By observing a few of the students journal entries, I was able to take note of how he had improved his writing skills throughout the year. The earliest journal entry I had observed was written in the first month of the school year and clearly showed that the

3 student was able to recollect a past event, but the content of the entry was difficult to follow. I used the Profile of Writing Knowledge chart and the Note-Taking Form for Observing Writing chart found in the Kidwatching book to understand that the student excelled in using spaces between words, capitalizing words when appropriate, and choosing appropriate topics to write about. The entry also showed signs of selfevaluation. It was also clear that the student struggled when it came to spelling words and grammar. The student was not able to finish his entry, as the last sentence was incomplete. This also shows that the student was not able to write down his content in the designated time period. The students second journal entry was written in March, and showed a great amount of improvement in the students writing skills. By using the same charts, it was clear that the student was able to write about one clear event from his past and create a complete thought. This entry expressed a sense of directionality in the concept he was writing about, as well as showing sensitivity in his writing. He also showed improvement in his grammar and punctuation skills, and began conventionally spelling commonly used words. Although his writing had improved tremendously, the student still had trouble spelling some words, as well as adding extra letters to some words. I noticed the student had numbered each sentence in his entry although it was in paragraph form, which is also not grammatically correct. However, the student also showed signs of private speech, in which it was clear the student was writing down exactly what he was thinking. For example, the student began a sentence with Not really because he had corrected his previous statement in his story.

4 By gathering this information, I was able to conclude that the student has improved greatly in his writing, but still needs improvement in some areas. For example, the student abbreviated certain words that should be completely spelled. He also included additional letters to some words, such as whhen instead of when. To help improve this, a lesson can be taught about identifying appropriate times to abbreviate words, as well as teaching a lesson on when to use double consonants. By using these lessons, I believe the student will excel in writing.