Spelling Assessment and Connected Lesson

Natalie Grimes

Purpose:

The student has “Initial/Final Consonant” correct, is using but confusing “Short Vowels” and “Affricates”, and “Initial Blends/Digraphs” and “Final Blends/Digraphs” are absent.
In this lesson I will be targeting short vowels. The student used r for o, n for u, and most frequently a for e. The student does not have a grasp on short vowel sounds especially the short a sound.
I will be using a short a word sort that uses –at word family words and –ag word family words.
I chose this word sort to help the student develop an understanding of what the short a sound sounds like and what it looks like in the middle of words. I also chose to use –ag word family words because the student commonly confuses g with j.
It is important to teach this lesson so the student can get clarification on short a vowel sounds. It is important for the student to know what short a sounds like and when to use it in words. This will help the student be able to spell words more easily.
English K.4 The student will identify, say, segment, and blend various units of speech sounds.

a) Begin to discriminate between spoken sentences, words, and syllables.

b) Identify and produce words that rhyme.

c) Blend and segment multisyllabic words at the syllable level.

d) Segment one-syllable words into speech sound units including beginning phoneme(s) (onset) and ending (rimes).

e) Identify words according to shared beginning and/or ending sounds.

English K.11 The student will print in manuscript.

a) Print uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently.

b) Print his/her first and last names.

Objectives:

Given a short a vowel word sort, the student will sort at least 12 of the 16 words and pictures under the correct header, either –at or –ag.
Given a short a vowel sound game, the student will be able to identify either the –at or –ag endings of words through playing a game.
Given a short a vowel writing sort, the student will write at least 8 of the 10 words under the correct header, either –at or –ag. The student will be able to look at the words from the previous sort when completing the writing sort.

Procedure:

Introduction:

I will make the student feel comfortable and tell them that this is not a graded assessment. I will tell them that this is for my homework from my school and I need their help to complete it. (A)
I will introduce the word sort to the student by first reminding them of the spelling assessment we worked on before spring break. (A)
I will tell student I created a word sort for us to try based on the spelling we worked on.
I will explain the feature that this sort will be focusing on is the short a vowel sound.
To start the sort I will read the headers. I will show the student the short a in both of the headers and sound it out for them. I will read the headers to the student focusing on the ending sounds of “t” and “g”. I will pay special attention to the “g” sound since the student has had trouble with “g” sounds. I will then read through the words with the student, show them the pictures and tell them what each picture is. Before moving on I will ask the student if they have any questions. (A, V)
I will model the sort to the student.
I will have the headers laid out in front of the student and select a word from the sort. For example, if I select the word hat, I will take the word and put it under the –at header and say “hat, -at” then put the word under the –ag header and say “hat, -ag”. I will then put the word hat and the –at header and leave it there saying “hat, -at” one more time. I will explain to the student that I put the word there because “hat” has the same ending sound as “–at”. I will model three more words or pictures for the student before the do it on their own.

Development:

After modeling the sort, the student will complete the rest of the sort by themselves. (V, T)
Once the student has finished the word sort I will take the headers and put them to the side. I will shuffle the words and pictures and then put the stack to the side.
I will tell the student that now we get to play a game.
The game will have a path with either “at” or “ag” written on each square of the game path. The student will draw a word or picture from the pile and read the word aloud. If the word ends in –at the student will move their game piece to the closest square that is labeled “at”. If the student draws a word that ends in –ag, they will move their game piece to the closest square that is labeled “ag”. The student will continue drawing cards until they reach the end of the game board.
The student will use their knowledge from the word sort and word sort game to complete a writing sort.
For the writing sort I will have the shuffled stack of words from the word sort in front of the student.
I will explain to the student that they are to write each word under one of the columns, either under –at or –ag. I will explain that this is similar to what we just did with the word sort, but now he will be writing the words instead.
For the first word I will pull a word and put it directly in front of the student. I will ask the student to say the word allowed. I will then model like I did with the word sort by saying the word and comparing it to the headers. For example, I would say “bag, –at” or “bag, –ag”. I would say the answer is “bag, –ag” and then ask the student to write the word under the –ag column.
I will then ask the student to try one by themselves.
If the student is struggling with the word sort or writing sort, I will pull a word for them and ask them what the word is. I would remind them to compare the word under each header before sorting or writing it in a column. If the student is still struggling I can help them sound out the word.
If the student is advanced, I will conduct the writing sort as a blind writing sort.
If the student needs motivation, I will tell them we can play the game again if they finish the writing sort.

Summary:

At the end of the sort I will explain that we were focusing on the short a vowel sound.
I will ask the student what the short a vowel sound is.
I will review the –at and –ag sounds with the student.
I will ask the student what they thought of the activities. I will ask them what they think they learned.
If there is time and if the student wants to, we will play the game again.

Materials:

Word sort
Headers: –at and –ag
Words: hat, mat, bat, rat, sat, bag, rag, sag, wag, nag
Pictures: bat, mat, flat, flag, bag, wag
Short A Vowel Sound Game
Game piece
Writing sort worksheet: –at and –ag word family
Pencil

Evaluation Part A:

I will assess the student’s knowledge by their accuracy during the word sort.
The student should sort 12 of the 16 words and pictures under the correct header (75% accuracy).
I will assess the student’s knowledge by their ability to place their game piece on the correct word ending during the game.
I will assess the student’s knowledge by their accuracy during the writing sort.
The student should write 8 of the 12 words underneath the correct header (80% accuracy).

Evaluation Part B:

Did the students meet my objectives? How do I know?
Yes, the student was able to correctly sort 14 of the 16 words. The two words the student did not sort correctly were wag and nag. The student required some assistance from me, particularly with the –ag words. The student told me they haven’t learned the –ag word family yet. The student struggled with remembering the “g” sound and would say “t” or “k” in its place. Once we reviewed the sounds and I reminded him to compare the words to the headers, he was able to sort the words with less help from myself.
During the game the student was able to get to the finish without help from myself, expect for the word “wag”. Again, the student struggled with the “g” sound and confused the “w” with “m”.
For the writing sort, the student correctly sorted 10 out of 10 words into the correctly column, but misspelled one word. The word the student misspelled was “wag”. The student only wrote “ag” and left off the “w”. As I did the writing sort with the student, I showed them the word, had them read the word aloud, and then write the word. The student was able to write the words after quickly looking at the word first. I attempted to do this with the pictures, but the student struggled when not seeing the word. For example, the picture I showed was “flat” and the student struggled to start writing and then wrote “fat”.
At the end of the lesson the student was able to tell me the short a vowel sound and sound out –at and –ag. When I asked what the student learned he told me that he learned about the –ag word family. He also told me he liked playing the game.
What were the strengths of the lesson?
I was prepared to teach the lesson and had all of my materials ready. I was able to make the student comfortable and have a quick conversation before starting the lesson. At one point the student was getting restless, but I told him we could play the game again if we could get through the rest of the writing. When being told he could play the game again he perked back up and was able to finish the writing sort. The game was a good learning tool to use in between the word sort and writing sort to give the student a break. The game also worked as a good motivator for the student.
What were the weaknesses?
The student was easily distracted if other people walked by or were talking around him. I took the student to the library to try and have a quiet, secluded area, but students came and went looking for books. When students or the librarians walked by the student would stop and watch what they were doing.
How would I change the lesson if I could teach it again?
If I could teach this lesson again I would have sat with the student at a table more near the back of the library. Hopefully that way the student would be lesson distracted by the people walking around.
For the writing sort I would not have asked the student to write the word based off of the picture until the end. When I showed the picture the student knew what the word was, but became frustrated when trying to write it. After writing the word the student asked if we could stop and how many more words he had to write. I was able to get him writing again by telling him we could play the game afterwards. Next time I would try the pictures last so he wouldn’t become discouraged during the middle of the writing sort.