Assessment Assignment

Read 620
Amber Archer
Longwood University
September 15, 2015
Class Overview
The classroom sample is from my third grade class, and there are 18 students in total.
When looking over the spelling inventories for my class I ended up splitting the students into
four different instructional groups. The first group is the middle to late letter name group, and
then I have a middle within word group, an late within word/ early syllables and affixes group,
and lastly an early derivational relations group. The groups range from 4 to 5 students in each of
the word study groups. Each group also has one child that is on the farther end of the spectrum
for each stage. This child will be there to strengthen their skills, but also help his or her other
classmates who may need extra help. For the middle to late letter name stage I have 4 students
who fall in the middle to late range, and one student who falls under the late letter name stage.
For middle within word I have 4 students who fall under the middle range and one student who
falls under the late range of within word. For my syllables and affixes group all of the students
fall in the early range. In my early derivational relations group 2 students fall under the late
syllables and affixes, and two students fall in the early derivational relations area. I think that the
groups are balanced well, and the students will be able to support each other with their varying
strengths and weaknesses.
Group One: Middle/ Late Letter Name
This group is made up of my weaker spellers in my classroom. In this group there are five
students. We have Caleb who falls between the middle and late area of letter name. Then we

have Trevor B. who also falls in the middle to late range for letter name as well. Next is Sam
who also falls in the middle to late range. Next is Bridget who falls in the middle range of the
letter name stage, and lastly we have Anna who falls in the late range of letter name. Based on
this groups level I would also begin their reading and writing induction on the beginning stage.
This would mean that for reading they would work on reading aloud, and start moving away
from word by word reading, and finger reading. For their writing they are moving away from
word by word, and into a few words and short paragraph.
When it comes to features for the group they all have mastered the concept of beginning
and final consonants. Bridget is the lowest in the letter name group because her short vowel
sounds arent as strong, and she needs to work on her e short vowels because she wrote whin for
when. Sam needs to work on digraphs such as ch because she wrote towed for chewed. Caleb
needs help on his digraphs, and he needs to focus on the sh digraph because he missed it each
time. He put sip for ship, soping for shopping, and sawer for shower. Trevor B. needs to work on
digraphs as well, and he needs to focus on ch because he missed it each time. For chewed he put
gud, and marched he put mrug. Anna is the strongest student in the group, and she needs to work
on her blends of fl because she spelled foat for float. I will now break down what each child
masters, uses and confuses, and what is absent overall. Caleb has mastered beginning and final
consonants and short vowels. He is using but confusing digraphs, long vowels, other vowels,
inflected endings, syllable juncture, an unaccented final syllables. He is missing harder suffixes
and bases and roots. Trevor B. has mastered beginning and final consonants, short vowels, and
blends. He is using but confusing digraphs, and syllable juncture. He is missing long vowels,
other vowels, infected endings, unaccented final syllables harder suffixes, and bases and roots.
Sam has mastered beginning and final consonants and short vowels. He is using but confusing

long vowels, other vowels, inflected endings, unaccented final syllables, and harder suffixes. He
is missing bases and roots. Anna has mastered all the way up until blends. She is using but
confusing other vowels, inflected endings, syllable juncture, unaccented final syllables, and
harder suffixes. She is missing bases and roots. Bridget has mastered beginning and final
consonants and digraphs. She is using but confusing other vowels, inflected endings, syllable
juncture, unaccented final syllables, and harder suffixes. She is missing bases and roots. Overall,
this group has mastered beginning and final consonants. They are using but confusing digraphs,
and some within word features are absent. So, I would say to start everyone on strengthening
their digraphs, and make sure to include short e so that Bridgets needs are met.
I decided to group these students together because they all seemed to need some
strengthening on the letter name skills. I first looked at how many words each child got correct.
Caleb got 4, Sam got 5, Bridget got 8, Anna got 9, and Trevor B. got 4. I then looked at their
overall total for the words correct and feature points combined. Caleb got a 33, Sam a 41,
Bridget a 47, Anna a 44, and Trevor B. got a 29. So, I felt as though those students needed to
strengthen their letter name skills before moving into the within word range. The students also
for the most part needed work on their digraphs, so I figured that would be a good instructional
area to start. I also think that Caleb, Sam, and Trevor will work well together because they have
the same needs. Bridget and Anna will work well in this group because Bridget just has to
strengthen her short vowels and then she will be where Anna is with working on blends. I think
that this mix of students will help each other improve their letter name skills.
When it comes to outliers in the groups I would have to say the Bridget and Anna are the
outliers. Bridget is an outlier because she had the starting point of short vowels, but then her next
area of weakness was blends. Anna is an outlier because her weakness is at blends. I decided to

leave Anna in this group because she fell in the late range of letter name, but my next group
starts at middle within word. I think that it will benefit Anna to strengthen her skills in letter
name, and also be there for support for Bridget. As soon as Bridget grasps short e she will be
ready for blends, and that is where Anna is. I think that Anna will be a great support for Bridget,
and will help them both move into Syllables and Affixes.
To start the word sort for this group I would begin with short vowel with digraphs. I will
start here because it will help Bridget strengthen her short vowels, and then it will help the rest of
the group work on their digraphs. Below I have included the sort for the middle/ late letter name:
Short Vowels with Digraphs
Sh
shell
shed
shall
shack

Ch
check
chip
chap
chill

Wh
wham
whip
whiz

I decided to use these words because Sam and Trevor B. missed the ch digraph, Caleb missed the
sh digraph. I then used short vowel words to help strengthen Bridgets use of short e in words
such as when. Then for Anna this sort is to strengthen her digraphs so that she is ready to start on
blends. Anna will also work closely with Bridget during this sort.
My instructional pace for this group would be on the slower side in the beginning, but as
the year progresses I think they will be moving at an average pace. This group is starting behind
because by third grade they should be on a within word level. I think that this group would need
intervention in order to meet the early syllables and affixes end of the year goal. I feel like Anna

and Bridget will be alright, but I feel like Sam, Caleb, and Trevor B. will need longer
intervention time.
Since this is my lowest group there are struggling readers, and English language learners
in the group. In order to boost their reading skills I would make sure that they had additional
reading support. I would make time during an intervention period to read with the students to
gage where their reading needs are. I would also label things in my classroom in order to support
the English language learners to boost their vocabulary. I think that literacy groups are very
important, but these struggling readers need one on one support so that they may be on the same
level as their fellow classmates.
Middle Within Word
This group consists of 5 students. There is Molly who is in the late within word, Brian
who is middle within word, Kaylee who is middle within word, Lexi who is middle within word,
and Steven who is also middle within word. Based on these students spelling inventories I would
group them all under middle within word for their spelling. For their reading and writing
instruction I would start at the transitional level. For reading they would be working on fluency
and expression. For their writing they would be working on fluency, organization of their
writing, and also begin writing several paragraphs.
This group has mastered for the most part all of the features up until long vowels under
the within words stage. Brian needs a little bit of work on blends such as br. Then Molly needs to
start on other vowels in the within words section. So, Brian is a little bit behind, and Molly is a
little bit farther ahead. The group is using but confusing long vowels such as oa, a-e, or, and igh.
Brian and Molly are both missing the br blend. Now, I will break down what each child has

mastered, used but confused, or what they are missing. Molly has mastered all the way up to long
vowels. She is using but confusing inflected endings, syllable juncture, harder suffixes, and bases
and roots. Brian has mastered up until digraphs. Then he has also mastered long vowels and
syllable juncture. He is using but confusing inflected endings, harder suffixes, and bases or roots.
Lexi has master up to blends. She uses but confuses inflected endings and unaccented final
syllables. She is missing harder suffixes and bases and roots. Kaylee has mastered through
blends. She uses but confuses inflected endings, syllable juncture, unaccented final syllables, and
harder suffixes. She is missing Bases and roots. Steven has mastered all the way up to blends. He
is using but confusing long vowels, other vowels, inflected endings, syllable juncture,
unaccented final syllables, harder suffixes and bases and roots. Looking at the students on a
deeper level helps you pinpoint a students individual needs within the group.
I decided to group these students together because I feel like they all need to work on the
middle within word skills. I looked at the words that they got correct and their overall scores to
help me determine each of the groups. Molly got 12 words correct, Brian 13, Kaylee 11, Lexi 12,
and Steven 11. I then looked at their words spelled correctly and feature points scores combined.
Molly got 59, Brian 62, Kaylee 52, Lexi 56, and Steven got 51. These students all fall within the
same range, and have the same needs for instruction. The area of the most need is with long
vowels such as oa, a-e, and igh. I think that Kaylee, Lexi, and Steven will work well together,
and then Brian and Molly will work well because they have similar needs. I would say that Brian
and Molly are the outliers of the group. Brian needs help with blends and other vowels, and so
does Molly. The other students are working on long vowels. I dont think it is a crazy gap
between the set of kids, and I think that both groups will benefit from the strengthening of the
within word skills.

To start the word sort for this group I want to focus on long vowels. Below is the sort that
I would start this group on for within word:
-oa
boat
goat
coat
moat

o-e
tote
wrote
joke
close

-ow
show
throw
know
snow

I decided to use oa to start because that is where most of the confusion was. I feel like that is a
good started for this group, and then we can build from there. Kaylee and Lexi spelled float as
flot. Steven spelled it is flote, and Molly and Brian got the oa correct. So, since the other students
got oa incorrect I decided to incluse o-e to help Steven with his error. Then the ow column
makes the same sound as the other column so it will be a good indicator to see if they can tell the
difference.
The pace for this group would be average for the year. They started on track with within
word, and I think that they would be able to work at an average pace to reach early syllables and
affixes without intervention. I think that with how the groups are set up they will be able to help
each other succeed. Brian and Molly may be a bit ahead of the group, but I think that they will be
a big asset to provide lots of support when the others in their group may struggle. Molly and
Brian would also greatly benefit from strengthening their within word skills to move into
syllables and affixes. I think that by the end of the school year this group would be able to make
it into early syllables and affixes.
Early Syllables and Affixes

In this group I have 4 students. I have Natalie, Ben, Lindsay, and Dana who are all in the
early syllables and affixes. For their reading in writing for this stage I would have them at the
intermediate level. So, for reading they will read fluently, with expression, have a growing
reading style, and growing vocabulary. For their writing they will be fluent, with expression and
voice, use different writing styles, and start reflecting on their work.
When it comes to the features they have all mastered everything through long vowels in
within word. They are using but confusing ew and oi. So, for chewed Lindsay put chued, and
then for spoil Ben put spoul. Then there was also confusion in inflected endings of ies. Dana and
Natalie both put carrys for carries. They are also using but confusing unaccented final syllables.
The students in this group are thinking about the words, but are confusing a few things. The
absent features fall in the derivational relations stage. If you take a closer look Natalie has
mastered through other vowels. She is using but confusing unaccented final syllables, harder
suffixes, and bases and roots. Ben has mastered up to long vowels. He is using but confusing
harder suffixes and bases and roots. Lindsay has mastered to long vowels. She has also mastered
inflected endings and unaccented final syllables. She is using but confusing harder suffixes, and
is missing bases and roots. Dana has mastered up to other vowels. She is using but confusing
unaccented final syllables, harder suffixes, and bases and roots.
I put these students together because they all seemed to be on the same level of spelling. I
looked at the number of words they got correct first. Lindsay got 15 correct, Dana got 18 correct,
Ben got 17 correct, and Natalie got 17 correct. Then I looked at the words correct and feature
point total. Lindsay got a 67, Dana got a 69, Natalie got a 70, and Ben got a 68. So, the students
all fall around the same area which I thought would allow them to work at the same instructional
level. I also look at Dana and Natalie who know other vowels and figured that they would be a

big help to Ben and Lindsay to help the entire group move over into early syllables and affixes.
In terms of outliers I feel like this group is very close to being equal. Dana and Natalie are a little
higher than Ben and Lindsay but not by much, and I think they will move up quickly because
they just have to brush up on other vowels to meet the higher part of the group.
To start the word sort I would focus on inflected endings. Below is the sort that I would
start out with for early syllables and affixes:
-ies
babies
bodies
pennies
worries
parties

-ys
monkeys
turkeys
valleys
plays
trays

ponies

enjoys

daddies

I decided to start with this sort because I figured that Lindsay and Ben could get some help from
me with other vowels such as ew an oi. The group as a whole needed to work on inflected
endings and specifically the ending of ies. On the spelling inventory Lindsay spelled carries as
caries, Dana spelled it as carrys, Natalie spelled carrys, and Ben spelled it as carried. So, this sort
will help them see the difference in the ies ending and the ys ending. I think that this is an
appropriate sort instead of backing the whole group back to ew and oi. I think that will little one
on one practice with other vowels that they will be able to grasp them fairly quickly. As an entire
group they all need to work on their inflected endings, so it seemed to be the best starting point.
On later sorts I will try and pick words with the ew and oi sound.

When it comes to this groups pace I plan on starting out at an average pace, and as we
progress I think they could head toward a faster pace. This group is in no need of intervention
other than Lindsay and Ben needing some help on other vowels. This group is starting out on
grade level for third grade. Beginning third graders should be within word of syllables and
affixes. By then end of third they should be at early syllables and affixes, and they have already
reached that point.
Early Derivational Relations
This group is made up of 4 students. It includes Edwin who is between a late syllables
affixes and an early derivational relations speller. Then there is Callie who is also in between a
late syllables and affixes and an early derivational relations. Then there is Miguel who is an early
derivational relations, and lastly there is Trevor H. who is also an early derivational relations.
Based on these students spelling score I would place them at the advanced reading and writing
range. I expect their reading to be fluent with expression, using many reading styles, and a wide
vocabulary. I would think that their writing would be fluent with expression and voice, using
different writing styles and genres, and also show their own reflections about their writing.
As an entire group they have mastered much of the words on the spelling inventory. If
you take a closer look you can see that Callie has mastered up until other vowels. She is using
but confusing harder suffixes and bases and roots. Trevor H. has mastered up to unaccented final
syllables. He is using but confusing bases and roots. Edwin has mastered up to syllable juncture.
He is using but confusing bases and roots. Miguel has mastered to other vowels, and then
syllable juncture and unaccented final syllables.

I put these students together because I think they are capable of being more independent
learners. Edwin and Callie are a bit lower than Miguel and Trevor H. but I think they are strong
enough to keep up. To add them to this group I first looked at their words correct. Edwin got 20,
Miguel got 22, Trevor H. got 20, and Callie got 19 correct. I then looked at their words correct
and feature points score. Edwin got a 77, Miguel got an 81, Trevor H. got a 78, and Callie got a
74. I then looked to see if they missed similar things on the assessment to further place them in
the groups. I dont think the outliers are too big in this group. Edwin and Callie may need
additional support, but I think that the other two will help them improve.
For the word sort I want the students to change the word from the tion ending to the ate
ending. This will help them with the harder suffixes.
-tion
educate
congratulate
create
decorate
generate

-ate
education
congratulation
creation
decoration
generation

imitate

imitation

fascinate

fascination

I chose the ate and tion suffix because those are two that the group had a hard time grasping.
Edwin spelled fortunate as forchunat. Then Callie spelled it as fortunet. Then for opposition
Miguel spelled it as oppossion. So, it made me think that those two would be a good place to
start because it was the area with the most confusion. I think that it is also important for the
students to see how the endings of the word change the meaning. In later sorts I will make sure to
add unaccented final syllables to make sure that Callie and Edwin strengthen those areas.

I think that this group will be fast paced and very independent. I think that Callie and
Edwin may need some strengthening activities for unaccented final syllables, but I think that
they will be able to keep up with the fast pace of the group. This group will be faster paced
because they students have strong word knowledge. This group is very ahead of the class and
grade spelling level. So, they will continue to stay in derivational relations throughout the year.
Because this is the highest group I would make sure that their learning is very independent. I
want to be there to support them, but I also want them to be in charge of their learning. I may be
there to introduce their new words, but from that point on I want them to decide what works best
for their learning. I would also give them projects to work on to boost their learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I learned a lot from my students spelling inventories. I think that the word
study groups are spaced out nicely. Each group has higher students that can help pull up and
support the students on the lower end of their stage. The 5 to 4 students in each group also make
the groups very manageable to create success in the group. I look forward to seeing the students
progress in their literacy over the course of this school year.