Kaitlin Jenkins April 5, 2014

Cooperating Teacher: Mrs. Bostwick Writing Assessment

The purpose of the writing assessment was to examine a snapshot of an individual students writing abilities. Since I observed one sample piece of writing from Claire, my analysis of her work is solely based on one story she wrote; therefore, my observations and comments about Claires writing should not be generalized to other pieces she has written throughout the year. Claire may have strengths and weaknesses in this piece that do not appear in other writing samples, for she is quickly developing as a young writer. For the writing analysis I assessed Claire, a five year old female student in Mrs. Bostwicks PM Kindergarten class at Maurice Hawk Elementary School in West Windsor, New Jersey. Claire loves to draw and frequently tells me her favorite part of writing is being able to draw pictures. Claire is Chinese and can read and write in Chinese as well as in English. In the morning Claire attends a Chinese school where she practices speaking, reading, and writing in Chinese. In the afternoon Claire attends Maurice Hawk in Mrs. Bostwicks classroom where she speaks, reads, and writes in English. Although Claire does not speak English in Mrs. Bostwicks classroom, she frequently writes in Chinese in the form of speech bubbles when drawing pictures to accompany her stories. Prior to selecting a sample of writing from Claire, I thought about what type of story to choose. I decided to choose a personal narrative Claire wrote about on March 10, 2014 about her Chinese school. I thought a personal narrative would be a good assessment tool for my purpose because I wanted to read about something that Claire wanted to write about from her life. Since I only examined a snapshot of Claires work, I hoped to gain a basic understanding of her writing and learn some information about her Chinese school.

Upon looking at Claires personal narrative, I immediately noticed her detailed pictures on each page. The first picture includes Claire and her surroundings at her Chinese school. The second picture includes Claire sitting at her desk while her teacher talks to her. Her teacher is speaking to her in Chinese, which she demonstrates through a speech bubble. Lastly, the third picture includes Claires homework that said, Good job! The picture says, Good job! and also its similar meaning in Chinese. Not only does Claire draw intricate illustrations, but also incorporates her Chinese culture through drawing Chinese symbols in speech bubbles. By doing this, one can visualize her story more clearly since her drawings accompany her writing. Her drawings allow the reader to better understand her story because she links the setting, as dictated by her drawings, to her written text. Not only does Claire draw pictures well, but also is able to write clearly and neatly. Claires writing is visually easy to read because she has spaces in between each word and each letter is neatly written and identifiable. Based on this sample of writing, Claire has a fair understanding of beginning and final constant sounds. For example, she wrote good and home. She is also able to tell a beginning, middle, and end of a story in sequential order. While there are multiple strengths in Claires personal narrative, there are also some weaknesses. When examining Claires work almost every written word begins with a capital letter. Also, Claire did not use punctuation such as commas or periods in any of her sentences; instead of being broken down into three sentences, her story is read as a single run-on event. In terms of phonemic awareness, she seems to struggle with the difference between short and long vowel sounds; for example, she wrote ate when she meant to write out. To provide further instruction for Claire I would focus on end punctuation, specifically periods. Claire wrote a good personal narrative, however each of her ideas was not designated as

a complete idea in the form of a sentence. Teaching Claire to use periods at the end of her sentences will help teach her fluency when reading her writing and to see her ideas as separate.

Lesson Plan: Subject/Grade Level: Writing Workshop/Kindergarten Rationale: I am teaching this lesson because I want Claire to recognize the importance of including end punctuation, periods, when writing sentences. While she has good ideas, her writing can be strengthened by including periods to show her separate ideas. Claire has a good understanding of writing separate ideas, but needs to practice separating her ideas by using periods. Also, by teaching Claire to add periods at the end of sentences will help her fluency when she is reading; without periods Claire may read her story as if it is one idea. Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.B Recognize and name end punctuation. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. Objective: SWBAT understand the importance of including periods at the end of a sentence and read her personal narrative story with fluency. Procedures: Engagement/Anticipatory Set: Good morning Claire. Today I am going to share a personal narrative that I wrote similar to your personal narrative. I will read the story quickly to emphasize my ideas as being one big idea. Through this exercise, Claire will pick up on how a story sounds without end punctuation. I will tell my story as follows, Yesterday I went to the store to buy milk, eggs, and bread Then I went home and put the groceries away When I was putting the eggs away I slipped and fell on the ground I cried a lot. I will ask Claire, What did you notice about my story? How did my story sound? I will talk with Claire about how my

ideas were not separate, but one big idea. We will begin to discuss the importance of using periods and their purpose. Guided Practice: I will provide Claire with a copy of my personal narrative and will scaffold her learning to determine where to place the periods in my story. I will say, Periods go at the end of the sentence because they are one type of ending punctuation. When you use a period you are telling the reader you are finished with your idea. Where do you think the first period would go in my story? We will discuss how the first period would go after bread because that is the end of the idea. I will ask Claire to read the sentence to build her fluency when reading. We will continue to determine where the rest of the periods go in the story and read each sentence. Once we figure out where the periods go I will ask Claire to read the entire story to develop her fluency. Independent Practice: I will ask Claire to read her personal narrative quickly as I read mine and we will discuss how her story sounds as if it is one idea. Now that we have read our stories and practiced using periods and reading the sentences with end punctuation in my story, you are going to decide where to place the periods in your personal narrative story. Claire will look at her personal narrative story and will place the periods where she believes they belong. Once she is completed I will go over her story with her and discuss the correct places to put a period. Closure: Today we practiced using periods after we finish our sentences to show we are finished expressing an idea. Remember when you are writing to think about placing a period at the end of a sentence. If you are unsure, read your sentence again to see if it makes sense to put a period in that spot. Assessment: I will be assessing Claire based on her independent practice. I do not want Claire to write a new personal narrative at this time because I want her to focus on improving the personal

narrative she has been working on. Depending on where Claire places the periods in her story will determine how much support she will need. By looking at her own work, Claire will hopefully recognize the importance of using periods in reading and writing. From this lesson, I hope she will remember to use end punctuation in her independent writing as she continues to develop as a writer.