7/28/2019 Word Study Assessment

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Kelly Collova

Professor Rich

ELD 307

March 26, 2013

Word Study Assessment

Purpose of assessment

The purpose of this assessment was to understand how the student, Vedaant,

comprehended sounds of words and how he created words using those sounds. Word

Study assessment is meant to assess where students are with their spelling development.

Introduction to Child and Setting

I conducted this assessment with a third grade student named Vedaant at Wicoff

Elementary School in Plainsboro, New Jersey. Vedaant is a high level speller. I assessed

Vedaant in the hallway outside Mrs. Reils classroom.

Methodology

Before I conducted the Word Study assessment with Vedaant, I explained to him

in the hallway that I am a student at Rider University and plan on becoming a teacher one

day. I then explained to Vedaant that by having him help me with this exercise helps me

learn how to become a teacher. I think that explaining this to Vedaant before conducting

the Word Study assessment made him feel more comfortable.

I assessed Vedaant on the Elementary Spelling Inventory words. The twenty-five

words on this list progressively got more difficult. I first said the word aloud that I

wanted him to spell, then used the word in a sentence, and then repeated the word again.

I did this routine for all of the twenty-five words on the list. As I read each word aloud to

him and used it in a sentence, he wrote the words down on lined paper.

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Description of findings

I noticed that as I read the words aloud to Vedaant, he was looking up at the

ceiling and thinking about the word. As I got to the end of the list and the words got

more difficult I heard him whisper a few of the words quietly to himself before he wrote

them down. As he wrote down the word he would also whisper the word to himself again.

After he wrote down the word he confidently picked up his pencil and was ready for me

to read him the next word. I thought it was interesting how Vedaant did not sound out

any of the words phonetically and that he only repeated them quietly to himself.

Vedaant spelt all twenty-five words correctly. After conducting the word study I

told my co-operating teacher, Mrs. Reil, that he spelt every word correctly. Mrs. Reil

then explained to me that Vedaant is considered a derivational constancy speller, also

known as a D/C speller, which is the highest level of spelling.

Implications for Instruction

Although Vedaant spelt every word correct, I still think that there can be further

instruction on improving his spelling skills. If I were Vedaants teacher, I would have a

lesson on sounding out words. I would give the students words that are level appropriate

and a few that are challenging. Vedaant can be given more challenging words that will

teach him how to sound out words in order to help him spell the words rather than just

repeat the word to himself. I think that repeating the word is a good strategy that Vedaant

uses, but he should also be exposed to sounding out words. I think that the sounding out

strategy will be more helpful to him when spelling more challenging words.