Allysen Breeden 10/16/13 Dr Casey ELD 307 As a teacher there are many different ways to use assessments in your

classroom. Teachers can use assessments as a way to track the progress and understanding of a lesson or unit in class. Assessments can also be used as a tool to for teachers so they know where the students are in the development and use that information to plan their next lesson. The spelling inventory is used to determine what spelling stage a student is currently at. This assignment allows me as a future teacher to learn about the methods teachers are using now to gain knowledge about students ability level. I selected Solana Johnson from my third grade classroom, and took her into the hallway so it was quiet and so she was able to think. I explained to her that I just needed her to spell the words for me that it would not be graded and that she was helping me with one of my assignments for class. The setting was also very relaxed. She was sitting on the floor with a clipboard to spell her words and I sat on the floor with her as I gave her the words to spell. I would place Solana in the middle of the class for spelling ability. I used the Feature Guide for Primary Spelling Inventory list of words to test her. I spoke each word as clearly as possible as she wrote down the word. I also repeated the word in a sentence if she could not clearly understand me. After finishing the words I examined them to see which ones were spelled correctly and incorrectly. This allowed me to determine that Solana is at an early

within word pattern stage. Her main problems are in the area of long vowel patterns and other vowel patterns. She also had one problem with the inflected endings. Since she incorrectly spelled 5 of the 9 words in the within word pattern I put her in the early stages. After my findings I would have a sorting activity of different words with the same type of long and short vowels. I would also talk about the patterns that vowels make when paired with other letters. This will allow the student to see the different relationships that vowels and consonants make together as well as two vowels together. The spelling inventory is a very good tool teachers use. After this assignment I definitely see many uses for it. The teacher has a baseline of where the student is and then is able to set goals for each student and the improvement that each student will need to make. It also allows the teacher to target the direct problem each student is having. Chances are that it is not only one student making the mistake with vowels. Through this spelling inventory I learned how a teacher could pace a students progress. The teacher knows exactly where the student is in their spelling and can plan lessons accordingly to allow the student to grow to their fullest potential. This is just one of many tools a teacher will use to gauge where his/her students are at.