YR 5 PB PRE-LEARNING ASSESSMENT (PLA) ELEMENTARY

PART THREE (B.) - CLASS REVIEW

Class: 2/3

Classroom Strengths: What are the strengths of the class? What are they positive things about this
group as a whole?
The class is very compassionate. Overall they work together fairly well as a group. They help each other and
are leaders in the classroom. The class is also quite kinaesthetic and strongly enjoy hands on and physical
activities that require movement and using manipulatives and materials. They really enjoy being outdoors and
are very interested in animals and the physical world around them.

Classroom Needs: What are your concerns about the class as a whole? What do you wonder?

I am concerned with the range of literacy and numeracy skills among the class. For example in mathematics
there are 2 children that are being assessed at a K level and one child at a grade 4. Similarly there are a
number of children in the class who struggle with letter formation while others are independently writing poetry.
I am also concerned with the high socio-emotional needs of the class. There are a high number of children who
require extra support throughout the day, and even with it may have difficulty coping with day-to-day routines.
The class is also quite sensory as a number of students have sensory needs.

I wonder about what other strategies to use. The classroom teacher is amazing with her strategies, creating a
calm area, regular class meetings and goal setting. Perhaps new strategies are not necessarily needed and
continuation of existing ones is best practice.

Goals: What are your main goals this year? (These goals may be based on the strengths and/or
concerns, or an area of interest, or a new grade level or new curriculum. Each teacher may have 3 or
4.)

1. I hope to increase my knowledge on how best to create and use assessment (formative, summative,
digital, reporting and student voice). This includes more effectively embedding formative and summative
assessment as well as student voice & self assessment into lesson and unit planning.
2. I would also like to improve my ability to lead classroom routines and transitions.
3. I also wish to learn more about how to balance the socio-emotional needs of individuals in the class
with whole class instruction. This includes during groups work in class and in P.E. (where a number of
children struggle-especially with competitive activities).

Decisions: What decisions will you make based on the information gathered?

I will be very thoughtful when planning my lessons so that they take into account the socio-emotional needs of
individuals in the class. For example, I will be careful when planning P.E. lessons to avoid competition based
activities when i can and focus on individual skill acquisition and groups work. I will also me very mindful when
it comes to grouping students in classroom activities so as to avoid social conflicts. I have seen some great
improvements with the class in regards to social responsibility and plan on continuing the great strategies that
the class teacher has been incorporating in the class.

Individual Concerns
What are the individual needs in your classroom?

Medical N/A

Language Speech and language

Learning -inattentive ADHD

 A number of children are currently going through the process of designation:
(4)

Socio-Emotional A number of children in the class have high socio-emotional needs.(7)

Other One child is a flight risk

YR 5 PB PRE-LEARNING ASSESSMENT (PLA) ELEMENTARY

PART FOUR - IMPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING

1. Summarize the most important implications that you draw from this assessment that will be of critical
importance to your planning and teaching.

This assessment has highlighted the socio-emotional needs of individuals in the class. It allowed me to get a
better picture of individuals, not just the class as a whole. This includes individuals that have more urgent
socio-emotional needs as students who may fly under the radar in a classroom. The information I have
gathered will be of critical importance to my planning and teaching as I will need to incorporate learning styles
and needs into my lessons and assessment. If I do not do so, it would make teaching the class incredibly
difficult and could leave many students feeling disconnected to their learning. For example, I will be careful
when planning P.E. lessons to avoid competition-based activities and instead focus on individual skill
acquisition and group work as I have learned that many in the class have difficulty coping in competitive
atmospheres. I will also me very mindful when it comes to grouping students in classroom activities so as to
avoid social conflicts. This would include pairing students with needs and skills that would compliment each
other (ex. A child who has difficulty writing paired with a child that is a great helper towards other students).

The social responsibility section has helped me think of the individuals in the class in a different light. I will use
this information to help me consider how best to plan and encourage all students to improve their social skills. I
can see now the value of the strategies used by the teacher in the class. For on Monday mornings the class
has Monday meetings where the teacher reads a book on a selected topic (ex. What to do with a problem)
followed by a discussion with the class. Students then create and write their own goals for that week, which are
displayed in the class. On Friday, students revisit their goals and self-assess their progress. This is a great tool
for encouraging individual social responsibility and I am looking forwards to leading these discussions.