Grade Four Reading/Writing Expectations

ASSESSMENT

Paramus Public Schools

Grade Four Reading/Writing Expectations

Student Name______

ASSESSMENT

*Fall administration should be complete in time to discuss the data with parents at the November conference, end-of-year administration in time for the May conference.

**All students must have at least two QRI’s administered before the May conference. The frequency with which a QRI is administered to a student is dependent upon the student’s needs.

• Scholastic Unit Test Summary Sheet
• Final QRI
• Final Story Retell
• Final Reading Response
• Official ERB test paper and scores
• Two samples from the nine collected, one student-selected and one teacher-selected

• All Grade 3 an 4 Assessments not listed

• Best works not chosen for retention in Portfolio

Teacher’s Notes:

Instructions for Administering the QRI

WHAT IS IT?

The Qualitative Reading Inventory-3 (QRI) is an individually administered informal reading inventory designed to provide diagnostic information about

• Conditions under which students can identify words and comprehend text successfully, and
• Conditions that appear to result in unsuccessful word identification, decoding, and/or comprehension.

WHY USE IT?

It is used with students who are reading beyond a level where the Running Record provides useful information.

It is used to find out students’ instructional reading levels for placement in Guided Reading groups.

HOW TO DO IT?

Caution! Beginners should seek assistance from the Reading Specialist at their schools before attempting to administer a QRI on their own.

Administration of the QRI-3 begins with the Word Lists, which provide information regarding the level of passage to administer to the student first. Ask the student being assessed to begin reading at the primer level and to continue reading as you mark a sheet with the same words either “Identified Automatically” or “Identified.” Students continue reading word lists until they are unable to identify 14 of the 20 words; however, passage selection should begin at the level where the student identifies 18-20 of the words with reasonable security.

Once the appropriate passage level has been determined, the teacher assesses the student’s prior knowledge using either a conceptual-questions or a prediction task. Then, the student reads the passage aloud as the teacher watches and listens for miscues (whole-word substitutions, nonword substitutions, and omissions/insertions), and assesses comprehension through unaided recall, look-backs, and/or think-alouds.

As with other assessments, the QRI should not be seen as an end in itself. Work with the Reading Specialist at your school to learn as much as you can about how to interpret the data you produce so that you can use it to inform instruction in your classroom!

QRI Summary Sheet

Student’s Name______

Test Date______

DIRECTIONS FOR STORY RETELLING

WHAT IS IT?

Retelling is a procedure by which a child recalls or reconstructs the important elements of a story, including setting, characters, sequence, problem, and those actions that lead to the resolution. This can be done orally, pictorially, or in writing.

WHY USE IT?

Retelling is used to determine the reader’s ability to comprehend text and stories, sense of story structure, and language complexity.

HOW TO DO IT:

• A retelling is based on a passage from a book either read to a child or a book that the child reads alone. The titles shown on the following pages will be available to you for the retelling.

• Use the Retelling Rubric shown in the pages that follow: Before retelling begins, complete the top portion of the form:

a. Indicate whether the story was read to the child or the

child read alone.

b. Determine the text level. Use the judgment based on

knowledge of the child’s current reading ability.

c. Check whether you will be asking the child to do an oral,

pictorial, or a written retelling.

• Inform the children ahead of time that they will be asked to retell the story.

• For the purposes of story retelling, it is very important that the story be read from beginning to end without discussion.

• From kindergarten through the opening of first grade, the teacher reads to 3-4 children at a time. The children then return to their seats to draw a retelling picture so that the teacher can call them up individually to retell the story. It is not necessary that pictures be finished before retellings begin because they should not be used during the retelling. Finished or not, pictures might be shared and should be attached to the retelling form. For the February report card in first grade, students are expected to read their independent level and complete a graphic organizer at their seats. By May of first grade and thereafter, students are expected not only to read at their independent level, but to complete a written retelling of the text independently.
  RETELLING PROMPTS FOR LITERATURE

(FOR USE AFTER THE INTITIAL RETELLING)

SETTING

Where did the story happen? (Place)

When did the story happen? (Time)

Who is the story about (Main Character)

THEME

What was the main character’s (call by name) goal?

OR

What was the main character’s problem?

PLOT/EPISODES

What happened first?

What happened next?

What happened last?

RESOLUTION

How did the main character solve his/her problem?

OR

How did the main character achieve his/her goal?

Add any other question you may have asked.

Retelling #

□ Read to Child□ Child Read Alone

Title of Book:______

Name of Student:______Date:______

______

RETELLING RUBRIC

TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 15SCORE:____/ 15

Scholastic Unit Test Score Sheet

Name______

Vocabulary

Reading

Analysis #1:

Analysis #2:

Analysis #3:

Reading Checklist

Grade Four

Student’s Name______Date______

Rating Scale: A = AnticipatingB = Beginning D = Developing S = Secure

Rating

Comments

• meaning cues

• structural cues

• visual cues

• active involvement

• appropriate responses

• main ideas/details

• author’s purpose

• fact vs. opinion

Teacher’s Name______

DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING ASSESSMENT

WHAT IS IT?

Writing assessment is a method for determining student strengths in composition and for determining where that student needs to move in order to improve his or her writing.

WHY USE IT?

Students who continue to write without periodic assessment tend to have slower growth than those whose work is periodically assessed and followed by a conference. Simply put, if a student does not know what he or she is doing well and what needs work, he or she will tend to repeat the same compositional patterns.

HOW TO DO IT:

All writing samples must be dated in the upper right hand corner.

Each writing sample must represent the student’s original work BEFORE adult intervention. Writing projects with home components involving write may therefore not be included.

Five of the writing samples must be accompanied by an assessment using the ERB rubric and a teacher annotation indicating the student’s strengths and the suggested strategies/skill necessary to take the student to the next level.

Toward the end of the school year, two samples of the students work should be chosen, one by the student, and one by the teacher. These samples should include the draft from BEFORE teacher intervention and the final product after teacher intervention. Note: This suggests that almost all student writing will be subject to revision.

Paramus Public Schools

District Writing Prompt

MIDYEAR ADMINISTRATION

DIRECTIONS

You will have two sessions to write a composition about the place where you most like to spend time alone. Read the topic in the box below and then think about the prewriting suggestions.

PREWRITING SUGGESTIONS:

1. Think about the place you want to describe.
2. Think of things you do when you are there.
3. Think of reasons the place is your favorite.
4. Make sure your composition has an ending.

You may use this information as part of your rough draft. If you need extra paper for your rough draft, raise your hand and your teacher will provide it for you.

You may use a dictionary while you are working on your rough draft and your final draft of this paper.

EDITING SUGGESTIONS:

• Have I clearly explained where I go and why?
• Have I included enough interesting examples to make my composition clear?
• Does all of my paper talk about where I go and why?
• Is my composition well organized? Does it have a beginning and an end?
• Are my sentences clear and complete?
• Have I chosen the best words to express my ideas?
• Are my spelling, capitalization, grammar, and punctuation correct?

Paramus Public Schools

District Writing Prompt

LATE ADMINISTRATION

DIRECTIONS

You will have two sessions to write a composition about your dream house. Read the topic in the box below and then think about the prewriting suggestions.

PREWRITING SUGGESTIONS:

1. Think about the dream house you want to describe.
2. Think of things that make the location of your dream house perfect.
3. Think of reasons the dream house is so special.
4. Make sure your composition has an ending.

You may use this information as part of your rough draft. If you need extra paper for your rough draft, raise your hand and your teacher will provide it for you.

You may use a dictionary while you are working on your rough draft and your final draft of this paper.

EDITING SUGGESTIONS:

• Have I clearly described my dream house and why it is so special?
• Have I included enough interesting examples to make my composition clear?
• Does all of my paper talk about the dream house and why it is special?
• Is my composition well organized? Does it have a beginning and an end?
• Are my sentences clear and complete?
• Have I chosen the best words to express my ideas?
• Are my spelling, capitalization, grammar, and punctuation correct?

See your Reading Specialist, your principal, or a colleague for copies of the WrAP rubric and the WrAP rubric Definition of Terms.