Lauren Paz

ELD 307

McKool

Assessment 2

Spelling Inventory

The purpose of the assessment:

The purpose of this assessment is to understand the developmental spelling process of the

student. By doing this I am able to see if the students spelling ability is improving throughout the year.

After conducting the assessment I will be able to determine what the students needs to work on and

adjust my lessons plan according to help benefit the student.

Introduction of the child and setting:

Jim is a seven year old first grader at Wicoff elementary school. The assessment was conducted

during the school day in the students classroom. The spelling test was given to the student in an area

that was separated him from the distractions of the other students and the classroom. The student and I

sat at a table across from one another to make the assessment more informal.

Methodology for using the assessment tool:

The method used for this assessment was a spelling test. I read each word from the list along

with a sentence to the student. He then wrote down the spelling for that word. Reading the words aloud

allows me to see if the student can spell out each word when hearing it read aloud. Using the word in a

sentence provides Jim with a meaning for the word. This may be helpful for the student in identifying the

spelling especially if it is a sight word because using it in a sentence might help them to recognize that

this word may not be spelled as it sounds. I then compared my finding with a chart that I was provided

with. The chart explained the different levels of spelling and I scored his answers accordingly.

Description of your findings:

After conducting the spelling assessment and scoring the responses I learned that Jim is at the

phonetic stage in spelling. This means he spells words as they sound, he perceives and represents all of
the phonemes in a word. Jim has a general understanding of the letters needed to spell each word. He

has some difficulty in placing the letters in the correct place as well as identifying repeating letters. When

asked to spell the word “dress” he spells it “dres.” Phonetically this sounds correct; it is difficult to hear the

second “s” in the word. Another example is the word “bottom”, Jim spelled it “botum” here he had

difficulty with the double “t” and substituted the “o” for “u”. If you say the word “bottom” the “o” sounds like

“u” similar to “uh” which is probably why he thought it was the letter “u.”

Discussion of how you would use these findings to inform instruction:

Using my findings about Jim’s spelling level I would adjust my instruction to help reach the next

level of spelling. I would work one on one with Jim in finding patterns in spelling, this will help him to spell

the words correctly. Recognizing patterns is a tool that Jim can use in his spelling. I would work with him

on recognizing the vowels in words and placing them in the correct spot in the words. Looking at how he

spelled each word he was not far off from the correct spelling. I think doing a lesson on the silent “e”

would be beneficial for him. In some of the words he did place the silent “e” but not in the correct spot.

Sending home words that the students parent could read for him like a spelling test would be

another way for the student to practice outside of school. Reviewing sight words would be beneficial for

the student as well. Words that are not spelled phonetically are best taught as sight words.