Main Topics

Introduction Basic Assumptions Literacy Rich Environment Managing the Classroom Environment Technology Integration Interactive Commercial Software Adaptations/Customization Assessment of Literacy Skills Performance Indicators Emergent Literacy Site Map

Assessment of Literacy Skills

Sub-Topics (Click on topic you wish to see) Portfolios Using HyperStudio for Documentation Creating a Portfolio with HyperStudio Sample Portfolio Anecdotal Notes and Videotape Assessment Instruments

Assessment of Literacy Skills

An integral part of curriculum and planning for instruction is assessment. A variety of tools and processes can be used to assess children's literacy skills. The process allows for differences in children's styles and rates of learning, supports children's literacy development, and focuses on children's strengths. Children's work is documented through:

• collections of writing and drawings
• photographs
• videotapes
• observational notes
• HyperStudio stack
• results from assessment instruments

Portfolios

A major part of the ITLC which describes project assessment process is the collection of children's writing, artwork, computer products and lists of books read in a portfolio which teachers add to periodically throughout the year.

The process of collecting work can be beneficial to children, families, and teachers.

• Children can take an active part in deciding which items to keep in their portfolio.
  
• Teachers review the work with families and children at the end of the year to show progress in literacy and other skill areas.
  
• By reviewing children's writing samples, changes can be seen in the stages of writing from earlier in the year.
  
• Some children will be able to form letters in their name by the end of the year, or have some recognizable forms to their writing.
  
• Progress can be noted in children's stages of drawing.
  
• Children may also begin to add writing to their drawing which is an important step in emergent literacy.

Using HyperStudio for Documentation

Besides being used as a tool for literacy development, HyperStudio can be used throughout the school year as a tool to document literacy skills. Children's individual progress can be recorded in a portfolio book using HyperStudio.

View basic information on HyperStudio

A review of HyperStudio stories at the end of the year shows children's progress in composing,writing, speaking, and drawing, as well as their overall thought processes.

When viewing a HyperStudio portfolio, teachers, parents, and children can re-visit and reflect on the project or the child's development.

Children's voices and language patterns can be recorded as they say their name and describe their favorite parts of a story.

Artwork can be added to illustrate the story. Photographs can be inserted into children's individual pages in a new story.

After all of the pieces are put together, the stack becomes a permanent record of children's work. Stories can be saved on videotape and shared with family members.

Creating a Portfolio Book with HyperStudio

Take the following steps to create a book which can be viewed on the computer or printed and shared. The book becomes a permanent record, both on disk and in print, which can be shared with parents at conference time to show the child's progress in literacy development in the classroom.

Step One

1. One of the first steps in making a portfolio book is to create a HyperStudio template. Specific instructions for using HyperStudio are found in Technology Integration section of this Workshop.
   
   
2. Plan and organize the number of book pages which will be saved as a HyperStudio stack.
   
   
3. Determine the background, graphics, and actions for each page. The size of the portfolio book is based on the storage availability of the computer system (the hard drive space), or an external storage disk (e.g., a zip disk or CD/DVD). Sixteen pages is an ample size portfolio.
   
   
4. Once the template is created, it can be used for each child in the classroom.
   

Step Two

The second step includes planning and coordinating content collection:

1. Create a disk for each child's data. Label each disk with the child's photo (from the QuickCam or digital camera). Print the photo on label paper and adhere the label to the child's disk.
   
   
2. Photograph each child periodically throughout the school year using a QuickCam or digital camera. Place the pictures in a folder on the desktop labeled with the child's name and the school year (e.g., Mary 1998).
   
   
3. Scan and store children's written messages in their computer folders.
   
   
4. Scan children's art work and/or save images from drawing programs, such as a PICT file and store them in the child's folder.
   
   
5. Use HyperStudio to record children's voices as they converse, repeat rhymes and poems, perform plays, sing, recite poems, or read books. Save the recordings to disk.
   
   
6. Videotape class plays or computer center activities and use them in your HyperStudio stack. To add QuickTime movies to your HyperStudio portfolio stack, your system will need QuickTime in the extension in your System folder. To create a QuickTime movie, you will need a video digitizer and a video source connected to your computer. Follow procedures in the HyperStudio Reference.
   
   
7. Store HyperStudio stacks children make during the year on disk or in a special folder on the desktop. With the child, select pages from each HyperStudio stack to be included in his/her portfolio.
   
   
8. Collect all the HyperStudio stacks created during the school year. Save them to disk or press the HyperStudio stacks to a CD-ROM. There are business and/or school districts that have the technology to press HyperStudio stacks to a CD-ROM. Check with your local technology resources. Inform parents about the CD-ROM so they can purchase the HyperStudio CD-ROM at cost, if they wish.
   

After work samples have been collected, they can be placed onto cards in the HyperStudio stack. Samples may include photographs, drawings, signatures, samples of emergent writing, conversations of the child, or video clips of the child's activities in the classroom. Observational notes made by the teacher, including the child's progress in the specific domains, can be included on a stack.

Add buttons to the cards at the computer center. Children record their own name for the title page and can draw a cover for the front page of the portfolio book. They can create a “The End” page with HyperStudio tools and color palette.

Sample Portfolio