Self-evaluation

Teaching Pre K-8, Apr 1997 by Maryann Manning, Gary Manning

13 checklists help students examine their own literacy.

Most students in the intermediate grades are independent readers and writers. Although they often still have some rough edges, they're maturing into literate human beings.

A few, however, still need a great deal of support. Reading problems range from students who overemphasize graphophonics, which may result in limited comprehension, to students who can read but don't enjoy it. In writing, some students have perpetual writers' block, while others aren't fluent as writers.

Determining literacy strengths and needs is a challenge even for the most experienced teacher. We've been teaching for over 30 years, and we still work with readers who puzzle us. For us, understanding miscue analysis is a key to understanding the strategies readers use. Reading Miscue Analysis (Richard C. Owen, 1987) by Goodman, Watson and Burke, explains the process, if you don't know how to do an RMI.

In writing, we use observation to help us understand students. Conferencing with students about their writing portfolios presents a thorough picture of a writer.

Asking intermediate students to self-evaluate on a periodic basis and conferencing with them on ways they can develop their own plans of action often results in dramatic improvement.

The remainder of this column is a series of self-evaluation checklists containing "yes or no" questions and forms that may be useful as you assess and evaluate your students' reading and writing abilities. The forms can be used separately, modified into checklists for teacher use, or used as a conference guide.

Reading Process

I read silently and understand what I read.

I retell what I read.

I write a response to literature I read.

I reread when I don't understand a text.

I try to figure out why I'm having trouble. I ask:

Do I know enough about the topic?

Am I familiar with the style of writing?

Am I interested in the topic?

What I do best as a reader is

The hardest part of reading for me is

I want to improve

Vocabulary

I'm increasing the number of words in my vocabulary.

When I encounter a word I don't know, I: Figure out its meaning by words before and after it.

Skip the word because I understand the text without knowing its meaning.

Look up the word in the dictionary because it's a word I want to know.

My vocabulary is (circle one): limited, average or large.

The richest part of my vocabulary is

The part of my vocabulary that needs improvement is

The easiest way for me to learn the meaning of words is

Reading Aloud

When reading aloud, I think about the meaning of the text.

I check word meaning and pronunciation.

When reading aloud, I find it difficult to

I could read aloud better if I

Speaking

I share my ideas: with peers, in small groups, in large groups.

I ask others to make suggestions about how I can improve my presentations.

One thing I do well as a speaker is When speaking, I find it difficult to

To become a better speaker I can

Types of Writing

I write in a variety of genres including: (circle one) fictional narrative, personal narrative, letters, poetry, reports.

My favorite genre is

The most difficult genre for me is

It's hard for me because

Handwriting

I form all letters in a legible manner.

I hold my pencil in a comfortable way.

I slant my letters appropriately.

The letters I make best are

The letters that are most difficult for me to form are

Something I want to improve about my handwriting is

Writing (General)

I narrow my topic choices.

I fully develop my ideas.

I include appropriate details.

My writing is coherent.

I sequence my thoughts logically.

My pieces are an appropriate length.

I revise my pieces to improve content.

I publish on a regular basis.

The thing I like best about what I write is

I find it difficult to write about

The hardest part about getting my ideas down on paper is

My biggest problem when revising is

Spelling

I'm increasing the number of words I spell correctly.

I record words I have trouble spelling.

I'm improving my ability to identify misspelled words.

What I do best as a speller is

The type of words that are the hardest for me to spell are

Three words that give me trouble whenever I spell them are

Writing Mechanics

I use correct punctuation, capitalization. grammar.

I am confident when I edit for

The most difficult area of writing mechanics for me is

In final editing I often miss

Research Skills

I look for information in sources other than the encyclopedia.

I use the almanac, atlas, government documents, magazines, newspapers, primary sources, reference books.

I use videos and audiotapes to find information.

I interview others for information: peers, parents, resource people, other (please specify).

I report the information I've researched.

I take notes.

I summarize the information.

I organize the information.

I word-process the report.

I publish the report.

I use the following technology to find information: CD-ROM, Internet.

What I do best as a researcher is

Writing Attitudes and Habits

I express an interest in writing.

I keep trying until I complete my work.

I am realistic in my evaluation of my abilities in writing.