Bridgette Buhlman

CIL 621
Designing Instruction with Performance-Based
Assessment & Scoring Rubric
A series of literacy assessments were given to a kindergarten student named Nate. Nate
is a 6-year-old male student who attends an all-day kindergarten program at an urban elementary
school. Nate shares his classroom with 24 students and 1 teacher. Nate demonstrates an interest
in learning in both reading and math and enjoys recess during the school day. Nate also shows a
significant interest in playing basketball with friends and family. Nate is involved in
extracurricular activities and plays basketball on a team called The West Coast Rebels. Nate is
an only child and shares his home with his mom, dad, and family dog. The assessments were
given to determine Nates current understanding of various literacy components, and then, based
off the assessment data, plan further instruction, that will continue developing his literacy skills.
The first assessment was the Garfield Reading Attitude Survey. The results reveal a raw
score of 25 for Recreational Reading and 33 for Academic Reading, with a full-scale raw score
of 58. Insight can be gained by evaluating the Recreational and Academic Reading scores,
individually and together. First, the results of the survey show a sizable difference in scores
between Nates attitude toward Recreational Reading and Academic Reading. It can be
determined that Nate prefers Academic Reading. Perhaps as Nate becomes a stronger reader his
score for Recreational Reading will likely increase. Next, the full-scale raw score reveals that
Nates attitude, when measured with the Garfield picture scale, falls between the 2-point (mildly
upset Garfield) and the 3-point (slightly smiling Garfield) with a slightly closer position to the
slightly smiling Garfield. In conclusion, evaluating Nates Recreational Reading and Academic
Reading scores reveals the same information gathered through evaluating only the full scale raw
score.
Second, Nate was given an Alphabet Recognition and Production assessment. Alphabet
Recognition was given to Nate in order to determine how well he could name lower case letters

of the alphabet. Alphabet Production was given to determine how many upper case and/or lower
case letters Nate could write when dictated to him. The information gained throughout these
assessments allows teachers and parents to understand where Nate is in learning to read and
write the letters of the alphabet, which are the building blocks to becoming a proficient reader
and writer. The results of the Alphabet Recognition assessment show that Nate is fluent in lower
case letter recognition. He is easily able to guide himself through the assessment, moving from
left to right, at a fluent pace, and is able to accurately name all lower case letters of the alphabet.
Nate also demonstrates that he is proficient in writing dictated letters of the alphabet correctly.
He works quickly and catches errors immediately. Nate reverses the letter z and writes the letter
g as an uppercase letter, yet writes the rest of the letters as lowercase. However, this is
acceptable especially during the first half of the school year. Nates performance on both
assessments indicates that he is off to a successful start in literacy learning.
The third assessment given was Phoneme Segmentation. Nate correctly segmented 11
out of 22 words correctly. Most of the words Nate segmented correctly were made up of 3
sounds, following the cvc word pattern, except the word at which is made up of 2 sounds. It is
likely that Nate knows how to spell the word at and, therefore, was able to segment it correctly
by knowing the sounds of the letters in the word. Nate showed significant difficulty in
segmenting words with 2 sounds, which shows that Nate may be under the impression that most
or all words have 3 sounds. As he segments the words, he does a movement with his arm that
causes him to identify 3 sounds in a word, even if only 2 sounds exist. My belief is that Nate
needs explicit instruction on 3 sound vs. 2 sound segmentation. Explicit clarification is likely to
make him consider the way he segments the words. It will allow him to realize that some words
will have 2 sounds and some words with have 3 sounds, which will eliminate him feeling that he
should add a sound to the end of a 2 sound word. Nate also has difficulty segmenting words with
beginning blends. Therefore, we can gather that Nate is in the process or forming solid
phonemic awareness skills but explicit instruction and practice are still needed.

The fourth assessment given was a spelling assessment. Nate was awarded 3 or 4 points
for all words. His overall score was 35 points. Nate scored within the range needed to continue
on to spelling assessment 2 which will offer additional insight. However, we gain valuable
knowledge from analyzing Nates results on spelling assessment 1. Nates spelling assessment
shows that he is able to accurately represent beginning and ending consonants. He is also able to
correctly represent medial vowels most of the time. He shows confusion with short vowel i. In
addition, Nate represents blends at the beginning of a word but not at the end of a word. He also
represents diagraphs, such as th and ch, accurately. Nate does show understanding of the silent e
rule but does not apply it consistently when spelling. Based off Nates assessment it can be
determined that he is developing phonemic and orthographic awareness appropriately and would
benefit from further practice with the short vowel i, silent e words and ending blends.
The fifth assessment was on word recognition. Nate attempted to read 20 words in 1
minute. He was able to accurately read 12 of the 20 words. The results reveal that Nate has an
emerging sight vocabulary. Nate may have made some errors because he was trying to read
quickly. For example, Nate read the word cat as can, but in later words such as cut, he is able to
read the same beginning and end sound perfectly. Nate needs more practice reading words with
accuracy and speed but is making good progress.
The sixth assessment assessed Nates concept of word in text. Nate received 11 out of 12
points on the concepts of word in text assessment. Morris (2015) states:
A score of 10 or above indicates a good concept of word in text. A score of 8 or 9
indicates a marginal grasp of the concept. A score of 7 or below indicates an
underdeveloped concept of word; in fact, such a score may represent guessing as opposed
to understanding. (p. 64)
Therefore, Nate demonstrated that he has a good concept of word in text and will be able to
apply these skills while reading. Mastery of these skills will allow him to learn new words and
attend effectively to letter-sound cues within words in text (Morris, 2015).

The seventh assessment was a passage reading assessment. Nate made 13 errors during
his passage reading. Nate self corrected multiple times throughout the passage and had multiple
substitution errors. Morris (2015) states, if the child makes 10 or fewer word-reading errors,
move on to the next passage (primer level). If the child makes more than 10 errors on a passage,
STOP the passage reading (p.70). Therefore, Nates assessment stopped after the first passage.
Nate needs continued practice with reading fluency.
The last assessment given was a writing assessment. Nate is in the beginning writing
stage. The first indicator is that his writing is understandable. The teacher transcribed his
writing, but even if she didnt, I would still be able to easily read the sentences. Nate also uses
his experiences, some descriptive words, and his illustrations support his writing. The feelings
are predictable and he is writing short sentences. Nate demonstrates that he experiments with
capital letters, punctuation, and uses phonetic spelling. Some words are spelled correctly and
letters are formed legibly.
After analyzing the assessment data, I have decided to create a phoneme awareness
lesson for Nate based on the skill of phoneme segmentation, which is an important phonemic
awareness skill. I chose this because Nate scored 50% on his phoneme segmentation assessment,
which made it evident that Nate needs instruction and practice in this critical area. Strengthening
Nates phoneme segmentation skills will improve his overall phonemic awareness, which is
crucial to literacy development, for the following reasons:
Phonemic awareness is important because it is critical to reading and spelling success.
A childs phonemic awareness is a powerful predictor of the likelihood of reading and
spelling success. Children who cannot distinguish and manipulate the sounds within
spoken words have difficulty recognizing and learning the necessary print-sound
relationship that is critical to proficient reading and spelling success. If a child has poor
phonemic awareness it is difficult for them to discover the necessary link between print
and sound. (Gagen, 2006, para. 4)

Therefore, because Nate struggled significantly with segmenting words with 2 and 4 sounds, the
lesson will focus his attention on segmenting words with 2-4 sounds and determining how many
sounds are in a particular word.
Phoneme Segmentation Lesson
CCSS: RF.K.2- Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
Objective: I can segment words with 2, 3, and 4 sounds.
Introduction: I will begin the lesson by happily telling Nate that I looked at his segmenting
assessment, and he is very good at breaking apart words with 3 sounds!! I will also tell him that
if he can conquer taking the skill to the next level, he will be an even smarter!! I will explain
that the more we can break apart words and play with the sounds, the better we become at
reading and writing! Then, I will say, Do you think you can do it? Do you want to know what
it is? Once I get him excited I will show him his assessment. I will already have all of the 3
phoneme words circled in his favorite color with a star next to them. I will say, Look at all of
these words with 3 sounds that you segmented perfectly! You are so smart! Now, youll see
these words (as I point to the 2 and 4 sound words) these ones were super tricky because they
dont have 3 sounds. Some words have 2 sounds and some have 4! Were going to practice this
together and then you are going to try it on your own! Isnt that exciting? I bet you are going to
be even smarter after we practice! Are you ready?
Procedure:
1. Give Nate the Elkonin template and chips. Example provided.

2. I will tell Nate that I will say a word and he will push the chips into the boxes, as he orally
segments, to show how many sounds he hears in the word. I will model how to segment a word

and push the chips. To begin with, I will tell Nate how many sounds are in the word and then
have him segment. For example, I will say, This word has 2 sounds- be. This gives Nate the
information he needs to identify the two sounds. Follow this same procedure for the words (she,
it, do, me) and offer feedback as needed. Note: Teacher will have a white board in order to write
the word and provide instruction as necessary.
3. I will follow the same procedure for words with 3 sounds (mug, path, ship, bike, leg) and
remind Nate that he is already a pro at words with 3 sounds. Note: Teacher will continue to use
the white board to write words and point out diagraphs making 1 sound (e.g. sh) if and when
needed.
4. I will then follow the same procedure with 4 sound words. Again, I will say, This word has 4
sounds- frog. I will continue with the words: crab, swim, jump, drum. I will continue to offer
feedback and instruction.
5. Next, I will tell Nate that this time I am not going to tell him how many sounds are in the
word, and he will have to think carefully about the number of sounds he hears. I will tell him the
word may have 2, 3 or 4 sounds. I am only going to say the word, and I want him to segment the
word as he pushes the chips into the boxes and then tells me how many sounds are in the word. I
will use the following words: add, face, day, skip, foot, mask, eat, stop, we, gum, egg, truck. I
will continue to provide meaningful feedback when necessary.
Note: Amount of words used in each section can be increased or decreased depending on how
the Nate responds to the practice.
Performance Task Assessment:
Last, Nate will complete a phoneme sort independently. See below. The number 5 card will not
be used in this activity. Nate will use the Elkonin box to assist him as he segments and counts
the sounds. The pictures on the following page will be cut apart and used to sort.

Conclusion: Once Nate is done with the sort, I will assess his performance with the following
rubric. Nate will get a high five, a sticker, and I will tell him that he is a MASTER at
segmenting 2-4 phoneme words or that he worked really hard and is on his way to being a
MASTER and that we will keep practicing (depending on his performance task assessment)!!
Rubric: Each phoneme group will be assessed separately.
2: pie, key, ice, arm

______/4

3: bike, pen, book, gate

______/4

4: mask, lamp, snake, clock ______/4

1234-

Emerging
Emerging
Approaching
Meeting

Through the development of this lesson, I have learned that using assessments I do not
typically use can assist me in specifically targeting a skill deficit that I normally do not target
specifically. All of these assessment experiences have opened my eyes to the resources I can
access if I need to. I often get so busy that I end up using what I have always used. Targeting
the skill deficit as we did in this assignment is crucial to planning an effective lesson and
intervention. This lesson I created is one that I will use in my class to teach and practice this
skill. It is very applicable to my instruction, and the needs of my students, because I often have
students who are able to segment words with 3 sounds easily, yet struggle with words that have 2
and 4 sounds. This is an engaging and fun lesson that I envision taking place in my classroom. I
plan to implement it in the upcoming year as I teach this very important component of phonemic
awareness and as a result, my students will become better readers and writers.

References
Gagen, M. (2006). Phonemic awareness: What it is, why it is important and why you must link
phonemic awareness to print! Retrieved from http://righttrackreading.com/whatpais.html
Morris, D. (2015). Morris informal reading inventory: Preprimer through grade 8 (p. 63, 70).
New York: Guilford Publications.