{Step into my Room}: Beginning of the Year Assessment

Hi Blogger Friends! My instagram and blog lovin' feed have been filled with all your posts about B2S, since many of you are already starting school down south. Here in British Columbia, Canada, we don't start school until September 8th...but we did go all the way into June, so it's fair! I am starting to prepare for my 4th year as a Grade 1 teacher (ALREADY?!?!) and I was reflecting on what I needed to do in a more organized, less chaotic way. The first thing that popped into my mind were my Beginning of the Year Assessments. I have always done them, but normally it is on random papers with notes scribbled furiously and then easily misplaced when it comes time to use them. So, I hunkered down and created an assessment resource for myself. It is practical, and it will be so informative when it comes time to make groupings, and differentiate my instruction. So {Step into my Room} to see an in-depth look at how I assess my firsties!

Standards and core curriculum are so different across North America. There are still certain things that most Kinders have learned, and that we, as first grade teachers, hope our kiddos know when entering the first grade. Of course, we know this isn't always the case, and it is okay if some of them DON'T know these things. Learning is a process! But, in the crazy B2S puzzle we all try to piece together, assessment is crucial! Let's take a look at:

This little resource is chalk full of skill assessments that you can do in a short 5-10 min conference with your kiddos. Let me just talk for a minute about conferencing. Man, do I believe in this!! I love being able to have that one-on-one time with my students. It gives me a chance to ensure that I interact with them about their learning in an interactive way. I also just love chatting with them about their interests, or something great they did last week. It helps me build relationship with them. In my Beginning of the Year Quick Skill Assessments, I give you a few tips on how to put those "nervous" kiddos at ease. Now, I hear you, what are the other kiddos doing during this time? Well, I set-up things that I KNOW they can do independently like, math tubs, centers, simple art projects etc... Does it take time to set these independent work habits...absolutely. But, you can do it! Okay...included in this resource are assessment mats for:
- printing their name
- copying a simple sentence
- listening to oral directions (targets knowledge of shape, colour, quantity, size and position)
- letter sounds
- blending cvc words
- pre-primer sight words
- primer sight words
- number recognition 1-20
- addition and subtraction facts (using manipulatives)
Take a closer look at some of the assessment mats:

 

While your kiddos are going through each mat, really take time to listen to them. This is crucial. I created a teacher recording sheet that involves very little writing so that you can free yourself up to be engaged in what they are showing you. 

You know what the BEST part about this resource is? It's FREE until August 19th...Happy Back to School to you!! Simply click here to go directly to my TPT store to download it. I would love to connect with you, so please use those little buttons at the top of my blog to go to my Teacher Pay Teacher store, or follow me on Blog Lovin', Pinterest or Facebook. I would also LOVE to connect with you on Instagram (my fave form of social media), so search: melliebellie7. See you soon!