Report+of+the+Literacy+Profile


 * Written Report of the Literacy Profile (Reading, writing, and speaking and listening) **

//**Reading **//

At Level 3 Reading, students are to be able to interpret ideas and purpose of texts. They are to be able to make inferences about imaginative texts on a range of areas, from plot to the motives of characters and also infer about informative texts. They use strategies to select and find key information within a text (VELS, 2010). L is able to read fluently, clearly, and with expression. She has a good understanding of the information she reads, evident through her ability to accurately answer literal questions. She is also able to relate what she reads to real life, accurately answering questions for applied knowledge in her PM Benchmark Reading Assessment (Appendix 1, p.4). L struggled to answer some inferential questions (Appendix 1, p. 4). For example when asked “Why would extra trains at peak times reduce the number of cars on the road?” she answered “Trains are on tracks and there are not as much pollutions.” To improve L’s comprehension skills in making inferences, I would teach explicitly how to infer using facts from the text. I would also model how to construct an inferences chart and get L to match fact cards to likely inferences (Winch, et. al., 2009, p.109). Three Level Guides would also be helping in improving overall comprehension skills by supporting students to read the text closely by providing a clear purpose and direction for reading” (MyRead, 2002). L can do this task independently but would benefit from discussion in a team, also, because she would get varying ideas and opinions about a text that will help her examine her own ideas and opinions.

L received a score of 89 in her Burt Word Reading Test (Appendix 2). This placed her above the average in reading as the equivalent age band for that score is 12.3-12.9 years. The words she got incorrect seem to be those that have silent sounds in them, for example ‘subtlety’ and ‘phlegmatic’. They were also words that used various diagraphs such as ‘ou’, ‘io’, and ‘ie’. A way to overcome these difficulties would be to help L recognise word patterns, concentrate on what the different sounds could be, and separate words into syllables and morphemes.

I would place L between progression point 2.75 and 3.25 in reading as she reads of and responds to “imaginative and informative texts, organised in a range of ways such as texts structured in short chapters, or linked sections of electronic texts” (VELS, 2010). She can also make “connections between evidence stated and inferred in texts and their own knowledge and experience to clarify understanding of texts” and recognises that “texts reflect sociocultural values, attitudes and beliefs” (VELS, 2010). I wouldn’t give her a straight 3.25 because she is still slightly inaccurate in some aspects on making inferences.

//**Writing **//

At Level 3 Writing, students are to be able to write narratives in a logical order, and include characters, setting and plot in their writing. They are also required to write simple and compound sentences and use verb tenses correctly. They should be able to use vocabulary appropriately to context and spell one- and two- words with regular spelling patterns (VELS, 2010). L can already do many of the things described in the English- Level 3 Standards. This is evident through her teacher’s anecdotal records (Appendix 3 and Appendix 4), which says that she is a creative writer that uses logical sequencing, is able to paragraph, and use punctuation. L’s plan (Appendix 5), editing (Appendix 6), and final copy (Appendix 7) work samples are also evidence of her abilities in writing.

L was able to achieve 99/100 for her spelling of M100W words in term 1 (Appendix 8), and also a good mark for her South Australian Spelling Test (Appendix 9) with a raw score of 39/45. Her raw score shows that for her actual age of 9.7 years she is above the average score of 36, landing in the correct range of 30-42 words spelled correctly. L seemed to have difficultly hearing all the sounds in the words she spelt incorrectly. For example, when attempting to spell ‘appreciate’, she was unable to hear the ‘r’ sound, leading to the incorrect spelling ‘apisiate’. This is also an example of L confusing c/s sounds. Learning about different vowel diagraphs (Winch, et. al., 2009, p.105), such as ‘ea’ blends, may come in handy when helping her to spell words such as ‘beautiful’, which she misspelled in her South Australian Spelling Test. She may also need some assistance in pronunciations which may be leading her to spell words incorrectly (Winch, et. al., 2009, p.263). This, plus constant repetition spelling words (look, cover, write, check), will be useful strategy when helping her with these errors. L also used morphology (Hill, 2006, p.275) to assist her in spelling the word ‘familiar’ and in doing so spelled it ‘familyer’. This is a good strategy for her to use in assisting her with spelling, although it was used incorrectly. She knows that y/i sound the same, but is unable to apply certain spelling rules, such as different inflected endings (Hill, 2006, p.272).

Attached is my analysis of L’s abilities in narrative writing using a rubric (Appendix 10), that her grade 4 teacher developed and her work sample’s for her story ‘Kathy’s new home’ (Appendix 5, 6 and 7). I feel that L is working at the expected level. Progression point 2.75 writing states that a student can write a “composition of texts of three or four logically ordered paragraphs” (VELS, 2010). L’s narrative clearly shows this ability as her writing uses 4 paragraphs. Other relevant progression points reflected in her narrative are “use of strategies for planning, drafting, proofreading, editing and revising” (VELS, 2010) and “appropriate vocabulary, punctuation and tense according to context, purpose and audience” (VELS, 2010). L has been able to plan, edit and proofread. She also uses appropriate vocabulary, punctuation, and tense, although she may need some further assistance in spelling words and using vocabulary to make her writing more expressive and meaningful according to the context it’s in.

//**Speaking and listening **//

At Level 3 Speaking and listening, students project their voice to an audience, and modify their speaking voice to clarify meaning and information. They can listen to spoken (including factual) text and be able to identify the topic, retell information, ask clarifying questions and justify opinions (VELS, 2010). L reads with fluency, clarity, and expression, as evident in her PM Benchmark Reading Assessment (Appendix 1). It is a reflection of her listening skills because the rich literacy environment in the classroom has project into other areas of her literacy, such as writing and reading (Winch, et. al, 2000, p.465). Similarly, L replies accurately to comprehension questions due to her excellent listening skills. If she was not paying attention, she would be unable to answer them accurately.

I place her at progression point 3.25-3.5 as she is able to attentively listen “to a range of spoken texts, live and recorded, about familiar ideas and information” and speaks using a “variation in tone, volume, and pace of speech to add emphasis” (VELS, 2010).

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