At the beginning of the year, we are busy with mastering routines, building community, and solidifying procedures with our students so that the rest of the school year can run smoothly. What else are teachers doing? Giving reading assessments—one-on-one assessments to students—and figuring out the best way to group students to continue building reading skills and helping them become stronger readers. In this blog post, I will share a few of my favorite informal assessments to gauge students’ reading comprehension, sight words, and phonics skills, and provide insights on how these assessments guide instruction.
Early Detection
First grade is a pivotal year in a child’s reading development. It’s the time when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Early reading assessments are crucial because they help identify students who may be struggling before these struggles become entrenched. For instance, if a student has difficulty with phonemic awareness, this might not be immediately obvious during regular classroom activities, but an assessment can highlight this issue, allowing for early intervention.
By detecting these challenges early, teachers can implement targeted support strategies, such as additional phonics instruction or one-on-one reading sessions, to help these students catch up with their peers. Early intervention not only improves a student’s reading skills but also boosts their confidence and engagement in learning.
Tailored Instruction
Every classroom is filled with students at varying levels of reading proficiency. Reading assessments provide valuable data that enable teachers to differentiate instruction. For example, while some students may need more practice with basic decoding skills, others might be ready to tackle comprehension strategies or explore more complex texts.
With the insights gained from reading assessments, you can group students based on their needs and provide instruction that meets each student where they are. This tailored approach ensures that all students, regardless of their current reading level, are being challenged appropriately and given the support they need to grow. This data also allows for flexible grouping, where students can move between groups as their skills evolve. Rather than locking students into a “reading level,” informal assessments allow teachers to respond to student progress.
Informal Assessments
Informal assessments are more flexible and can be easily integrated into daily classroom activities. Examples include observing students during independent reading time, using anecdotal notes, or conducting reading conferences where students read aloud to the teacher. These methods allow you to gather real-time insights into how students are applying their reading skills in a natural context.
Running records are a particularly useful informal assessment tool. By listening to a student read a passage aloud and noting their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension, you can quickly assess their reading level and identify areas for improvement. Because informal assessments are less structured, they often provide a more nuanced view of a student’s reading abilities.
Assessing Reading Comprehension
In order for our younger students to become better readers, we must focus on both decoding and reading comprehension. When assessing reading comprehension, it’s not enough for students to simply read and answer questions. They also need to demonstrate understanding when listening to a story, especially since auditory comprehension plays a key role in early literacy development.
One way to assess reading comprehension with 1st graders is through reading exit tickets. These exit tickets feature a short text followed by comprehension questions and can be used at the end of a reading lesson or during small groups. You can either read the text to your students or have them read and answer independently. These exit tickets are aligned with Common Core reading standards and cover key comprehension skills such as identifying the main idea, characters, and setting.
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Assessing Phonics Skills In Small Groups
A great way to form small reading groups is by skill or decoding level. Goodbye reading level groups and hello skill-based groups. However, in order to group students this way, you will want to know how they decode.
One informal assessment I love to use with students is Pop The Balloon! Pop The Balloon was created back when I did guided reading groups. I used these cards for the first five minutes of my guided reading groups to practice the phonics skills we were working on in class or our small group. These task cards are still a great way to begin a small reading group and can also be used to do quick assessments in a fun and unique way!
Pop The Balloon! is easy to play and use in your classroom. Students read the letters, sounds, or words from the bottom of the card to the top and once they get to the top, they clap like they are popping the balloon. Again, this is a simple yet effective way to practice different phonics skills, assess different skills, and have fun while doing it! They are great for reading intervention and use as quick phonics assessments as well. Plus, we all know first grade students love games and the best part of Pop The Balloon is that it’s a game!
I’ve included each set of Pop The Balloon! to include a running record form for teachers to fill out as students read. To use, you write in the words and mark whether the student got them correct or not. I find having these running records available in a binder organized by student is helpful for planning small reading groups, showing data, and using with the students grownups during parent/teacher conferences. Having these running records handy will show parents and administration what you are working on in the class and how each student is performing with reading certain phonics skills.
Read more about using Pop The Balloon! in your classroom here.
1. Letter Sounds
A good place to start when assessing your incoming first graders is letter sounds. Our Beginning Sounds set has lowercase letters. Students can either read the letter name or say the sound, depending on what you are assessing.
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2. CVC Words
Our Short Vowel set comes with cards that practice the following short vowels:
- Short A: a, ab, ack, ad, ag, am, an, ap, at
- Short E: e, ed, ell, em, en, est, et
- Short I: i, ick, id, ig, ill, I’m, in, ip, it
- Short O: o, ob, ock, og, ong, op, oss, ot
- Short U: u, ub, uck, ug, un, unk, um, ut
If you are looking for a true set with just CVC words, you can get our free set here!
Purchase here on Missing Tooth Grins.
3. Long Vowels
Our Long Vowel Set comes with cards that practice the following long vowels:
- Long A: a_e, ai, ay, ake, ale, ame, ail, age
- Long E: ee, ea, ie, y, ead, eak, eal, eam, ean, eap, ear, east
- Long I: i_e, igh, ie, ine, ight, ite, ice, ike
- Long O: oa, oat, o_e, oe, ow, obe, ode, oke, one, ope
- Long U: u_e, ue, ew, ude, ume, une, ute
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Assessing Nonsense Words
When I first started teaching, I did not have the right understanding of assessing nonsense words.
Assessing nonsense words is an important component of reading assessment, particularly in the early grades. Here are the key reasons why assessing nonsense words is valuable:
1. Evaluates Phonemic Decoding Skills
Nonsense word assessments focus on a student’s ability to decode unfamiliar words using phonics skills, rather than relying on memorization or context. Since the words are not real, students must apply their understanding of letter-sound relationships to decode them. This helps teachers determine whether students can truly decode phonetically rather than simply recognizing familiar words.
2. Identifies Gaps in Phonics Knowledge
When students encounter nonsense words, they must rely entirely on their phonics knowledge to decode them. This can reveal specific areas where a student might be struggling, such as difficulties with particular sounds or sound combinations (like digraphs or blends). If a student consistently struggles with decoding nonsense words that contain vowel teams, for example, it signals a need for more focused instruction on that phonics pattern.
3. Prevents Overreliance on Memorization
Students sometimes memorize words by sight without fully understanding the phonetic principles behind them. While sight word recognition is important, relying solely on memorization can hinder reading development, especially as students encounter more complex and less familiar words. Nonsense word assessments ensure that students are developing the necessary skills to decode new words independently.
4. Supports Early Intervention
Early identification of decoding difficulties through nonsense word assessments allows for timely intervention. If a student is struggling with decoding nonsense words, it often indicates broader challenges with reading fluency and comprehension. By identifying these issues early, teachers can provide targeted support to help the student develop stronger decoding skills before they impact overall reading success.
5. Tracks Progress in Phonics Instruction
Assessing nonsense words over time can help track a student’s progress in phonics instruction. As students become more proficient in applying phonics rules, their ability to decode nonsense words should improve. Regular assessment allows teachers to monitor this progress and adjust instruction as needed to ensure continued growth in reading skills.
6. Builds Confidence in Decoding
Successfully decoding nonsense words can boost a student’s confidence in their reading abilities. As students realize they can tackle even unfamiliar, made-up words, they become more confident in their overall reading skills. This confidence is essential for fostering a positive attitude toward reading and encouraging continued practice and improvement.
You can see our Pop The Balloon set for nonsense words here on Missing Tooth Grins.
Using Reading Assessments to Differentiate
Your reading assessments will make it easier for you to differentiate instruction for your students.
- Small Group Instruction: After conducting a reading assessment, you can group your students by ability level. For example, some students may need more practice with phonics, while others work on comprehension strategies.
- Targeted Interventions: Reading assessments can help you pinpoint specific skills that students are struggling with, whether it is decoding, vocabulary, or fluency. You can then provide extra support during interventions or use that data for your RTI teacher.
- Flexible Grouping: Assessments allow for flexible grouping, where students may shift based on their evolving needs. Progress monitoring will help you adjust your instruction to meet students where they are.
Using Data From Reading Assessments
Reading assessments are a great way to gather data to further instruction. When you use your reading assessments to gather data, you can tailor your lesson plans to meet the needs of your entire class. For example, if assessments show that many students struggle with blending sounds, you will know to dedicate extra time to blending sounds with your students. Cumulative assessment data throughout the year can also help you plan long-term. You can use it to identify trends, like whether students consistently struggle with comprehension versus decoding, and adjust your instruction accordingly.
Reading assessments are an invaluable tool for teachers. They help identify struggling readers early, allow for tailored instruction, and provide a way to track student progress over time. While there are challenges to implementing regular assessments, with the right strategies and resources like Pop The Balloon!, you can make them an integral part of your teaching routine.
By embracing reading assessments, you’re not just testing your students—you’re giving them the tools they need to succeed. So, use that data to guide your instruction, and watch your students grow into confident, capable readers.
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