Dear Sitton Specialist,
Due to the economy and county cutbacks, the teachers at my school have been asked to stop making copies. Do you have any suggestions on the best way for me to give the Cloze Test to my students? I thought about using my DocuCam and projecting it on my ActiveBoard, but I am not sure that is the best thing to do. I teach third grade and have copies for up to Unit 23. After that I don't know what to do that will help my students the most. I appreciate any suggestions you have.
Thank you,
Donna Chumley
Dear Donna,
Great to hear from you and thanks for your question! Certainly the paper crunch is an issue in many schools.
Since the Cloze Story Word test is intended to teach students that spelling takes place in a meaningful context, I am reluctant for teachers to project the Cloze Story Word test and not give students their own copy of the Blackline Master. Since many of the misused and misspelled words that we focus upon are homophones, students need to have the appropriate context in order to ensure that they choose the correct word.
Many times, in a customary word-list approach to spelling, students become consumed with rote memorization of words, versus attempting to use words correctly in a meaningful context. Vocabulary and spelling are directly linked, and it is important that we keep this in the forefront of our spelling and word study instruction. The Cloze Story Word Test is an essential tool for keeping meaning central to our spelling instruction.
My first suggestion would be to attempt to eliminate making copies of other elements of your Sourcebook curriculum and other content areas. For example, even though we provide a Blackline Master for the Word Preview, students could easily just fold a lined piece of paper in half to complete this exercise. Additionally, the Blackline Masters designated for Exercise Express activities could be used in a different format, perhaps as a whole group on your white board, projected through your document camera, on chart paper, or lined notebook paper. Many teachers also have students record their Take Home Words to Learn on lined notebook paper in place of copies of this Blackline Master. Rather than making regular copies of the Ideas for Word Study parent Blackline Master that we recommend sending home with the Words to Learn, make one copy per child and laminate it into a homework folder. Many components of the Sourcebook can be adapted to allow you to save on your copy budget, without compromising the intent and integrity of the resources.
At the same time, I know that there are circumstances when copy budgets are completely frozen and we have no choice but to make necessary accommodations. When thinking about the copy issue at the beginning of a school year, I would suggest trying to give each student a paper copy of the Cloze Story Word Test for the first several units. Then, once you feel that your students are comfortable with the Cloze Story Word Test process, you could project the assessment onto your ActiveBoard with your Document Camera. Students could fill in the missing words on a numbered, blank sheet of notebook paper.
You may have one or two students in your classroom that really need a paper copy in front of them to help them follow along. If you notice that certain students are starting to slip in their Cloze Story Word Tests, see if at least these students can have a paper copy to complete this important assessment.
Although having a copy for each child is ideal, it is not always feasible in these tough economic times. If you move to projecting the Cloze Story Word Test, take the following steps to ensure that meaning is at the forefront of your assessment:
| 1. | Start by reading the entire Cloze Story Word Test to your class prior to beginning the assessment. Find a system that ensures that students are looking at the projected document and following along as you read. |
| 2. | Next, read the first sentence, pointing to each word as you read along. Ask students to listen for the first word that they will need to fill in as you read along. |
| 3. | Have students call out the first word and then ask them to print that first word next to their first numbered line. |
| 4. | Once everyone has printed the first word, read the sentence again, pointing to each word, and this time asking them to listen for which word goes in blank number two. |
| 5. | Continue to repeat this process for each word in each sentence, pointing to each projected word and emphasizing the context of the assessed words. |
An alternative to projecting the assessment is to laminate copies of the Cloze Story Word Test. Many teachers have made laminated copies of each assessment during the first year of implementation, even sharing a class set with a teaching partner. Although time and resource consuming that first year, once these are created and laminated, they can be recycled from year to year. Laminated Cloze Story Word Tests can even be made on double-sided copies, so that you have two tests for each laminated sheet.
Students can use dry-erase pens to complete their laminated Cloze Story Word Tests, and then clean them off after their assessment has been corrected. Since the marker might smudge if the laminated sheets are put into a pile, teachers often ask students to leave their completed Cloze Story Word Tests on their desk after administering the assessment. Students can then complete the After the Cloze Story Word Test optional activity or practice past words in their Spelling Notebook with a partner. While students are doing this, you can walk around and circle the words students missed.
Students can correct the words, even erasing and rewriting with the correct spelling on the laminated copy. Then direct them to record the missed words on their Take Home Words to Learn Sheet or lined paper, and finally also record the misspelled words in their Spelling Notebook.
When they are done, students can clean off their Cloze Story Word Test and hand it back to you. Keep these in a file folder for next year and your copies are already made for you!
Good luck, and I am hopeful that these suggestions will help with the paper crunch while making sure that meaning plays the leading role in your spelling instruction!
Sincerely,
Sitton Specialist