The holidays are over and I’m looking forward to the warmer weather to come. On Monday morning the children were excited to be back, full of holiday news and eager to write their journals. To say they were keen is an understatement. I started with a whole class focus reviewing punctuation and linking sentences. We talked about sequencing events and making sure our writing is as exciting as our speaking.
Assessment: What am I looking for in my students writing that evidences their progression along the continuum? VELS – English Continuum: Writing
Prep – Expected Standard SOURCE – SOFWEB
At Level 1, students write personal recounts and simple texts about familiar topics to convey ideas or messages. In their writing, they use conventional letters, groups of letters, and simple punctuation such as full stops and capital letters. Students are aware of the sound system and the relationships between letters and sounds in words when spelling. They form letters correctly, and use a range of writing implements and software.
End of Semester 1 – Year 1: Expected Standard
At 1.25, the work of a student progressing towards the standard at Level 2 demonstrates, for example:
- inclusion of their own experiences when writing for personal purposes and audiences such as in lists, letters, cards, posters
- inclusion of one or more generally readable sentences
- some correct use of capital letters and full stops
- drawings that support the intended meaning of their writing
- plausible attempts at spelling unfamiliar words, matching sound–letter relationships and using some simple spelling patterns
End of Year 1 – Expected Standard
At 1.5, the work of a student progressing towards the standard at Level 2 demonstrates, for example:
- experimentation with a range of short text types; for example, recounts, letters, lists, procedures
- correct spelling of some high-frequency words and plausible attempts at spelling unfamiliar words
- combination of writing with drawings or computer graphics to support meaning
- rereading of their own writing, checking that it makes sense
- sequencing of a small number of ideas in short texts for different purposes and audiences
Random sample of my student’s latest writing. These young writers continue to amaze me.
What do you think? I’ll share my assessment notes in my next post. Cheers Nina
Nina Davis: Teaching & Learning in Australia 
Hi Nina!
Just sharing this post in a face-to-face session with the fellows of Communities for Learning. We so appreciate the ways in which you share your assessment work and student writing samples with us. Your blog continues to be a great reflection of powerful teacher practice : ) Looking forward to your next post/reflections.