Preschool Assessment(Part 2)

How do you tell your preschooler the results of your assessment? Why does he or she need feedback?

You can tell your preschooler about his/her results by giving verbal or visual feedback:

-Verbal Feedback can be using simple statements about your preschooler's performance. For example: "Jonas, I have noticed an improvement in letter writing but you needs lots of practice." That is much better than saying: "Good Job!" or "Needs Work".  Giving specific feedback after an activity is the way to go. Talking to your child about learning is an important part of their developmental growth.

-Visual Feedback can be in the form of a happy or sad face, a growth chart/graph , a checklist with pictures, or instructions with pictures and words. Visual assessment is a very important part of learning.  Emotions play a strong role in sending the message that something is great or still needs improvement. On the other hand, graphs or charts are a great resource to show growth in a particular learning skill or knowledge. Checklist and visual instructions are a great self-assessment tool also.

Giving out a grade is NOT the most effective form of feedback. When you give visual or verbal feedback, you are targeting skills, knowledge and attributes of the lesson. It helps the learner see WHERE he or she needs improvement and HOW they need to improve.

Documentation

In order to give effective feedback, you need to document behavior. Even as a parent, it gives you time to reflect on your teaching style. This can serve as a great assessment tool as you go back everyday to look for patterns in behavior. This form of assessment is called Assessment of Learning. It is ongoing and provides you with your child's strengths and weaknesses. So that you build on his/her weaknesses by working with the strenghts (i.e. if your child loves pictures then print out lots of visual cues for him/her to learn the lesson effectively.) That's the reason why I love using Gardner's Multiple Inteligences. They target varied needs that benefit the learner immensely. 

Verbal and Visual feedback is a form of Assessment for Learning as it informs the learner about their learn about themselves. It is unique for each learner and guides them to take charge of their own progress.

On one last note, mistakes are a form of learning. It is very important to remind your child and yourself. Kids learn by doing and it is very important for their developmental growth to make mistakes.

Enjoy everything you do!

Annie

Preschool Assessment

Assessment or Evaluation of learning is very important both for learning and teaching. How? As a teacher of your preschooler, you will design projects or lessons on the basis of appropriate developmental and learning needs. Similarly, through assessment of and for learning, your preschooler will benefit from lessons that cater to his or her needs. 

How to assess your preschooler? You do not want to make it formal like a test but use informal strategies that assess while your preschooler has fun. For preschool Assessment, I target a few specific/core areas based on the "Multiple Intelligences" (MI)

Here is my diagram that demonstrates easy assessment methods based on the MI:

   © Everything Family Guide

Logical(Mathematical) - I look for patterns and numbers in everything and then have my preschooler relay the information back to me. For example, while reading a story read page numbers, count the number of funny pictures, look for repitition in the story such as repeating words or sounds, etc.

Visual(Spatial) - look for and at visual clues in the work that you do. Use manipulatives like puzzles, pictures, graphs, stickers, etc. for spatial development. For assessment, ask your preschooler questions when looking at pictures (still & moving) and ask for more details. Ask him or her to draw a picture after each activity that details what you did or an event.

Linguistic(Literacy) - explain everything using descriptive words (Be a role model when talking, doing or seeing.) When your preschooler uses a simple word, ask him for more details. For example, if he asks you for his 'car' then ask him about it's color, shape, make/model, etc.

Musical(Auditory) - when you are doing a listening activity like audio books or videos then have your preschooler describe the sounds: "what kinds of sounds do you hear? Loud, Chirp!, High, Soft, etc." If you are playing in the park or at home, take sound breaks where you stop everything you are doing and listen/talk about sounds you hear. Listen for patterns in a story or beats in a song.

Interpersonal(People Smart) - play social games like "Charades" or "Guess my Emotions!". Act out role play scenarios to help your preschooler learn about the ways of behaving around and understanding people.  Ask lots of 5W & H questions about everything you do to build his/her comprehension.

Naturalist - apply lesson objectives from learning activities to real life scenarios. Compare and Contrast how things might play out in real life. For example, in a story about a puppy that gets lost you might ask your preschooler about how he/she feels if something they love got lost. 

Bodily/Kinesthetic - turn everything you do into a moving activity. For example, if you are learning the alphabet then have your preschooler make the alphabet in sand, with play dough, by drawing/painting the letter, etc.  If you are reading a book about fall, then take a fall walk in the park and collect twigs and leaves. Don't forget to take 5 minute "Brain Breaks" (aka physical activity).

Intrapersonal(Self Smart) - teach and learn about self, community, and culture. Reflect your beliefs and ways of doing things when teaching a new concept. Talk about acceptable and unacceptable boundaries. Talk about positive body image and feelings. Test your preschooler's knowledge by asking him or her about how they might act or react during certain situations.

Overall, this is just a general idea for assessment. I would love to hear some of your tips and/or suggestions.

Annie

Audio Books

I love using Audio books as a reading tool. You can find audio books in your local library or bookstore that are fun, engaging and provide a fresh perspective on reading. I love reading to my kids but it nice for them to hear the story from someone else. 

Some audio stories are read by the author and some are read by story book readers. Some stories are accompanied with background music and some have cool sounds and noises. Some readers have an animated voice, while some have a "serious" voice. Some stories are funny and animated, while some are full of interesting facts.  Your child can listen to an audio story on speakers or use a headphone. Your child can read along or they can follow along with an adult's guidance. 

What I really like about audio stories is that they can be above grade/age level and still be interesting for your little guy! 

Here we are listening to some cool audio books:

Silent Words Loud and Clear by Pulver & Reed© Everything Family Guide

Get Out of Bed by Robert Munsch© Everything Family Guide

Do you read audiobooks with your kids? Any ideas or tips for using audiobooks with preschoolers?

Annie

Great Toy for Toddlers!

Today, I found this pretty awesome tactile toy for my toddler. It's not a new concept but its pretty helpful for teaching the concepts of shapes and colors. 

© Everything Family Guide

We have some other similar toys that teach shape and name identification.  These types of puzzles are great time filler for toddlers. Here is a link for toddler puzzles with knobs at Melissa and Doug toys...

Annie

Connect The Dots

Connect the Dot activities are a great time filler. They can be used during quiet or transition time in the day. These activities teach the concept of alphabet, number, symbols, and shape identification and recognition. They also serve as a great writing practice tool.  For this activity, I drew a helpful teaching tool to accompany the activity. I wrote alphabets in a row with arrow keys to show where to go next. Then I pointed to the next alphabet to guide my son along as he connected the dots using a pencil. At first, I had let him try it himself but he was confused. Then I gave him the visual guide and he flew through the rest of the page. 

© Everything Family Guide

© Everything Family Guide

Lesson learned: Visual tools or cues go a long way in teaching the learner.

Any suggestions,

Annie