Vocabulary Assessment
As all teachers know, assessment is a vital part of teaching. There are several different ways to assess a students’ vocabulary development, but it is important to keep in mind that the assessment should be aligned to the objective. The following types of vocabulary assessments are research based (Blachowicz & Fisher, 2007):
- Analyzing pre- and post- graphic organizers.
- Teacher constructed tests that might include the knowledge of : synonyms, classifications, examples, antonyms, definitions, pictures, and sentences.
- Inferring the meaning of a word from context while reading
- Word monitor during discussions
- Self-evaluation/Student Reflection
Resources for: Analyzing pre- and post- graphic organizers
The links below will supply you with several different graphic organizers that you can use during the instruction or assessment of a students vocabulary development. In order to analyze student growth, you could have them create a pre and post graphic organizer.
Resources for: Inferring the meaning of a word from context while reading
The link below will show you an example of the vocabulary assessment created by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. The assessment requires the student to read a text on their independent level. After reading the text the students are asked the meaning of several words. They must use context clues to infer the meaning of the word. There is a rubric to guide teachers in how to score the child.