Download Clay Observation Survey

Clay Observation Survey
Writing Vocabulary
The child is allowed ten minutes to complete this task. Give the child a blank piece of
paper and a pencil.
Say: I want to see how many words you can write. Can you write your name?
(Start the ten minute timing here).
If the child says “Yes”
If the child says “No”
Say: Write your name for me.
Ask him if he knows any single-letter or
two letter words. Say: Do you know how
When the child finishes say: Good. Now
to write is (pause), to (pause), I (pause)?
think of all the words you know how to
write and write them all down for me.
and then suggest other words that he/she
may know how to write (see below).
Give the child up to 10 minutes to write
the words he/she knows. When he/she
stops writing, or need prompting, suggest
words that she/she might know how to
write.
Do you know how to write is (pause), to
(pause), I (pause)? and then suggest
other words that he/she may know how to
write (see below).
Prompts: Go through a list of words that the child might have met in reading books or
might be able to work out how to write: the child’s name, I, a, is, in, am, to, come,
like, see, the, my, we, and, at, here, on, up, look, go, this, it, me.
Continue for 10 minutes or until the child’s writing vocabulary is exhausted. Prompt the
child as much as you like with words he might be able to write. Be careful not to
interfere with his thinking and his searching of his own repertoire. Very able children
need little prompting but sometimes it is necessary to suggest a category of words.
The following questions suggest some examples:
Do you know how to write any children’s names?
Do you know how to write things you do?
Do you know how to write about things in your house?
Do you know how to write the names of things you ride in (or on)?
Do you know how to write about things you eat?
It is not a requirement that the child be able to read the words he has
written.
Division of Learning Services
8
Fall 2008
Scoring
Correct Spelling
Each completed word scores one point if it is correctly spelled,
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but not if the child accidentally writes a word that is correct but tells you that it
is another word. For example, he writes “am” and says without prompting that
it is “on.”
and not when the observer realizes that he does not know what word he has
written.
Reversed Letters
Reversed letters are not correct if they could represent a different letter. If the letter
used never makes the sound(s) being recorded, the substitutions used count as errors,
as in dig/big or bog/dog.
Words Written Right to Left
These are scored as correct only is the child actually write the letters from right to left.
Individual letters may or may not be reversed which means that words scored as
correct may have a mixture of reversed and correctly oriented letters.
Series of Words
Each word is counted in a derived series like “look, looks, looking” or in a rhyming set
or spelling pattern group like “sat, fat, mat, hat”.
Capital letters
Capital letters are acceptable substitutions for lower case letters and vice versa.
Division of Learning Services
9
Fall 2008
Writing Vocabulary Score Sheet
Name:____________________________ Date:_________________ Test Score
(Fold heading under before child uses sheet)
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Division of Learning Services
Fall 2008