Assessment in the Nursery Program
Portfolios:
Each child has her or his own individual portfolio. The child and the teacher collect samples of art work, mark making activities painting, pasting, printmaking and other paper pencil activities in the portfolio. The child shares their portfolio with their parents at student led conferences.
Anecdotal notes:
Observations of each individual child's development, language and behaviour are recorded in a folder containing a separate pocket to keep notes on each child.
Digital Portfolios
Digital photos are taken of the children on their own floppy disk. At first the teacher chooses the things which will be photographed and the children enjoy seeing themselves engaged in activities on the digital camera or the computer. They quickly start to ask for pictures to be taken and understand that it is important to record their “best” accomplishments. The floppy disk becomes an ongoing visual record of the children’s progress and allows recognition of impressive block- building, math and puzzle accomplishments, bead patterns and all those three dimensional activities that are so important to note in Nursery. The child’s expression and body language in the photos give information on the their social and emotional development and progress The digital portfolios are used by the children to show their parents a slide presentation of their progress during student led conferences. They are also a very valuable assessment tool for the teacher.
Chicken Soup With Rice Assessment Tool:
Tasks:
Each child has a book with all the poems from Chicken Soup with Rice. Each month the class learns the poem of the month. At the end of each month each child works with the teacher in her/his Chicken Soup Book. The child is given an opportunity to:
Recite the poem.
Draw a picture of the poem.
Decide where in the drawing to paste a small photo of themselves eating chicken soup with rice.
Explain why they have chosen to paste their photo in the chosen spot.
Describe their picture to the teacher.
Print their name in the book.
Assessment Information:
An assessment form is filled out on each child as they complete each task. The following information is assessed:
Ability to recite the poem. (with or without help)
Ability to follow instructions.
Ability to connect their drawing to the poem.
Language sample.
Thinking & problem solving skills used while doing the tasks.
Ability to print their name.
Mark Making/Drawing skills.
Other skills as observed during the task.
Each task is scored similarly to the CAP scoring.
I– Independent
D-Developing
NS– Needs Support
The children gradually understand the monthly task and show growth in all areas. This book is used as part of student-led conferences so parents/caregivers can see the child’s growth in all these areas.
The first and last page of the book is xeroxed and placed in the child’s folder so the Kindergarten teacher can have a sense of the child’s growth and development during their nursery year.
