I always do a few assessments at the beginning of the school year to see where I should start and what the children might have forgotten over the summer. I usually stick to the core subjects (English, Irish and Maths). Some assessment is written while most is through teacher observation/on whiteboards/ chats with the children.
Literacy
Writing – I always do a writing assessment during the first few days usually on the topic on my favourite day of the summer holidays or a more general ‘My Summer’ topic. This is a great assessment to check on the following things;
- Capital letters and full stops
- Grammar
- Spelling
- Paragraphs
- Order/Structure
- Handwriting
It is also great to see who can work independently or who needs encouragement to stay on task. I also do a reading comprehension assessment. I just pick a different book to the textbook and choose a passage and questions from here.
Maths
Tables – I usually use the multiplication wheels or ultimate times tables challenge from Twinkl. This gives me a good idea of where to start when the children are learning tables. (Usually by 5th class – I would expect the children to know their 2’s, 4’s, 8’s, 5’s, 10’s perfectly)
There is usually an assessment at the beginning of the maths book which focusses on the previous year so I do some of that on paper (or I create my own) and also the children do some questions on whiteboards – great way of checking up on skills that were previously taught without too much pressure!
Gaeilge
For Gaeilge, I do oral language games with a ball and throw it around the room to see who can answer basic questions based on their name, age, where they live, class, family etc.
