Flexible grouping Reading comprehension

(Ricgroup, 2016)
Flexible grouping involves students working as part of many different
groups depending on the task and/or content. In this artefact students are
given a text to read and comprehend. There are different levels of reading
categorised by colour. As students continue to comprehend different
levels of text, they will further advance to the next colour once their
teacher has marked their work and approved advancement. The purpose
for flexible grouping is for all students to make growth, no matter how
much growth, the importance is each student is moving forward. It limits
the disruptive behaviours demonstrated by students when they are
unable to do the task and have to find a way to get out of it. This is
because flexible grouping allows students to work at the level that is
appropriate to them and provides students a goal that is achievable. All
students have the same objective, which is to be able to comprehend the
text they have read to identify and recall key ideas involved. However,
what is different is all students are working at a level that is best for them,
which is proven to be very effective when incorporated in the classroom in
meeting students diverse needs. The diverse needs of the learners are
that each student can learn and is entitled to knowledge, understanding,
and skills that provide a foundation for success. Flexible grouping
addresses AITSL Standard 5 as it allows the teacher to assess students
understanding, either summative or formatively with a variety of different
strategies. For instance, student learning was collected by instructing
students to write a summary on the text they have read. Once the
students have written their summary it will be given to the teacher to
mark and provide constructive feedback. The students would then get into
pairs and share their summary/reflection. To enable students of diverse
abilities to show their learning, it is important that students are engaged
in the task by working at an appropriate level that is not too difficult but
still challenging at the same time.

English spelling test

(Stedwardstamworth, 2014)
At the beginning of the semester the teacher would give the class a pre spelling
test in order to find out what each student know and dont know. Once students
have completed the pre-test the teacher will mark their work and provide
immediate feedback. The teacher will use the results from each student to create
up to three differentiated spelling lists; group A (weak), group B (Middle) and
group C (advanced). To cater for students of diverse abilities they will be placed
in the group according to the level that is most appropriate to them
demonstrated in the results of their pre-test. The purpose for a differentiated
English spelling list is for students to work at the level that they are comfortable
with but also be challenged with an achievable goal. In order to cater for all
diverse learners students who are highly gifted can be given extension
challenging words on top of their original advanced words to spell. Students with
learning difficulties will be placed in a specific learning program that aims to
teach useful spelling rules, provide systematic phonics instruction that
incorporates teaching of phonemic awareness, and encourage independent
reading to increase exposure to printed words. Throughout the week the class

will practice their spelling words 10 minutes a day using the look, cover, write,
check method and also practice at home. Every Friday an English spelling test
will be conducted to test students own learning and how they are progressing.
Once the test is over the teacher will mark the students work, provide immediate
feedback, and record their score on a checklist. This English spelling test
addresses AITSL standard 5 as the checklist will be recorded at the end of each
week to provide the teacher with the evidence needed to make consistent and
comparable judgements of student learning. Immediate feedback is also
provided to students about their achievement relative to their learning goals. In
order for students to be independent and responsible for their own learning, they
will self-assess by analysing what the spelling test results reveal about their
progress and plan steps to improve their learning.

Student rubric creation

(Teachin
g Tips, 2016)
According to Teachers First (2016), students engaged in rubric creating have
a better understanding of the standards and expectations of an assignment.
When students are invested in the process of rubric creation, they reflect
deeply on the expectations for the assignment (Harada & Yoshina, 2007). This
action reinforces student learning. To create rubrics with students, Teachers
First (2016) suggests first helping students become familiar with the design
and setup of rubrics by providing students with good and poor examples of
rubrics. The next step is for students to form a group of four and write down
the strong and weak qualities in a T-chart. Each group will share what they
have on their T-charts and as a class immediate effective feedback is given in

order to transform the weak qualities in the rubric examples to strong

qualities. When creating the rubric it is the teachers role to organise the
student language in the rubric (Yoshina & Harada, 2007)). The purpose in
students creating their own rubrics is to develop students understanding of
what must be done to reach expectations. Students will also learn to use the
rubric as a guide, learn how to monitor their own progress and make
improvements in a timely manner (Yoshina & Harada, 2007). This assessment
task aligns with ATISL Standard Five through a summative approach. Grading
using the rubric is used for the teacher to make consistent and comparable
judgements whilst also report on student achievement. This task caters for
the needs of diverse learners as the rubric is not created individually but as a
whole class with immediate effective feedback during the process. All
students are able to refer to the rubric to know what is expected and if
something needs correction, the rubric can be referred to in order to know
what adjustments need to be made (Andrade, 2006).