Journeys Series Reading Assessments

Saturday, August 31, 2013
I have had a ton of email questions wanting to know what I use for assessments with the Journeys reading series.  This is the main complaint I am hearing:
Students cannot do the tests independently because they are too hard.

The vocabulary that they put on the tests does not match the story vocabulary.  They haven't learned those words yet unless they walk in your door reading on a second grade or higher level.  Some of the answers are too long for beginning first graders to read.  They get tired and frustrated.

The assessments that are included in the "Grab-and-Go" resources are broken into:  phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary.  If you do all of these, you have used at least 3 pages for each test (some of them are longer.)  The paper copying starts adding up. 


I created an assessment pack to address these issues.
 
 
Here are examples from different stories that give you an idea of what is included in each assessment.
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Each assessment has 13 bubble in questions:
4 questions using the phonics sounds for each story
6 fill in the blank question using the “words to know” vocabulary
3 comprehension questions about the story
(Answer Keys are provided in the packet)

The vocabulary on the tests I created matches the story vocabulary and does not included vocabulary they haven't learned or that is not decodable.   If your students
can already read the assessments in the reading series independently, then this is not the product for you.

This is the third year I've taught this series, and I am just now starting to feel comfortable teaching it.  Hang in there!

{You can click on any of the pictures above to check out the pack in my TpT store.}



5 comments

  1. I just finished the first story last week: What is a Pal? I even gave the test...the grade weren't horrible but I had to read it all to them and supplement words or explain questions. We spent all week talking about labels & nouns and the test asked about action words. C'mon.

    I'm 14 days into Journeys....so we'll see how this Journey goes. I like the word work I've created though and most of my firsties came in with a strong foundation.

    Brenda
    You Might Be a First Grader….

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brenda,
    Your example is one of the frustrations I have encountered. The first few tests seem easy enough, but as you get into it, I think you will begin to notice what others have mentioned. In the past, I have had to read many of the tests to them (especially the comprehension selections) into February. I have also found questions that make no sense so I don't grade those questions. I start the first story next week and I am hoping that this year will be smoother. Good luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Journeys' assessments are meant to be read to first graders until mid Jan.

    ReplyDelete
  4. just curious---do you still use Journeys or any other basal program? I've been teaching first grade for 17 years and all of the sudden basal seems like it's a dirty word. Everything is read aloud with vigorous texts. just wondering if I'm the only one who still sees value in rereading the same texts for multiple days and in students having the book in their hands. I don't follow the program, but miss the cohesiveness of having a topic for whole group reading, small group reading, and writing that allowed students to make connections and grapple with a text they could (for the most part) read themselves.

    ReplyDelete