Dear Mitch,

Although there is no one right way to manage Cloze Story Word Tests, the following are management ideas preferred by many teachers, as well as how most teachers manage their post-test instruction.

If grading the Cloze Story Word Tests is a concern as well, it may be helpful for you to review practical ideas for grading the tests in the Ask Rebecca column in the November, 2008 Appleseed. Teachers routinely grade the Cloze Story Word Tests, yet veteran teachers are quick to say that their primary purpose for giving the tests has nothing to do with grading. Grading is a reality, and they comply, but the importance their schools place on improving students’ writing is the catalyst for using these tests.

As you know, the Cloze Story Word Test results reveal exactly the words each student needs to learn in order to become a more able writer. Veteran teachers report that once they begin ongoing use of the Cloze Story Word Tests, their students’ writing improves. They attribute a large part of this improvement to the cloze tests’ ability to improve spelling. How are these results obtained? The responses I hear most indicate that the tests’ absolute specificity makes teaching and learning far more efficient. Teachers also like the abundant review to ensure mastery and the in-context testing format that addresses the age-old challenge presented by homophones. For them, the cloze tests must never be shortchanged because this would undercut their ability to strengthen their writing program.

Teachers report that they give the Cloze Story Word Tests at the end of each unit, but never on a given day. This is because each unit’s time frame for skill growth in the first part of a unit, Build Skills and Word Experiences, differs. Students’ learning needs determine the time frame for this skill-based section of each unit. Once teachers and students know the routine, the cloze tests take no longer than the old Friday spelling tests. Should you or your colleagues like ideas for administering the Cloze Story Word Tests, check out the January, 2007, Appleseed. Look in Sourcebook Teaching Tips, Spelling Word Differentiation. Here I demonstrate one foolproof method for administering the cloze.

Most teachers correct the tests by circling misspelled test words on the spot—by moving from desk to desk to mark each student’s paper—or after collecting them. Then students, individually or in pairs, correct the circled words on the test paper using their copy of the Core Words list as a spelling reference.

Once corrected, teachers keep the tests, labeling them with the test date and filing them by date or in a personal work folder for each student. These tests are available for parents to see, but are rarely sent home. Why? If students have access to the tests and know the exact words tested prior to any testing, it negates the tests’ value, jeopardizing the writing program.

Other factors that figure into the total grade, in addition to the Cloze Story Word Tests, include performance on the Skill Tests and on selected assignments (group and independent work), Priority Words, and Proof It for the upper grades. Also, student Practice Book work and Sentence Dictation may be a graded element for teachers who use these components of the program. Teachers cooperatively decide at the beginning of each grading period which elements will be graded and the percentage they wish to assign to each graded element. Usually, the Cloze Test is about 30% of the total grade.

Teachers often remind students that they can control their Close Story Word Test grades in two ways. First, they can identify and study any words they do not know that are on their Core Words list. Second, they can study words they do not know that previous tests identified for them. These words became students’ Spelling Words. This can be done at home (Word to Learn sheets) and at school (Spelling Notebook). Usually, teachers have students work cooperatively to study and/or test one another on these words.

Teachers can help students develop the habit of applying the word insights they’ve been taught through Build Skills and Word Experiences to their personal list of Spelling Words. For example, if some of your fifth graders missed the word edge by spelling it ege in a cloze test, it would be a useful post-test opportunity to revisit what the class discovered in the students’ collection of /j/-ending words in Unit 3. That is, when the /j/ ending is preceded by a short vowel sound (as in edge), then the spelling is usually dge, not the alternative ge. These insights grow over time in small increments as students encounter them repeatedly within Sourcebook activities, as well as through teachers who seize the moment to make them timely topics for post-test instruction.

Teachers can also work insightful word-skill comments into their everyday instruction. For example, Mrs. Garringer, a fifth/sixth grade teacher, called students’ attention to the title of a book she was sharing with them during their study of the Civil War: The Red Badge of Courage. “Look at the spelling of these /j/-ending words in the title—badge and courage. What sound do you hear at the end? Are these expected spellings—yes or no, and why?” What a handy way to squeeze in a language-learning occasion!

Mrs. Garringer’s comment is an incidence of explicit instruction, but one that occurs casually, unlike a lengthier planned class activity. In fact, word observations like this one become an ongoing focus that just “happen” in Sourcebook classrooms. Often the observations are initiated by the students as the word-skill knowledge they’re gaining begins to make good sense to them. It is one of the truly fascinating and enjoyable parts of teaching that Sourcebook teachers relate to me from across the country! And so manageable.

Mitch, engage your colleagues in a discussion of these ideas. Let us know how it goes. We’re interested.