1. Self- Assessment Literacy Learning Continuum Example
Visual Knowledge
Text Knowledge
Grammar Knowledge
Word Knowledge 6
Extensive understanding, analysis and evaluation (composition, symbolism, camera techniques) of factual information in texts (images, figures, diagrams, tables, maps, graphs).
Extensive choice of sentence starters and language to structure and organise text (more written-like texts).
Extensive use of reference items to interpret previous statement/s, and strengthen the internal paragraph structure.
Extensive development of explanations and arguments.
Constructs well-staged, longer (300– 550 words) complex genres.
Constructs extensively well-formed complex, compound and simple sentences.
Extensive range of conjunctions, relative pronouns, complex noun groups (nominalisation, metaphors)
Extensive manipulation of clauses, complex circumstances (manner, quality, judgment, evaluation, appreciation) and sentence structures.
Extensive range of punctuation including colons and semicolons.
Extensive use of language to express opinions, comments and complex modality.
Extensive range of new specialist and technical vocabulary and abstraction of texts.
Extensive accuracy in spelling and applies understanding of spelling to spell specialist topic words including words originating from other languages. 5
Wide understanding and analysis of how visual elements create meaning and impact the reader/viewer (advertisements and allusions to other texts)
Explain how analytical images (figures, diagrams, tables, maps, graphs) contribute to understanding factual information in texts.
Chooses a wide range of features to structure and organise a text and a wide range of sentence starters.
Chooses a wide range of reference items to strengthen the internal paragraph structure and show logical connections to new ideas.
Composes a wide range of organised, longer ( words) increasingly complex genres.
Constructs a wide variety of complex, compound and simple sentences.
Wide use of commas, vocabulary (expanded noun groups with shades of meaning), evaluative language (feelings and emotions, judgements of people, appreciations of things, varied intensity) and modality.
Wide range of circumstances (place, time, accompaniment, manner, cause, matter, role, angle, contingency) and nominalisations.
Wide control of complex subject-verb agreement.
Wide range of new topic vocabulary to construct specialised fields and everyday words creatively.
Spells correctly: multi-syllabic words ending in ible/ able, ence/ ance, ful/fully, al, ty, ous/ious, difficult homophones, difficult subject-specific words and words with Greek and Latin roots. 4
Understanding how visual elements create meaning by describing how images add to, contradict or multiply the meanings of words in a text.
Compares images with the print text to
identify the effects of choices in the construction of images, including framing and composition.
Uses a small range of features that structure and organise a text (reference items to avoid repetition, simple topic sentences, circumstances of time, place and manner) and more complex, varied sentence openers.
Uses some passive voice, foreground subordinate (dependent) clause with a small range of conjunctions (when..).
Independently composes longer (4-7) paragraphs (200 – 300 words) in logically ordered texts.
Uses complex sentences to express relationships of time, cause and effect with linking and binding conjunctions and relative pronouns.
Uses expanded noun groups and circumstances to provide details surrounding events eg place, time, manner, cause.
Uses nominalisations to foreground abstractions rather than people and things.
Uses evaluative language, simple forms of modality and expresses opinions directly (subjectively).
Uses apostrophes for contractions and possession, quotation marks and commas with (direct) speech.
Uses complex verb groups mostly appropriately.
Uses common topic vocabulary.
Uses correct spelling for new topic words, frequently used, irregularly spelt words and words with complex but common patterns, silent letters, homophones and prefixes and suffixes added to a common base word. 3
Limited understanding how visual elements create meaning by describing how images add to the meanings of words in the accompanying print text.
Limited identification of the effects of choices in the construction of images.
Limited range of features to structure and organise a text including sub-headings, circumstances of time and text connectives.
Simple formulaic sentence openers.
Limited range of reference items with some accuracy including occasional substitution eg I tried opening the door and I did.
Limited use of paragraphs mainly focusing on one idea and reflecting the stages of the text type.
Limited sentences development with limited circumstances (place, time, accompaniment, manner, cause) and/or limited range of noun groups and basic complex sentences (common binding conjunctions). Limited to sentence level punctuation, capitals for proper nouns, commas to separate nouns in lists and apostrophes in contractions.
Limited control of subject-verb agreement with errors for more complex agreements.
Limited range of common nominalisations, evaluative language, and modality.
Limited range of common topic vocabulary.
Spells correctly topic and new words that follow spelling rules and phonological patterns, single syllable homophones, compound words and applies generalisations. 2
Narrow understanding of how visual elements create meaning by recognising the different meanings of words and images in imaginative and informative texts.
Narrow range of sentence openers to begin a text.
Narrow range of pronouns eg. we, us, them.
Writes 6-8 sentences with some support.
Narrow range of control over irregular verbs and complex verb groups. Narrow use of simple tenses and action, sensing, saying, relating verbs. Begins to use “to+verb”.
Narrow range of adverbs and phrases of place, time, manner, accompaniment.
Composes short noun groups.
Has a narrow range of evaluative language (simple opinions) and basic modality.
Narrow range of topic vocabulary.
Spells most common and topic words.
Self- Assessment Literacy Learning Continuum Example
This is an example of how the student has self assessed. Visual knowledge is developing at Level 4 as the student has used description to explain meanings.
The student has recognized that he/she is still at the foundation level 3 for text and grammar knowledge
And is at the BASIC foundation level 2 for word knowledge.
In discussions with the teacher the student recognized that word knowledge is where he/she is to concentrate his/her energy for improvement.
The student decided to focus on Spelling.
This continuum is kept by the student for future reference. The student can use this to identify what is the next step in their literacy learning.
What have they achieved so far and what they need to learn next. It is like their roadmap to success.
This student has a score of 12/24