How To: Phonology Quizzes

• Lesson Objective: Assess understanding of the unit mastery goal

• Grouping:  Independent

• Methodology: Students synthesize their learning through a focused assessment aligned to the unit objectives

• Duration: 30 minutes

  
  

Keep Calm and Guess C

Just kidding—my quizzes usually aren’t multiple choice. And besides, we’ve done such a solid job teaching, they’re going to ace it... right?!

My quizzes typically include several sections to capture a full range of skills: fill-in-the-blank items to define vocabulary and phonological rules, grapheme and phoneme sorting, word analysis, and syllabication. It’s not just about what students know—it’s about how they apply it. Each section reinforces a different part of our instructional routine, ensuring students are transferring their learning in meaningful ways.

🖍 How the Routine Works

While the review is open note, the quiz is not. We've all given quizzes before so I don't think much elaboration is needed. Worthy of explanation is our post-quiz process. Students directly hand their quiz to me or my co-teacher. Next, we organize folders. We take out everything from the unit and sort it into two piles: Introduction to the Unit and everything else. "Everything else" goes into the recycling bin unless they want to take something home (let's be honest, this is rare). We place the Introductions into their portfolio folder (described in the Welcome Back Week slides) for future reference.

Also housed in their folder is their Reading Data & Goals capture sheet. This we will update

as quizzes are graded. As mentioned in the Data & Goal-Setting Post, my hope is that periodic check-ins will empower students to take ownership of their learning.

Check out the Interactive Unit Guides to see how this lesson fits within each unit. There, you’ll find links to the unit-specific quizzes. I build these for each unit to both review and target our current phonological patterns.