Administering the Sylvia Greene Informal Word Analysis Inventory

Following is the set of instructions for how to administer the Informal Word Analysis Inventory with a learner. The instructions are also available in this PDF from the previous page: Modified Sylvia Greene Phonics Assessment Process and Testing Pages.pdf

Modified Sylvia Greene Phonics Assessment Process
(Based on Sylvia Greene’s Informal Word Analysis Inventory)

For Reading (Decoding) – Individual

For students with Alphabetics Mastery Levels of 1-4, select an appropriate starting point (Level I or Level II) and word list (Lists 1-6) for phonics assessment:

Greene Lists 1 and 2 image.PNG

2. Tell the student: “I am going to give you a short reading test. You will read words aloud while I listen carefully. I will stop you when I have the information I need. This test will tell me (or your teacher) what you need to learn about sounding out words.”

3. In-person: Present the Student Copy of the starting point word list. Tell the student to read down the list at a slower speed. If necessary, use a note card or paper for pacing. Stop when the student makes many errors or appears frustrated.

4. Remotely: Present the Google slides for the starting point word list–either 1 word per slide or 2-6 words per slide. Tell them you will move to the next word or set of words when they are ready.

5. Follow along on the Teacher Copy. Write 1 for correct word readings, 0 for incorrect word readings, and as much as possible, incorrect pronunciations within the boxes. If you start with Level I lists, and the student reads most of the words correctly, go to the Level II lists.

6. Determine which English letter-sound patterns the student knows (by correct pronunciations) and does not know (by incorrect pronunciations). Use the Key to Individual Phonics Skills Assessed on Level I & Level 2 Inventories tool to help with analysis.

Click "Next" to listen to a student take the Sylvia Greene Inventory.