We are currently finishing up a unit about "American Contributors" (Ruby Bridges, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Roosevelt) in my first grade classroom. The end of unit culminating project (and assessment) has been to write a 5-sentence opinion essay about who is the most important American contributor and why. As I've been reading through the students' responses, I noticed that many of them got caught up on the language of facts versus opinions ("I think"/"I feel") and therefore missed the point of the whole essay. Many of them wrote many facts about Ruby Bridges/Dolores Huerta/Eleanor Roosevelt, but neglected to explain why the woman they chose is so important.
I decided to try out the "interview" method of assessment to see if I could glean a bit more about student learning/understanding of this unit AND see which students were getting caught up in the reading/writing part of the assignment. As soon as I began interviewing the students, I realized that many of them knew a great deal more about the American contributors than they were able to write down on paper. I first asked them what they knew about the woman they chose, and then what they thought about her and why. The open-ended questions allowed the students to express their thoughts using as much time and words as they needed (instead of constraining their thoughts to 5 distinct sentences). Furthermore, many of them could verbally describe why the woman they chose was important, even if they hadn't formulated the sentences in their written essay. This made me realize that sometimes one form of assessment (like the completion of a "one-size-fits-all" assignment) is not enough to fully understand student learning. Doing the interviews also made me wonder what information is slipping through the cracks for students who are not yet strong readers and writers. This served as an important reminder to vary assessments in the future, as there is often a great deal more to student learning than what meets the eye!
Varying assessments sounds like a great idea. You might suggest different ways for them to express themselves—writing, drawing, recording—and let them choose. The next time you could suggest/require they try a different method.
During our daily Guided Reading Lessons, I have 4 different groups reading at 4 different levels. As a point of reference at the end of first grade according to the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that my school system uses (Lesley Literacy Collaborative) they like students reading at a Guided Reading level of I/J as they are entering second grade. There is such growth when it comes to reading in first grade. I had students who were reading below a level A when they arrived in my classroom in September. The current reading levels consist of 4 students reading at a level H, 4 students reading at a level I, 4 students reading at a level J, and 6 students reading at a level L. The two groups that have reached the benchmark for first grade each have an open ended comprehension questions that they must answer each night that goes along with the story that they read to a family member. We begin each lesson by sharing out our reading responses and the expectations are clear that they need to be complete, detailed, and thoughtful answers. I take occasional running records during our small group instruction so that students are always being challenged. I also have a page for each student where I take notes on the concepts, the word work and the strategies that each student uses successfully and troubles that they might encounter. These notes are a great reference when it comes time for report cards and parent/teacher conferences. On Fridays, everyone rereads their book from the night before and I mix the students and the levels and they partner read together, sharing their story with another classmate. I then have students write about their favorite part of the story that either they read or the story that they listened to from their friend. We are constantly changing the output activities, which really gives me a great idea of the comprehension that the students have with the stories that they are reading. My students love this reading time and take great pride in their responses and illustrations.
The pressure that the students put on themselves is amazing, I mentioned how I take periodic running records and shift students around taking those results into consideration, there are always tears and them asking how can I get back into the red group? They know the color coded leveling hierarchy that I have created and always seem to question the change. I respond with this group is a better fit for you right now and we are mixing things up and working on helpful strategies that might work for you.
I used pictorial math problem solving with my second grade class. They are working on fractions in their current math unit. I found that using the visuals really helped them to understand the concept of equivalent fractions. I had told them that 1/2 was the same as 2/4, but they didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I then had them look at fraction cards that had the parts labeled. I had them find a fraction that looked like 1/2. They could easily pull out 2/4 and 3/6. I was easily able to asses students knowledge by saying a fraction and then having them find another fraction that was equivalent. I could quickly walk around the room and see who needed help and who was understanding equivalent fractions.
In the third grade class I am in there is a huge focus on reading and writing and we are constantly switching up the various lessons, though the assessments throughout have been generally very similar with either a journal entry detailing what is happening in the reading or completing a web showing various details from the readings. In an effort to change it up, I used a reflective reading log as a form of assessment, having the students answer a question about the story we had just read. I asked them to provide a thorough explanation and support it with evidence from the text. It allowed me to gauge the level of comprehension of all the students, to ensure the completely answered the question and grasped the meaning of the reading.
This week’s blog assignment asks us to try an assessment strategy from one of our readings. Since it is my takeover week, I decided it would be a good opportunity to try something new with the kids in my class. One article that I found extremely interesting was the article about The School of the Future; the assessment that stuck out to me the most was number nine, “Do Your Own Assessments”. It assesses students by allowing them to write and reflect about their own progress and share opinions/contribute to the content they are learning. I think it is important to have students feel as though their opinion is acknowledged and can help guide the direction of the lessons I teach to them. The kids in my class have participated in what is called, “Fishbowl”, an activity where students talk amongst each other about a specific question pertaining to a piece of literature read in class. During previous sessions of “Fishbowl”, the teacher will think of the question that is being discussed. I thought that it would be different to have the students ask the questions that they wanted to talk about instead. So, after we finished a chapter of the book they’re reading, I allowed them to write down a question they wanted to talk about in “Fishbowl”. I also modified the activity in a way that made it more appealing to students by turning it into somewhat of a game. I had the students write their questions on an outline of a fish, then I “went fishing” and picked someone’s question at random. It made it more engaging for two reasons: they were able to guide their own learning/assessment, and they were entertained by the element of surprise. It went really well! They loved it, and have been asking me if we can do that every time. I think that The School of the Future has a lot of really effective assessment strategies that I will absolutely try out in my future classroom.
In the first grade classroom that I work in we use several forms of formal and informal assessment. The reading and math curriculum that we use have assessments built in at the end of each unit. We use the Fundations curriculum through second grade at our school and the program includes introducing “Words of the Day” and including them in sentences, sky-writing “Trick Words” (which are also posted in the room), using magnetic letter tiles and dry erase boards to practice spelling the words, and ongoing dictations of different lengths that are done in student workbooks. At the end of each unit is a longer dictation (1-2 pages) that includes letters, sounds, words and 1-2 sentences. This helps us see which children have been familiarizing themselves with the words in the room, and which children still need more time with them. Those students that struggle a little more with auditory processing can have the words/sentences repeated a few more times, or they can be given extra time to finish their writing. Our math curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, also has a similar style, using “Math Boxes” every few pages in their math workbooks. These pages review what was learned in that unit, as well as spiral back to previous units to see how children have learned and memorized the skills.
We do informal assessments on a daily basis through discussions and reviews of previous lessons. Children are often asked to “think back” to what we did a day before, a week before, a unit before, and reflect on their work and how we can use that skill in new ways, ie. during Writer’s Workshop. As a teaching team, we are always talking about which children are thriving or struggling in different areas, whether it is an academic area or a social issue. We work as a team to make plans for individual children as needed.
In the article, “Ten Top Tips For Teaching With New Media”, I was able to use tip number nine, “Make it Visual” in my observed lesson plan about author Kevin Henkes. I projected a video from the kevinhenkes.com website that displayed Kevin Henkes discussing his writing and illustrating process and showing visual examples. The students were already more than half way into a book by Henkes so this video was even more explanatory and engaging than I would have expected. I think that it went really well. The students who are usually distracted during lessons, were attentive and interested. Aside from the effectiveness of the video during the lesson, the students still recall facts from the video with pride and confidence. This leads me to believe that providing students with a visual model of information is useful and successful in the classroom.
We are currently finishing up a unit about "American Contributors" (Ruby Bridges, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Roosevelt) in my first grade classroom. The end of unit culminating project (and assessment) has been to write a 5-sentence opinion essay about who is the most important American contributor and why. As I've been reading through the students' responses, I noticed that many of them got caught up on the language of facts versus opinions ("I think"/"I feel") and therefore missed the point of the whole essay. Many of them wrote many facts about Ruby Bridges/Dolores Huerta/Eleanor Roosevelt, but neglected to explain why the woman they chose is so important.
ReplyDeleteI decided to try out the "interview" method of assessment to see if I could glean a bit more about student learning/understanding of this unit AND see which students were getting caught up in the reading/writing part of the assignment. As soon as I began interviewing the students, I realized that many of them knew a great deal more about the American contributors than they were able to write down on paper. I first asked them what they knew about the woman they chose, and then what they thought about her and why. The open-ended questions allowed the students to express their thoughts using as much time and words as they needed (instead of constraining their thoughts to 5 distinct sentences). Furthermore, many of them could verbally describe why the woman they chose was important, even if they hadn't formulated the sentences in their written essay. This made me realize that sometimes one form of assessment (like the completion of a "one-size-fits-all" assignment) is not enough to fully understand student learning. Doing the interviews also made me wonder what information is slipping through the cracks for students who are not yet strong readers and writers. This served as an important reminder to vary assessments in the future, as there is often a great deal more to student learning than what meets the eye!
Varying assessments sounds like a great idea. You might suggest different ways for them to express themselves—writing, drawing, recording—and let them choose. The next time you could suggest/require they try a different method.
DeleteDuring our daily Guided Reading Lessons, I have 4 different groups reading at 4 different levels. As a point of reference at the end of first grade according to the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System that my school system uses (Lesley Literacy Collaborative) they like students reading at a Guided Reading level of I/J as they are entering second grade. There is such growth when it comes to reading in first grade. I had students who were reading below a level A when they arrived in my classroom in September.
ReplyDeleteThe current reading levels consist of 4 students reading at a level H, 4 students reading at a level I, 4 students reading at a level J, and 6 students reading at a level L. The two groups that have reached the benchmark for first grade each have an open ended comprehension questions that they must answer each night that goes along with the story that they read to a family member. We begin each lesson by sharing out our reading responses and the expectations are clear that they need to be complete, detailed, and thoughtful answers.
I take occasional running records during our small group instruction so that students are always being challenged. I also have a page for each student where I take notes on the concepts, the word work and the strategies that each student uses successfully and troubles that they might encounter. These notes are a great reference when it comes time for report cards and parent/teacher conferences.
On Fridays, everyone rereads their book from the night before and I mix the students and the levels and they partner read together, sharing their story with another classmate. I then have students write about their favorite part of the story that either they read or the story that they listened to from their friend. We are constantly changing the output activities, which really gives me a great idea of the comprehension that the students have with the stories that they are reading. My students love this reading time and take great pride in their responses and illustrations.
Sounds like a wonderful system. Is there anything you would like to improve?
DeleteThe pressure that the students put on themselves is amazing, I mentioned how I take periodic running records and shift students around taking those results into consideration, there are always tears and them asking how can I get back into the red group? They know the color coded leveling hierarchy that I have created and always seem to question the change.
DeleteI respond with this group is a better fit for you right now and we are mixing things up and working on helpful strategies that might work for you.
I used pictorial math problem solving with my second grade class. They are working on fractions in their current math unit. I found that using the visuals really helped them to understand the concept of equivalent fractions. I had told them that 1/2 was the same as 2/4, but they didn't seem to understand what I was saying. I then had them look at fraction cards that had the parts labeled. I had them find a fraction that looked like 1/2. They could easily pull out 2/4 and 3/6. I was easily able to asses students knowledge by saying a fraction and then having them find another fraction that was equivalent. I could quickly walk around the room and see who needed help and who was understanding equivalent fractions.
ReplyDeleteGreat strategy!
DeleteIn the third grade class I am in there is a huge focus on reading and writing and we are constantly switching up the various lessons, though the assessments throughout have been generally very similar with either a journal entry detailing what is happening in the reading or completing a web showing various details from the readings. In an effort to change it up, I used a reflective reading log as a form of assessment, having the students answer a question about the story we had just read. I asked them to provide a thorough explanation and support it with evidence from the text. It allowed me to gauge the level of comprehension of all the students, to ensure the completely answered the question and grasped the meaning of the reading.
ReplyDeleteDid it work for all your reading levels? Did they work alone doing this?
DeleteThis week’s blog assignment asks us to try an assessment strategy from one of our readings. Since it is my takeover week, I decided it would be a good opportunity to try something new with the kids in my class. One article that I found extremely interesting was the article about The School of the Future; the assessment that stuck out to me the most was number nine, “Do Your Own Assessments”. It assesses students by allowing them to write and reflect about their own progress and share opinions/contribute to the content they are learning. I think it is important to have students feel as though their opinion is acknowledged and can help guide the direction of the lessons I teach to them. The kids in my class have participated in what is called, “Fishbowl”, an activity where students talk amongst each other about a specific question pertaining to a piece of literature read in class. During previous sessions of “Fishbowl”, the teacher will think of the question that is being discussed. I thought that it would be different to have the students ask the questions that they wanted to talk about instead. So, after we finished a chapter of the book they’re reading, I allowed them to write down a question they wanted to talk about in “Fishbowl”. I also modified the activity in a way that made it more appealing to students by turning it into somewhat of a game. I had the students write their questions on an outline of a fish, then I “went fishing” and picked someone’s question at random. It made it more engaging for two reasons: they were able to guide their own learning/assessment, and they were entertained by the element of surprise. It went really well! They loved it, and have been asking me if we can do that every time. I think that The School of the Future has a lot of really effective assessment strategies that I will absolutely try out in my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteRemember to put this in your Interview portfolio. Schools are all obsessed with assessment!
DeleteFor Corey:
ReplyDeleteIn the first grade classroom that I work in we use several
forms of formal and informal assessment. The reading and math curriculum that
we use have assessments built in at the end of each unit. We use the Fundations
curriculum through second grade at our school and the program includes
introducing “Words of the Day” and including them in sentences, sky-writing
“Trick Words” (which are also posted in the room), using magnetic letter tiles
and dry erase boards to practice spelling the words, and ongoing dictations of
different lengths that are done in student workbooks. At the end of each unit
is a longer dictation (1-2 pages) that includes letters, sounds, words and 1-2
sentences. This helps us see which children have been familiarizing themselves
with the words in the room, and which children still need more time with them.
Those students that struggle a little more with auditory processing can have
the words/sentences repeated a few more times, or they can be given extra time
to finish their writing. Our math curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, also has a
similar style, using “Math Boxes” every few pages in their math workbooks.
These pages review what was learned in that unit, as well as spiral back to
previous units to see how children have learned and memorized the skills.
We do informal assessments on a daily basis through
discussions and reviews of previous lessons. Children are often asked to “think
back” to what we did a day before, a week before, a unit before, and reflect on
their work and how we can use that skill in new ways, ie. during Writer’s Workshop. As a teaching team,
we are always talking about which children are thriving or struggling in
different areas, whether it is an academic area or a social issue. We work as a
team to make plans for individual children as needed.
In the article, “Ten Top Tips For Teaching With New Media”, I was able to use tip number nine, “Make it Visual” in my observed lesson plan about author Kevin Henkes. I projected a video from the kevinhenkes.com website that displayed Kevin Henkes discussing his writing and illustrating process and showing visual examples. The students were already more than half way into a book by Henkes so this video was even more explanatory and engaging than I would have expected. I think that it went really well. The students who are usually distracted during lessons, were attentive and interested. Aside from the effectiveness of the video during the lesson, the students still recall facts from the video with pride and confidence. This leads me to believe that providing students with a visual model of information is useful and successful in the classroom.
ReplyDelete