Assessment

In response to the higher order critical thinking skills for our unit, I used the template found at http://www.med.wright.edu/aa/facdev/_Files/PDFfiles/QuestionTemplates.pdf to help generate ideas. Below are what I have decided to include and the category in which it fits:

• Write a story about what it would be like to spend a day with your animal. (inference)
• Would you want to have your animal as a pet? Why or why not? (evaluation)
• Pair up with a friend and compare/contrast your animals (comparison)
• Trivia/Bingo about animals and all about books (recall)

While I have not yet developed formal lesson plans for these ideas, I feel that they will fit in and be an appropriate mix of skills. These lessons will take the student away from simply researching and writing their information into sentences. They will allow the students to take that information that they have collected and use it further.

The story about spending a day with their animal will include facts like where they live and what they eat (research) but will be enhanced with their imagination and what they think it would be like to spend a day with this animal they have learned so much about. I have a rubric which will be used to evaluate the writing.

Along the same lines, the students will need to make a decision as to whether or not their animal would make a good pet. Of course, a yes or no answer will not be the end of it because they will then need to explain why or why not. Their reasoning for their decision will be based on what they have learned. I have a rubric which will be used to evaluate the writing.

Comparing and contrasting animals would get the students talking and sharing information about their animal. From here, they will need to decide what about their two animals is the same and what is different. This information will be written in a Venn diagram to help visualize the comparison. This lesson will not produce an actual grade but is meant to promote discussion among the students.

Creating a basic trivia/bingo game about the animals and “all about” books would be one of the culminating activities. The questions would come from what the students included in their book and PowerPoint slide so all students will have heard/seen the information about all of the animals. It can be planned like as a celebration for the finishing of the unit and the prizes can be something with animals (bookmarks, pencils, etc.)

In the beginning, during the general planning period, I asked Elizabeth how she has assessed her students in the past. Her response is as follows:

“I check their work on daily basis so that if someone is getting off track I get them right back on track. I collect their research each day to check for misspelled words, so as not to have to check all their papers in one night. It also allows me to check their progress. We’re all on the same step each day. In the past we gave letter grades. I’ll attach the note I sent home to parents. I would staple it to all of their research and then of course their final book. I have the parents come in one afternoon and they get in groups with the children and listen to a few students share their books and talk about how they did their research. It’s really cute and the students enjoy it and the parents are always impressed with the culminating project. This year we do not give letter grades. I will revise the letter at the end of the unit and can send you the new one if you’d like it.”

From the information Elizabeth shared with me, she did not have any formal grading assessments for this unit. Rather, she used a letter that was sent home to the parents at the start of the unit that listed what would be expected of each student. A graded letter would accompany the final project for the parents to view as well. Since this letter was directed towards the parents, I decided to also include something for the students to use as guidance throughout their work.

Using the letter that Elizabeth mentions, I created a checklist for the final book project. I also created checklists for the two new additions of the magazine feature article and the PowerPoint presentation. As we work on each project, the students will be given a checklist to help focus their work. These checklists are simple and easy for the students to use as they work through their projects.

For grading and evaluation purposes, I also created rubrics for each section of the unit. The numbers used on the rubrics correspond to the numbering system that Elizabeth’s school uses on their report cards. In the end, the numbers the students score on the multiple rubrics will be averaged in order to determine a final, overall score for this unit.

The parents will be informed of their student’s progress through the letter and rubrics. Several parents also choose to come into the classroom for the sharing day at the end of the unit where they can view their child reading their book and presenting their PowerPoint.

As for the principal, inviting them into the classroom for the final sharing day would be beneficial for all involved. The students who are already proud of their hard work would be excited to share their products with the principal. In return, the principal will be able to see how much these students have accomplished with their research and the different ways they were able to present their findings.

To help preserve and extend news of this unit, I plan to take pictures throughout the process at all of the different steps leading up to the final products. In the end, I may create my own “all-about” book about this animal research unit or present it in a similar format to help show parents, administrators, board members and the community what this second grade class accomplished.

Also, the local library is regularly looking for ideas for their showcases. I would contact the appropriate person to sign up for a time to display the books, articles and hopefully have a computer monitor or digital screen to loop the PowerPoint presentations for the patrons of the library to view.

Getting the word out and visually being able to see the final products of these students is essential for the community, administration and especially the students. Seeing their work on display for others to view will add to their confidence and pride in their future projects and encourage them to continue their hard work in school and beyond.