The following possible assessment sites are currently being used in my classroom:
1). Reading 1: Students can retell a story in their own words.
2). Reading 2: Students can make meaning from a variety of texts.
3). Writing 1: Students can use writing to communicate ideas.
Advantages and Limitations of each possible assessment listed above:
1). Advantage- they develop fluency in composing stories, they're able to organize the story information, and develop a clear understanding of the story. When students read their stories aloud, they realize the importance of their work.
Limitation- retelling a story creates problems for students that can't comprehend the story. Some students may not feel as comfortable reading their story to the class.
2). Advantage- students are being exposed to variety of text (guiding reading books, standardized tests, and literacy center work) .
Limitation- students are constantly being pulled out of class for extra literacy instruction time. Not all students can perform well with standardized testing due to anxiety.
3). Advantage- students are able to improve their writing skills. Daily writing such as journal/diary entries are more than beneficial for every student. Teachers get to know their students by reviewing their writing.
Limitation- students that use incorrect language and grammar may continue to use it in their daily writing. Not all students enjoy nor perform well during writing instruction. Some students feel pressured during writing instruction in the morning (morning daily writing entry; 10 mins long).
Questions:
Are the above possible assessment sites appropriate to use in our third grade classes?
How do we continue to make literacy instruction interesting and beneficial, with the limited amount of time we're offered?
How can we include all of the possible assessment sites used in Book Club Plus in our literacy instruction? Did you find any that wouldn't be useful?
The three Assessment Sites that are used in my classroom are:
ReplyDelete1.) Reading 1: Students can retell a story in their own words. This is used by having students summarize a text in their own words in written form or in spoken form. They do this by sequencing a text in order with only the most important general details.
2.) Reading 2: Students can make meaning from a variety of texts. This is used during class discussion and when the students are to read a text and fill out a complimentary worksheet after.
3.) Writing 1: Students can use writing to communicate ideas. This is used during Daily 5 time when the students get independent work time to write in their notebooks.
There are several advantages to these assessment sites when they are used in the classroom.
Students need to be able to retell a story in their own words, this will be helpful to them in the real world. Sequencing is advantageous when talking to peers, conversing with parents about the school day, and planning a schedule. Students will use this strategy in the future all the way through college when taking notes and setting goals.
Making meaning from text is important and advantageous for students, this allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the reading by relating it to their life, or to some idea that they have prior knowledge of.
Writing to communicate is all over in the students everyday lives, the class newsletter, news paper, posters on the wall, smart board and white board, and also homework is used to communicate how much they understand.
These are appropriate for third grade classes because they line up with the standards. It may be hard to include all of the assessment sites in BCP but more than three can be used.
The three assessment sites that are used in my classroom are also:
ReplyDelete1.) Reading 1: Students can retell a story in their own words. This is used during all three blocks of reading street instruction and when they are reading with a partner during Daily 5.
2.) Reading 2: Students can make meaning from a variety of texts. This is used during Reading Street as well because there are many different kinds of text we read together and then do comprehension activities on.
3.) Writing 1: Students can use writing to communicate ideas. This isn't really used in my classroom yet except for collecting worksheets that they write on. As the year goes on we will start to actually have a writing curriculum and begin using this as a bigger assessment site.
I think that all of these assessment sites have advantages and disadvantages, much like the ones Sheree and Jessica listed in their posts.
I think that the assessment sites we have all listed are appropriate for third grade classrooms. I think the first two especially are ones that third graders should be able to do at a pretty high level by the end of the year. These are really important skills and they should be assessed on them. The writing one is important as well, because like Jessica said, writing will continue to be with them in their school lives and outside of school as well.
The last question that Sheree asked is a really great question. I think some of these assessment sites could be hard to have in your classroom. One that stuck out to me as difficult is culture, both 1 and 2 (1: students can understand their own culture and that of others, 2: students can define culture in a way that reflects its rich, complex, and dynamic nature). These are really complex and deep ideas and using this as a possible assessment site for third grade could be tricky.
I forgot to add my questions!
ReplyDeleteI am wondering:
Will we get to more of these throughout the year or do you think we will just continue the first three that all of us listed? How can we work towards using the other ones?
I know the book gives some examples of ways to use these assessment sites in classroom, but some don't seem to apply to third grade. What are some other ways to use these?
Three possible assessment sites in my classroom would be:
ReplyDelete1) Reading 1 - Students can retell a story in their own words
2) Writing 1 - Students can use writing to communicate ideas
3) Writing 2 - Students can write for different purposes and audiences
1) My students are often retelling stories whether it is verbally or in their writing. We are always reading a large story during our Reading Street curriculum time, and when we begin a new day, we ask the students to retell the story by summarizing the events that have already happened. We also work in small reading groups every day where at the end of the story, I ask them to summarize the story. We have been practicing a lot of “sequencing,” and they use this skill to help them when they are telling me about a story in their own words. Although this is a great way for me to see if the students have been paying attention to the story, I don’t think it is completely reliable when it comes to assessing what they need to learn next. Some students are very good at remembering a few key details, but can’t really tell you what the point of the story was or tell the details in order.
2) Because we practice “Daily 5” every day, my students do get a lot of individual writing time. We ask them to write about a number of different topics, and if they are ever “stuck” and don’t know what to write, we have a list posted in the classroom for them to brainstorm or piggyback off of. The students are also practicing their writing and communicating ideas in their reading worksheets/homework, and pretty much every subject, too! Although the students are writing to communicate their ideas, I think that our writing should be more structured at times so that we can better assess their thoughts, their style, conventions, etc.
3) Again, my students usually practice their writing during “Daily 5” time and here, they are writing for different purposes and audiences. On our list of writing topics, we ask them to write creative, made-up stories, write letters to people they love, write songs or poems, tell us about their dreams or their upcoming weekend, and so much more. Because all of this writing is so different, the students are able to write for different purposes and also audiences. Writing for different purposes is showing me how versatile the students are in their writing and progress, but we do not check for their grammar, spelling and ideas as much as we should.