Tools for Formative Assessments
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers are visual models that can assist students in organizing information and communicating clearly and effectively. Students can use graphic organizers to structure their writing, brainstorm ideas, assist in decision making, clarify story structure, help with problem solving, and plan research. These are a few of the more common graphic organizers and there are links to sites for more at the bottom of the page.
Graphic Organizers on the Web:
Venn Diagram
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/tvenn.htm
Venn Diagram on a computer
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/venn/
Graphic Organizers
http://www.educationplace.biz/graphicorganizer/
Printable Graphic Organizers
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html
Graphic.Org
http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html
Graphic Organizers
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm
Exit/Admit Slips
Exit Slips are written responses to questions the teacher poses at the end of a lesson or a class to assess student understanding of key concepts. They should take no more than 5 minutes to complete and are taken up as students leave the classroom. The teacher can quickly determine which students have it, which ones need a little help, and which ones are going to require much more instruction on the concept. By assessing the responses on the Exit Slips the teacher can better adjust the instruction in order to accomodate students' needs for the next class.
Admit slips are exactly like Exit Slips, but they are done prior to or at the beginning of the class. Students may be asked to reflect on their understanding of their previous night's homework, or they may reflect on the previous day's lesson if the question required a longer response time. Exit and Admit Slips can be used in all classes to integrate written communication into the content area.
3-2-1 Exit Slip
Links on Exit/Admit Slips:
Readingrockets: Exit Slips
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/exit_slips
AdLit.org: Exit Slips
http://www.adlit.org/strategies/19805
Writing Across the Curriculum: Entry/Exit Slips
http://writing2.richmond.edu/wac/entrexit.html
Exit Slips: Effective Bell-Ringer Activities
http://www.teachhub.com/news/article/cat/14/item/377
Admit Slips and Exit Slips
http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/admit_slips09.pdf
Learning/Response Logs
Learning Logs are used for students' reflections on the material they are learning. This type of journal is in common use among scientists and engineers. In the log, students record the process they go through in learning something new, and any questions they may need to have clarified. This allows students to make connections to what they have learned, set goals, and reflect upon their learning process. The act of writing about thinking helps students become deeper thinkers and better writers. Teachers and students can use Learning Logs during the formative assessment process, as students record what they are learning and the questions they still have, and teachers monitor student progress toward mastery of the learning targets in their log entries and adjust instruction to meet student needs. By reading student logs and delivering descriptive feedback on what the student is doing well and suggestions for improvement, the teacher can make the Learning Log a powerful tool for learning.
Response Logs are a good way to examine student thinking. They are most often connected with response to literature, but they may be used in any content area. They offer students a place to respond personally, to ask questions, to predict, to reflect, to collect vocabulary and to compose their thoughts about text. Teachers may use Response Logs as formative assessment during the learning process.
Websites on Learning Logs and Response Logs:
Instructional Strategies Online: What Are Learning Logs?
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/logs/
Writing to Learn: Learning Logs
http://www.wku.edu/3kinds/mfllmpg.html
Field Trip Planner: Active Learning Log
http://www.omsi.edu/teachers/fieldtrips/all.cfm
Learning (B)logs: Time to Give Students a Voice
http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2005/10/learning_blogs_.html
Learning Logs Online: Examples and Photos of Learning Logs
http://www.learninglogs.co.uk/
Response Logs for Content Classrooms
http://www.wku.edu/3kinds/rjprlmain.html
Reading Response Logs - PDF
http://faculty.owc.edu/CHSForumForSuccess/best-practices-reading/1ReadingResponseLogs.pdf
Rubric for Response Logs
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Mountain/9112/journalrubric.html
Kinesthetic Assessments
These examples of the formative assessment process require students to incorporate movement to demonstrate their understanding of a topic or concept. Although usually connected with the Arts (dance, playing a musical piece) or physical education (dribbling a basketball, serving a volleyball), kinesthetic assessments can be used in the core content classrooms to furnish teachers with insight into their students' understandings and misconceptions concerning a concept. Kinesthetic assessments are a good way to add movement in the classroom and allow teachers to determine the depth of student learning to inform their instructional decisions.
Websites on Kinesthetic Assessments:
Ideas for Learning through Movement in the Classroom
http://www.ehow.com/list_7793126_ideas-learning-through-movement-classroom.html
Individual Whiteboards
Individual slates or whiteboards are a great way to hold all students in the class accountable for the work. They actively involve students in the learning and are a terrific tool in the formative assessment process because they give the teacher immediate information about student learning. When students complete their work and hold their whiteboard up, the teacher can quickly determine who is understanding and who needs help and adjust his/her instruction accordingly. Individual whiteboards are easy to make from melamine or tile board which are usually carried at a local home supply store.
Links for Individual Whiteboards:
Education World: Whiteboards Stimulate Student Learning
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson251.shtml
Using Individual Whiteboards in the Math Classroom
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1064895/using_individual_whiteboards_in_the.html?cat=15
Using White Boards: Fun Ideas for Reading & Language Arts
http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/4730.aspx
Teachnet.com: White Boards
http://www.teachnet.com/how-to/manage/082398.html
Teaching Tools: 7 Ways to Use Individual Student Whiteboards
http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2010/02/7-ways-to-use-individual-student.html
Four Corners
Four Corners is a quick strategy that can be used effectively in the formative assessment process for gauging student understanding. It can engage students in conversations about controversial topics. The four corners of the classroom can be labeled as Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Present students with a statement, like "All students should wear uniforms to school," and have them move to the corner that expresses their opinion. Students could then discuss why they feel the way they do. The teacher can listen to student discussions and determine who has information to support their opinion and who does not. Another way to use Four Corners is associated with multiple choice quizzes. Label the corners of the classroom as A, B, C and D. Students respond to a teacher-created question by choosing the answer they feel is correct. They must be able to give a reason for their answer.
Links to Four Corners:
Four Corners Teaching Strategy
http://www.ehow.com/way_5809507_four-corners-teaching-strategy.html
Four Corners Activities
http://www.suite101.com/content/four-corners-activities-a170020
Four Corners
http://www.angelfire.com/ok/freshenglish/fourcorners.html
Four Corners Strategy
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/tla/collab_strategies.html#corners
Appointment Clock
The Appointment Clock is a simple strategy in the formative assessment process that can be embedded within a lesson. The teacher directs students to find thee people with whom to schedule appointments at the quarter hour, the half hour, and the 45-minute mark. The teacher begins the lesson and provides information to move students to higher-order thinking. The teacher determines the stopping point and asks students to meet with their quarter hour appointment to discuss their thinking about a couple of questions the teacher has posed. The teacher walks around and listens to the conversations taking place between partners, noting any misconceptions or misunderstandings. The teacher uses this information to adjust instruction by redirecting the next segment of the lesson. Students meet with their half hour appointment and the teacher conducts the same informal observation and adjusts the third section of the lesson. Students continue this process until the lesson is complete. By structuring a lesson in the manner, the teacher is able to determine the current level of understanding for the class and for individual students, and make immediate adjustments to instruction to assist students in their learning.
Websites on Appointment Clocks:
Appointment Clock Buddies
http://www.teamstraus.com/SchoolDaysBorder_files/Teacher%20Farm/clockbuddies_Lower_El.pdf
Appointment Clock Partners
http://www.ronnashandassociates.com/pdfs/Appointment%20Clock%20Partners.pdf
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