Reading in the Content Areas II
Class 8: May 4th
Tonight's Agenda:
- Stream of Consciousness Quick Write Activity
- Chapter 8 Presentation (with corresponding activities)
- Read about using assessments to measure and enhance students' literacy
- Discuss assessment choices
- Explore assessment options for your content area
- Course Evaluations/Grade Check-Off
Stream of Consciousness Quick Write Activity
Supporting Literacy Development Through Assessment
During Reading Directions: Read the article independently. In addition to annotations that you make on your own to help you access the text, please complete the following:
- Yellow Highlighter: Highlight strategies and/or practices that you already use to assess literacy skills in your classroom.
- Green Highlighter: Highlight strategies and/or practices that you believe could be used meaningfully to assess literacy skills in your classroom.
After Reading Directions: Complete your K-W-L Chart using information from the article. We will share out our findings to our table groups and the whole class.
Assessment Discussion
Class Discussion Ground Rules
- Read the text carefully prior to the discussion.
- Listen to what others say without interrupting.
- Speak clearly.
- Give others your respect.
- Do not raise your hand.
Suggested Questions for Discussion
- What makes an assessment "fair" for students?
- Should a rubric or scoring tool include points for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation in a content area course? Why or why not?
- Do you believe assessments should measure literacy skills as well as content skill achievement?
- "All students should take assessments written on grade level or the integrity of the test will be compromised." Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
- "Performance assessment tasks are better measures of students content area skills and literacy skills than other forms of assessment." Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Reflection
- What conclusions can we make about our group performance during the discussion based on our completed Discussion Map (on document camera)?
- What conclusions can you make about your individual performance during the discussion based on the Discussion Rubric?
- How can oral discussion be implemented as formative and summative assessment?
Task: Assessment in Your Content Area
Step 2: Evaluate the objective of the lesson. What do the students need to produce at the end of the lesson to demonstrate mastery of your learning objective?
Step 3: Evaluate your current assessment within the lesson. Does your assessment match up with your learning objective? If not, what would be a better assessment of student mastery of the objective? (Click here for a great resource if you want to check the rigor of your assessment.)
Step 4: Evaluate your intended assessment against the main points of our class discussion and assigned reading. Does the assessment that you intend to use to measure student mastery of the learning objective reflect what we discussed and read on the topic of assessment?
Step 5: When you feel confident about your learning objective, lesson overview, and assessment, complete this document.
Step 6: Share your completed document with Katie and Katie for credit.