Who Cares About Assessment?

Students: Am I achieving? Am I getting an A? Do I understand? How do I compare?

Teachers: Are my students achieving? Do they understand the unit ideas? How will I change my unit?

Parents: Is my child achieving on level? If not, then what do we need to do?

Curriculum Directors: Is the curriculum effective? How are teachers using the textbook/ resources? Are our resources aligned to what we measure?

Board of Education: How are we aligned to the standards to secure funding? Do teachers have the resources and the professional development to be effective?

Chapter 4: Designing Quality Assessments

Essential Questions	Response
What are the assessment options we can use to assess the learning targets in the unit? List the 4 types and describe what they are.	-Select response assessments are multiple choice items, true/false items, matching exercises, and short answer fill-in items. There is a correct answer for each of the choices. -Essay assessment is a written response in which a student must show evidence of achievement. -Performance assessment is an activity is done and an evaluator rates the student on the performance task and a set of scoring guides. -Personal communication is the process of evaluating a student through instruction, interviews, conferences, conversations, listening, and oral examinations.
How do you know when to use which assessment format?	Each assessment serves its own purpose. Select response questions are good when a teacher is assessing for basic understanding of the topics. The essay questions are when the teacher wants a more in depth response to the question. The teacher would do this when he/she wants more than just the basic information. A performance assessment is used when a student is performing or doing a presentation in front of others. The personal communication is an informal assessment used on a day-to-day basis to check that the students comprehend the material. The teacher's discretion is used on which he/she thinks is the best assessment is to be used each time.

Chapter 2: Understanding Why We Assess & Chapter 3: Defining Achievement Standards for Assessment

Achievement Target	Description
Knowledge and Understanding	The ways in which the students will grasp the basic information and awareness of the topics for further examination.   Agriculture affects economic growth. Location to water
Reasoning	The way of thinking for an individual on a discussed topic.   Analyze each of the regions of the state of Washington.
Performance Skills	A product in which a student can get his or her ideas across to others.   A newscast of Washington State news.
Product Development	The outcome of work done by a student.   Create a timeline of Washington State history.
Dispositions	The attitude and work ethic of a student.   The curiosity and questioning of a student.

 

 

Achievement Target	What are the Targets?	Align Targets to Curricular Standards
Knowledge and Understanding: What do you want your students to come to understand and know about the unit?	Understand: -Agriculture affects economic growth. -The location of water influences growth and change. -All states have characteristics/ attributes and culture.   Know: -Capital, Major Cities -Location to water -Economics -Agriculture -Where it is on a map
Reasoning: What thinking skills will the student use during this unit of instruction?	-Analyze each of the regions of the state. -Research the history of Washington: Events, people, conflicts. -Compare and contrast the state versus the Pacific Northwest (Characteristics) -Design a model of what Washington is to you: Features and attributes.
Performance Skills: What are the ultimate performances you want to see from the students?	-Song and dance -Play -Newscast (The economics, religions, traditions, political structure) Compare and Contrast with the United States
Product Development: What products will you have them create that will show mastery of the content or process skills?	-Create a map -Create a timeline -Create a performance -Research the economy, religion, economics, traditions, and political structure
Dispositions: What dispositions do you hope to see evidence of as they work on this unit of study?	-Curiosity -Empathetic -Questioning

Storypath Overview

Coming to America Storypath:

What do they do?

    A storypath is a way for students to learn by immersing them deeper into the topic. The storypath is a complete outline of the systematic process in which the students will take to travel to America. The storypath teaches the students that history is interactive. In addition, it involves more than just history, but math, science, English, drama, and other topics as well.

What is the structure?

    The structure of the unit is laid out in episodes. The first episode involves the creation and introduction of characters, episode two is creating the setting, episode three is the critical incident, episode four is another creating the setting, episode five is another critical incident, and episode six is the concluding event. After all the episodes have been played through, the assessment is given. In each of the episodes, the structure is a lesson of its own that forms into another lesson or episode to create the unit. The structure of the lesson allows for a deeper more involved understanding.

Chapter 3: Civic Education and Democratic Values

Six Dimensions	Skills and Dispositions
Deliberation: Discussion and Decision Making	Listen as well as talk. Encourage others to participate. Criticize ideas but not people. Support opinions with reason. Weigh alternatives.
Voting and Elections	Understand voting is a civic duty. The struggle women have had in the fight to vote. The importance of voting and its effect on society The definitions and terminology The background work behind an election
Community Service and Action	The importance of involvement in the community New insights Civic mindedness The idea of being a good citizen Ways in which to give back to the community
Citizenship Knowledge	Democratic government Common good Actions and influence on public policy Rights and responsibilities of citizens
Democratic Values	Individual rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Public or common good Justice Equality of opportunity Diversity Responsibility
Democratic Dispositions and Virtues	Habits that summarize behavior and beliefs Individual Responsibility Civility Courage Lawful Respectful Critical Thinker Patriotic

Standards

Standard	Topic
Standard 1: Family Life Now and in the Recent Past; Family Life in Various Places Long Ago Standard 2: History of Students' Local Community and How Communities in North America Varied Long Ago	Topic 1 Living and Working Together in Families and Communities, Now and Long Ago
Standard 3 : The People, Events, Problems, and Ideas that Created the History of Their State	Topic 2 The History of the Students' Own State or Region
Standard 4 : How Democratic Values Came to Be, and How They Have Been Exemplified by People, Events, and Symbols  Standard 5: The Causes and Nature of Various Movements of Large Groups of People into and within the United States, Now and Long Ago Standard 6: Regional Folklore and Cultural Contributions That Helped to Form Our National Heritage	Topic 3 The History of the United States:  Democratic Principles and Values and the Peoples from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic and Political Heritage
Standard 7 : Selected Attributes and Historical Developments of Various Societies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe  Standard 8 : Major Discoveries in Science and Technology, Their Social and Economic Effects, and the Scientists and Inventors Responsible for Them	Topic 4 The History of Peoples of Many Cultures around the World

 

 

Historical Thinking	Definition
Chronological Thinking	-Putting thoughts down in a systematic way for others to view. -A timeline of the Colonization of the United States.
Historical Comprehension	-The essential understandings of what has happened in history. -An explanation of why the Pilgrims came to America.
Historical Analysis and Interpretation	-Looking deeper into history as to why it occurred. -What was the cause-and-effect of World War II?
Historical Research Capabilities	-The ability to dig deeper, ask questions, and formulate answers as to a historical situation. -Why did the United States bomb Pearl Harbor?
Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making	-The process of implementing a decision about history and the overview process behind it. -How has the Civil Rights Movement affected the United States today?

Technology Integration!

I will be posting my work from my classes on my blog this semester for my methods of social studies class and my assessment of learning class.

Chapter Two- Methods of Social Studies

Essential Questions

Response

1. How will student diversity affect your instruction? 2. How does a teacher show respectfulness of those differences in young people? 3. If students differ in their readiness levels, interests, and learning preferences; how would this impact the types of resources we gather for the instructional unit? How about the planning of student learning tasks?

1. Diversity will have a huge influence in my classroom. Each student will bring a different view to the table and help enrich the classroom experience. The more diverse the classroom is, the more the students will learn about different cultures. My goal is to have every student learn as much about others as possible. 2. A teacher can show respectfulness of the different background each student has by giving each student 5 minutes to tell others about themselves. At the beginning of each day, a student would share a little bit about his/ her background. Once all the students got through their presentations, we would have a cultural awareness party. Each student would bring a food from the background of the culture. There are many more ways to increase awareness for the students and show respectfulness. 3. Well as teachers, we have to be flexible and willing to teach students of all levels. There are going to be students who will fly ahead and learn on their own and there will be other who needs more guided experience. We need to be able to find many different resources for our students; whether it is technology, additional readings, and other resources. The planning will just need to be more thought out, better planned, and takes more time. The learning tasks will have a variety of objectives and ways to do each task.