For the assessments of the unit listed below, I have a few different thoughts as far as what I would like to implement. First, throughout the reading of the book, I would like to have students journal on a question that relates to what we read the previous day, or to prepare them to begin thinking about the topic for that day. I have not come up with the questions yet, but will do so before I begin teaching.
Secondly, during reading, I would like to have short discussions on how Esperanza’s life relates to their lives. I am not sure if this is something that would be better to put at the end of the unit, or if I could do it intermittently. In any case, I think that daily brief discussions is a good way to assess students’ comprehension of the material and should be used at least every-other day in order to make sure that main ideas and themes are coming through.
For the final project I think that I would like to have my students make book trailers for this book. I realize that this will be time consuming and something we would have to spend a great deal of time on, but I would like to try it out, and I know that it made the book very meaningful to me. This is also something that students could do in groups if they do not feel comfortable doing it by themselves. I would then have everyone present their movies to the class.
The other idea that I have is to give students more of a choice of what they would like to do. Some of the options include:
1. Writing a scene that they believe should have been added to the book, and then acting it out. They can possibly video tape it if there is a video camera available through the school. A major theme of the book should be included.
2. Making a collage in which they include the major themes of the book, and give a brief description of their collage and how they represented the characters, setting, plot, a major theme, etc…
3. Book Trailer? I’m not sure if it would work to have this as an option if the whole class wasn’t doing it…
4. Extending the ending: Have students write what happens next in Esperanza’s life and briefly explain their choices.
5. Write an alternative Ending: What if the story did not end like this? What if the last chapter was not there? What would the story look like? Why?
These are just a few ideas that I have. I figure that I can easily incorporate the overarching questions into these assessments and make them more specific. Please let me know if you have any comments and/or suggestions!
I like your options for summative assessments, Elizabeth, and having students do a book trailer can definitely be one option. Having discussions about Esperanza's life will be helpful and constructive, but how are you going to formally "assess" their discussions? I know it's obnoxious to pick apart a discussion activity, but how are we going to be able to tell that the students are "getting" it?
ReplyDeleteDear Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your ideas! I really enjoyed reading them and I can envision them being implemented easily into a classroom lesson. I absolutely love that you incorporated student choice into your assessment. Another aspect of your assessments that I appreciated was the daily writing reactions to what they are reading. It reminds me of Atwell's reading journals that she discusses in her text. There are many different opportunities for students to share these reactions with partners, in small groups, or as a whole class--wonderful!
I definitely think that you can include a movie trailer as an option for students. My only concern is that it may require more work, effort, and time than the other options. It is something to consider when hashing out the details.
I hope all goes well as you prepare your unit plan. You are certainly well on your way to creating a meaningful, relevant unit.
Courtney B.
Your blog group has already raised some important questions; and I agree heartily that the idea of choice might be a fruitful approach to your summative assessments. Some additional thoughts to consider: Do you have the tech resources available at your student teaching site to support a digital video project? If so, might it be more beneficial if students were making films about a topic related to a theme or issue from the book, but maybe not a book trailer? I ask because I wonder how repetitive the book trailers might become. But that doesn't mean that students could use this format to develop a creative and interpretive response to the book. See what you think, and check back with me if you have questions.
ReplyDelete