Assessments

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Formative Science assessments
In formative assessments there are two related questions to answer
 * 1) what have they grasped from the lesson?
 * 2) how are the student’s understanding advancing to the goals?

For the formative science assessments the basic concepts come from the lesson objectives. The structure of the assessment follows the basic steps:
 * At some point during the lab, after the students have gotten some results, stop the activity, and do a check
 * First, make sure the students are performing the basic procedures correctly.
 * Is the lab actually being performed correctly? Is all the equipment correct. Are the students following the procedure?
 * Are the students correctly measuring and recording the information?
 * This first part is not an "objectives" assessment, but making sure they student are doing it correctly is a pre-requisite.
 * Second, Ask the students the following
 * Do the results look valid?
 * Do they match the hypothesis?
 * **Relate the hypothesis and results to the fundamental concept being investigated.**
 * Ask the students to predict what they expect to have as final results.

For the Curling Activity the "**Relate the hypothesis and results to the fundamental concept"** questions are Equal and opposite reaction:
 * Friction/Stay at rest and stay in motion
 * What has been the friction experienced? How has it been measured? How does it compare to the hypothesis?
 * The answers should talk about the force used to start the movement, and the distance traveled, and how the coins and table friction stops the coins
 * What was the first reaction. When a coin is hit by another coin straight on, what happens? How is the energy transfered? How does the results compare to the hypothesis
 * Answers are: The first push. One coin stops, the other continues with same speed/energy. Depends

Formative Language Arts Assessments
In formative assessments, there are two related questions to answer
 * 1) Do the students understand the concept of onomatopoeia?
 * 2) Can the students effectively apply the concept to their own writing?

Lesson 1: As students work in pairs, the teacher should circulate throughout the room making sure that students understand the difference between words that tell about sounds (scream, whistle) and words that describe sounds (pop, zip). Students should be able to use their ears to hear the sounds if the word is truly an example of onomatopoeia. The teacher should ask questions such as:
 * How would you say that word? Do you need to use any special voice to make that sounds? If so, that is probably an example of onomatopoeia.
 * (Words that tell about sounds): How could you make that sound in letters and words?

Lesson 2: As students write and edit their poems, evaluate whether students can effectively find the words to express their sport.
 * What would you hear if you were a spectator at that sport? What do you imagine the athlete hears as they complete their sport?
 * For students who have difficulty finding the right onomatopoeia word to use to reflect their sport of choice, refer to the Sound Words handout. Which words on this list describe a sound you might hear?

In Lesson 3, as students are recording their poems, listen for their expression and inflection.
 * Does the student put special emphasis on making the onomatopoeia words sound like the actual sounds? These words should especially highlight the concept of onomatopoeia.
 * For those students with limited language skills, use their recording to highlight the onomatopoeia words only. Does the student make an effort to reflect the true sound? Challenge all students to really emphasize the noises.
 * the recording process is especially helpful. Those students who are limited verbally may be allowed to record only the onomatopoeia words, emphasizing the concept, while someone else (teacher, aide or other student) reads the rest of their poem. For students with limited language abilities, an adaptive lesson would be to have them draw a picture of their sport or poem, with the onomatopoeia word(s) listed below the picture, or draw a picture of the onomatopoeia word itself.

Formative Music Assessment
During our class discussion about form we will need to talk about previous knowledge. This will include instruments, instrument families and listening for a theme or melody. I can assess students on what they write on their exit slips but also assess them on what they say during the discussion. I can also look to see if students are making connections to others because they each had a different exit slip that told them what to listen for. This information will tell me if I need to go back and review information or if I am on track with my learning goals and can move on.