Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Write About – Formative Assessment Strategy

Read below for rationale, how-to directions and modification tips. You can find the pre-made documents for Kinder, Primary & Intermediate classrooms here.

What? A concrete tool for use in classroom or at home where students summarize what they have learned about a topic using key words and pictures then combine their thinking into a written summary.  This tool is for use with a single concept (ex. Underground Railroad) within a larger unit (ex. Civil War). 

Why? This strategy helps students with long term retention of information and it helps them process information they have learned.  It allows the teacher to see at a glance trends in the information students are grasping and then allows the teacher to fill in gaps where needed.  
How?

  1. Provide “Write About” sheet to students at end of lesson.
  2. Model how to complete sheet by brainstorming key words and drawing a picture to represent main idea.  The level of independence will be depend on your class and grade level.  This might need to be modeled multiple times, depending on grade level.
  3. Demo how to write a summary using the key words from your brainstorm.  Be sure to check off the words as you use them and circle them in your summary.
  4. To start, you might want to use the gradual release of responsibility model, first guided by you, then as a whole class, then in pairs and finally on their own, when ready.
  5.  Collect paper and provide feedback to students.  You are looking for mastery.  One suggested feedback tip is to use a check to show a student understands most terms and ideas but still has to master others.
  6. Plan instruction for the next lesson to fill any gaps in student’s understanding.  Your follow up can be whole class, flexible grouping, or tiered based on data you collected.
Modifications: Expert Groups/Jigsaw, provide template with portions filled in (ex. key words supplied) and have them compete the rest, etc.

You can find the pre-made documents for Kinder, Primary & Intermediate classrooms here.

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