A Few More Fun Formative Assessments

 Last week we featured a few creative, new formative assessment ideas for you to try out.  Since most buildings are continuing to fine-tune their formative assessment skills and to pack their toolboxes full of strategies, we are offering a few more fun strategies this week for you to try out.

These ideas are adapted from “56 different examples of formative assessment,” a Google Slide show curated by David Wees, Formative assessment specialist, New visions for Public Schools.  You can view the entire slide show at https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=

1. 3x Summarization: To check understanding, ask students to write three different summaries: One using 10-15 words, one using 30-50 words, one using 75-100 words. Students can compare/contrast with peers and/or look at teacher models via the document camera.  The differing lengths  require different attention to detail and can help you to see how well students understand the content.
2.  Three Things: Students should list three things/strategies/ideas on a 3 x 5 card or a Google Doc that a peer might misunderstand about the topic.  Instantly you can assess your students' depth of knowledge.
3.  Chalkboard Splash:  Position 5-7 individual students around the room in front of a whiteboard or large butcher paper sheet.  You might have small groups of students stand beside/behind the student who is writing. Give students a prompt, a problem, or a question, and ask each of the students to respond individually.  Their small groups can either help them , or evaluate their work . You can sit at the back and observe all working simultaneously. You can also point out unique or astute ways of solving the problem.
4. Partner Quizzes: Have partners work together to solve a problem or answer a question, providing feedback to one another. Then give them a similar problem that they must solve independently, which is then submitted to you.

These strategies are from “Focus On Student Learning - Instructional Strategies Series Book Two: 60 Formative Assessment Strategies,” by Natalie Regier, M. Ed.    http://www.stma.k12.mn.us/documents/DW/Q_Comp/FormativeAssessStrategies.pdf​

1.        One Minute Essays: The one-minute essay is a quick formative assessment strategy that allows you to gauge student understanding of a particular topic. Pose a question to the students, and have the students respond. Tell them that they have one minute to write down their response. Use questions that cause students reflect on learning and make personal connections with their own lives.
2.         Response Cards:  Ask a question, and have students respond by choosing to hold up one card from a pile of cards he/she has been given. The most common response cards are yes/no questions, but you could also use “a,” “b,” “c”, “d” cards for multiple choice; “agree” or “disagree” cards; true/false cards; math operations cards; punctuation cards; etc., cards with your students.
3.        Three Facts and a Fib, or Three Truths and a Lie: This is a great strategy to find out what students have learned about a unit of study. Students write down three facts and one fib about the  topic. They take turn sharing their three facts and a fib with a partner, in a small group, or with the entire class. Students must identify the “fib” and explain why it is untrue.