1. Why Formative Assessment? Cory Leigh Nevill Literacy Specialist k-12 Brandon School Division Adolescent Literacy Summit 2015

2. Formative Assessment Assessment during the learning that provides the teacher, and student, with information about student understanding ;also knonw as assessment for learning.

3. Powerful Instructional Strategies The research based strategies, proven to have a significant, positive and demonstrable impact on student achievement.

4. What will be focus on today? Based on the list by Karen Hume as adapted from Maranao et al we will focus on: ◦ Summarizing ◦ Visual representation ◦ Vocabulary work

5. But what about engagement? It can be hard to fit in pre-assessment, “checking up” and also make sure that you are engaging the students Cory’s aha moment – find activating activities that will give you both some formative assessment information and will also enage the students!

6. Quickwrites Quickwrites are a powerful activator for a variety of reasons, and they require minimal prep To provide information as a formative assessment try asking students to use the precise and correct vocabulary that is in use the unit or area of study. We are going to try it with the topic “Curling” Double word score for any use of precise language

7. What do you learn? The words they already know The ones they have no clue The words they misunderstand Check at various times in the unit to see whre they are at Ask students to assess their own use, which words did they often, never, hardly or incorrectly use.

8. Practicing with vocabulary Choose 9 vocabulary words that are important for your area of studny. Using index cards and a pocket chart, ask students as they come into the room to choose two words and draw a connection between the two – maybe a couple of students each day as they walk in Continue to do this throughout the unit and maybe throw in a quickwrite, and you will see where they are understanding by their choice of words, the level of connection they can make and how much difficulty they have making that connection.

9. Summarizing Summarizing is one of the most crucial skills students need, particularly from the middle years into senior years. Students have a very hard time choosing the important pieces of information so you either get the most long winded summary ever, that leaves out a couple of “ands” or random unconnected facts

10. Six to ten word summaries The game like aspect of 6-10 word summaries engages kids in the process of winnowing down but keeping the crucial facts. I usually scaffold this by having them do it with a favourite movie or television show that everyone in the class would know or have them all do a well known story like Cinderella. Let’s try that now

11. What do you learn? Who has trouble shortening up, who has trouble seeing connections, who can do it easily I always ask the students to reflect on how they decided what to include in the summary of what is familiar to help them see how they can do it with the less familiar,

12. Non-linguigistic representation One of my major concerns has always been that we ask students to demonstrate their understanding by writing about it. What about the kid who has great understanding but struggles to write. Visual representations can demonstrate a student’s understanding at a deep level I think teachers don’t like to offer this strategy because “we” tend not to be good at it and are good at writing

13. Let’s try it Choose a favourite movie and then choose one character What symbol could you give of that character, either by drawing it or finding the actual object Give example of Finding Forrester Other examples: sociograms, story maps, literadry weaving…

14. Wjat do you learn? Students abilities without writing as a hurdle Depth of understanding Whether students are achieving higher level or beyond and about the text comprehension

15. What else works? Graphic organizers Conferencing What do you use?