For my summative assessment(s), I am torn. I want the students to produce their own poems about fame because we will have read at least five poems about the topic and will have studied poetic elements (metaphor, rhyme, imagery). However, students need to have practice with media literacy, so I want them to create something that deals with media. I will provide choices of "final" projects that students can choose from. They can either create a commercial/advertisement (using video if they are really media literate or just PowerPoint or print) that advertises the positive and negative effects of fame, or they can set a poem we read in class or one of their choice (that I okay) to music. They would also have to include an explanation of the choice of music selection and how it complements the elements of fame in the poetry.
I don't want to have two big assessments because it could be entirely overwhelming. However, I feel strongly about having students write their own poems, but I want media literacy in the mix somewhere. I'm planning on allowing poetry writing time in class... And, I am including a part about web 2.0 tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. How do I assess that learning, or what does that learning entail?
My formative assessments are a bit hazy because I have not planned my day-to-day lessons yet. Students will complete metaphor, rhyme, and imagery handouts that will display their knowledge of the poetic concepts and will be useful for them to refer to while constructing their own poems. I am also a fan of the "exit ticket" (as are many educators, such as this one, this one, and this one). Before students leave for the day, they answer a question or provide a comment about what they learned that day in class. "Exit tickets" are a brief, easy comprehension check. Other formative assessments will include checking students' writing journals and having them bring in examples of fame in the media (magazines, print ads, internet pages, etc.). So, I have many formative assessments to add, but these are the basics.
Although I have a blur of assessments planned out, I need to hammer out the details, and I would greatly appreciate your feedback in regard to both summative and formative assessments.
I think you're on the right track, and I agree that it's difficult to assess work concerning media literacy. What if the assessment is that students have to show what they know about media tools by completing the class assignment such as: find a good media version of a poem you like on YouTube; find examples of student poetry writing; or find a poetry topic you'd consider going off of. I also LOVE the idea of exit tickets! I may have to steal that idea for student teaching...
ReplyDeleteAmy:
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of "exit tickets." I think it sounds like a great idea! As educators, we do assess the students learning after the lesson in multiple ways. Exit tickets seem like a very straight forward, up front way to assess student learning.
I am also in the same boat as you. I am pretty fuzzy on my formative assessments as well because I do not have my day to day plans created yet. I do like the choice of formative assessment! When I was reading your blog, I did have some burning questions, "Will the two assessments be comparable when it comes to difficulty and workload. How will you be sure the two assessments are somewhat equal." Just a thought.
I think your idea for your unti plan is fantastic. I do not think it would be overwhelming to have two assessments. I believe the students can get a lot out of it if it is managed properly. You need to align the daily plans in a logical order to have this happen though. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteDear Amy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your ideas with us. They sound wonderful so far! I can tell you are passionate about this topic and the various aspects of it through your desire to want to include as many different things as possible.
They are all great assessment ideas and I believe students will benefit from any and all of them. My only sugggestion would be to narrow it down and really focus on one main assessment. I think you recognize this already, though and are at the point where you need to know how you will do this. It is so great that you want to do so much with the students, but I would suggest considering what you really want students to gain from the lesson. Is it more important for students to master the art of poetry or work with media literacy and technology tools. I think it is great that you want to integrate the two and I think you have found some great ways to do that. I think you can still integrate the two in the unit, but only summatively assess students on one. I love the idea of offering students choice in how they are assessed and different ways to demonstrate their learning.
I hope this makes sense and helps in your decision making process somewhat. I'm sure whatever you decide to do, you will make it meaningful and effective!
Courtney B.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, you have such great ideas (as always). One of the bits I am really interested in seeing is using Facebook and Twitter. Have you ever thought about Twitter Poems (poems under 140 characters) or using the Notes tool on Facebook. These might be exciting areas to explore when looking at poetry.
I would agree with Courtney, however, to make sure that you aren't trying to do too many things in the unit. The more information there is, the more chances the students have at becoming lost and confused. Make sure you offer clarity for both you and the students.
I would also suggest mapping out your ideas on a large sheet of paper (idea from Sister Mara). I think it might benefit you if you "see" the unit in front of you. Unit Mapping (I'm sure someone has copyrighted that term) is essential when the topics are still to vague to comprehend.
Thanks again Amy for your insightful review on your unit plan. I look forward to hearing about it.
My my! Thank you for the wonderful feedback. If you're interested, I have decided to have students write their own poems and then present it in a media-literate way (by setting it to images, music, etc.).
ReplyDeleteJason, I might look into the Twitter poem idea (as a fun warm-up activity or something), and thanks for the suggestion about mapping out my unit (I was in the process while I read these comments).