Activity 3: Pre-Assessment for Differentiation

Pre-assessment are designed for ways to better understand and modify teaching methods that is optimal for the students.  Every student is different in their own way, and differentiating helps teachers and students learn the skills and knowledge in the best way possible. 

A teacher can use pre-assessment to know which students are capable of advancing to the next unit.  The teacher can group certain students together with similar skill levels, and can also adjust the lesson plan and teaching methods to meet the students’ strengths and needs.

Let’s just say we are doing a topic of “Desert” for my grade 1 kids.

Pre-assessing the students

I have several ways of doing this:

1.       Having a chat with them 1 on 1

2.       Doing a simple worksheet to see if they can name the desert plants and animals

3.       Have them write a very simple sentence or some words related to desert

4.       Show a video about the desert and ask them to raise their hands to see what they know

5.       Flash cards and props if available

6.       Brainstorm or mind mapping in a group

Class Routine

During the 3 minute attendance time, for my grade 1 kids, I use class dojo to motivate them and participate with the activity.  Unfortunately, the avatars do not look anything like desert animals but they can use their imaginations.  And so, I ask the students “What does Sarah’s avatar look like?” and “Frankie’s?” and they would all name some desert animals.

I would have decorated my class with many desert plants and animals and have them guess which is what and what is special about it.  We would choose other decorations the next day. 

My co-teacher and I would model a plant or animal have the students guess what it is. 

There is a poster at the back of the classroom and any student can draw anything related to desert. 

Class Grouping and Worksheets

Low level – They can draw any plant or animal about the desert.

Mid level – They can draw and name the plant or animal if they can.

High level – They can draw, and write a sentence about their drawing. 

Some activities and teaching strategies

-          I use sing along songs, short stories with colourful pictures, and videos about desert.

-          Determine which students have a low, mid, and high knowledge about desert knowledge.

-          I like to group students with same interests, who likes camels? Who likes cactuses? Who likes snakes?

-          I could have my co-teacher focus on the lower level, while I focus on the mid and high level students after we have differentiated, because this helps students get more out of the lesson

Personal Pre-assessment Rubrics

          Reading & Writing & Listening Rubrics

Grade   1	D Developing	Q Qualified	G Good	E Excellent
Reading	Able to read some letters, 0 -1 sight word, and has difficulty understanding the content	Able to read some letters, 1 sight word, and comprehends the content	Able to read a sentence, 2 – 3 sight words, and comprehends the content and grammar structure	Able to read full sentences, all sight words, and comprehends all grammar structure
Writing	Writes 0 or 1 word, cannot spell sight words, or use beginning sounds	Writes some words, and comprehensible, and can spell 1 – 2 sight words	Writes a sentence, subject and verb, a capital and punctuation mark, and sight words	Writes a complete sentence, subject verb, adjective or modifier.  Sentence begins with a capital, a period, legible handwriting, use phonetic spelling, and spelled sight words correctly
Listening	Is not able to follow instructions and continuously asks them to be repeated.	Has difficulty following instructions and asks many of them to be repeated.	Able to follow most instructions clearly but asks 1-2 of them to be repeated.	Able to follow instructions clearly without needing it to be repeated.

 

Lesson Plan

Grade:___ Grade 1_____Teacher:_____Andy______	Week: ______8______No. of lessons:______5_____
Key questions: Is the desert hot? What are some desert plants?                                                        What are some desert animals?                                                         Where are the deserts around the world? Do you want to live in the desert? objective/s: -Discuss the theme -SWBAT use oral vocabulary words “desert” theme -SWBAT write the words about desert and other reviewed words -Ask questions; compare and contrast -SWBAT point and read simple words related to the theme -Listen and respond to a fable -Listen to and share information -SWBAT use letter knowledge to write letters in a word web and brainstorm on their IPads -	Assessment: (activity, worksheet, observation…) use tracing worksheets and blank sheets to observe their writing skills observe how the students repeat he target languages observe their reading abilities and vocabulary words          assess if they can answer some questions like “Where do camels live? What is the temperature in the desert? Input grades and comments in the computer
Teacher Input (5-10 mins):     Introduce the book title, author and point to the children and map. Point to and say the target word language. Draw or use IPads to make a word web and guide students to read aloud Read and review the meaning of “desert” with storybooks and class activities	Materials needed (including text tiles, w/s, flashcards, videos…etc) Youtube videos to see how animals live in the desert in different countries, laptop connected to overhead projector Use the book “Desert Animals”, “Desert Plants” Use the projector to show how to make a picture web, IPads for students
	Vocabulary:   review previous words
Guided Practice: (estimated time_____5________) Teachers demonstrate how to read the story books Teachers will use the overhead to show how to write the target letters and words Introduce some videos and flashcards that relates to Friends Use the overhead to review the “desert” word and help students write a basic sentence “ I like camels” Review  the word and meaning of desert animals and plants by modeling and using classmates Teachers will demonstrate how to write a word web and brainstorm	HW: (please attach to this form)  Homework sheet about friends
Independent Practice: (estimated time:____5____ ) Teacher ask: what is a camel and how does it live? How do you write “Desert” and target vocabulary Who do you “Like”?  They can answer “I like snakes” Can you live in the desert? What is your favorite animal? What is your favorite plant?	Journal entry/ies: Students can draw a picture of their favorite plant or animal Students can write a word web about desert anchor activity: The attendance, on-line Class Dojo

In the start of the lesson, I will show a video about the desert and other related plants and animals.  Students were paying attention to the video and few distracted with other things. 

I would use IPads to get the students motivated and started brainstorming with other students.  Meanwhile, I would also write good ideas on the board to help assist some students. 

I would a projector to show everyone all the great ideas being shared, and the projector was easy to operate and helped the students a lot.  

I would also use flashcards on the projector as well, so that all students can see clearly.

Later, I would ask all the students to take out here folders and complete their worksheets.  My co-teacher and I would later walk around and grade them on their behavior and effort in class by uploading them into the laptop. 

Sandra would also use Class Dojo, an on-line program that helps grade the students’ performance.

Mind Map

Student groups and work stations

I will probably only be able to handle 2 work stations; while, my co-teacher handles 1. 

The first work station would be to use flash cards to name some desert plants and animals.  Later, they can draw and name their items on their posters.  Books are available for the students to use. 

The second work station would be to use their IPads and surf the internet to research a little more in detail.  The teacher will assist whenever necessary.  Later, they can draw and write a full sentence on their posters. 

The last work station would be handled by my co-teacher.  She will use the laptop and projector to show various plants and animals, and just talk about it.  Later, students can just draw whatever they wish that is related to the unit. 

Learning experiences

Overall, students will be able to learn in various ways and hopefully can retain all the information in class. 

1.       Drill and practice: My co-teacher and I like to use activities like “I do, we do, and you do” They students can later do it in their own groups.  Flash cards are useful, and fun worksheets are also nice for kids to practice and be engaged with the class.

2.       Reinforcement: Practice makes perfect, and so, teachers should always use various methods to have a little review and reminder to help students.  Class dojo in the beginning of class, classroom decorations, and last minute questions. 

3.       Developmental: Once students get the general idea of what desert plants and animals are, they can now expand their knowledge and are able to expand from there.  I would use various worksheets and activities over the course of the week and help them learn new concepts and knowledge about deserts. 

Citations

Website title: WKU, Renaissance Teacher Work Samples Consortium

URL: http://www.wku.edu/rtwsc/exemplars.php

Website title: Differentiation: It Starts with Pre-Assessment

URL: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec13/vol71/num04/Differentiation@_It_Starts_with_Pre-Assessment.aspx

Website title: Assessing Prior Knowledge

URL: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/priorknowledge.html

Website title: Pre-Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom

URL: http://www.diffcentral.com/examples/brighton_preassess.pdf