M5U2A2-Planning Assessments

Planning Assessments

In the unit plan of Dreamtime stories with grade 3, one of the set objectives is that students will be able to understand Aboriginal Art symbols behind each artwork.

The below three types of formative assessment were used in my lesson.

1. Entrance Ticket: 

I have a printed Aboriginal artwork hung on my board and ask a question "What do you see in this artwork?" at the start of a lesson. Students were given 2 minutes to think - pair, and 3 minutes to share their responses verbally with the class. 

I use them to assess initial understanding of Aboriginal Art which will be discussed in the day’s lesson or as a short summary of understanding of the previous day’s lesson. 

From the responses of students, I can assess their prior knowledge through the observation, analyzing, and interpretation skills. For example, most of them can relate an arrow in the artwork with a hunter or a sign of direction. However, they ignore another simple meaning, a spear. This reminds me that I should give students a useful tip in guessing symbol meanings by relating symbols with concrete or real objects found surrounding us and in nature. 

2. Keep the Question Going 

I have another artwork on the board and pose the question "What are the aboriginal artists communicating in their art?" and invite one student to answer. I do not give the feedback right after the response but invite another student to check if the given answer is reasonable or correct. Then, I ask a third student for an explanation of why there is an agreement or not. This helps keep all the students engaged because they must be prepared to either agree or disagree with the answers given and provide explanations.

3. Students Play a Teaching Role

This is my favorite technique. I like to see how students become professors in the classroom. I have an artwork and a question on the board. Then I give my answer to the whole class. This must be a wrong answer. Immediately, there are a lot of "No" going on. Then, I invite one student to come in front of the board and share his/her response and reason it.

Formative assessment is critical in teaching which gives the teachers an overview and an immediate feedback about student's prior knowledge or what have been taught by teachers and remained in students. It does not take lots of time but it decides the speed and the engagement of lesson of the day. It allows teachers to adjust activities to suit students' need and levels. It also helps teachers to measure how effective previous lessons are. In brief, without formative assessment, teachers hardly find a match for the lesson of the day.