Assessment+and+Evaluation+Plans


 * __Assessment and Evaluation Plan__**

The students will be assessed in a number of different ways during this unit. They will be assessed using both group and individual assessment. We will use journal entries, discussion, character profile work sheets, a group body biography, and an essay. The final culminating project will be a video trailer produced by the students.

The students will complete journal entries at the beginning of each class period. These journal entries will be graded at the end of each week. They will be worth 5 points each for a total of 25 points per week. The journals will be graded based on completion and evidence of developing thinking relating to the readings. The journals will also serve as a reading check.

Students will also be given participation grades for taking part in class and group discussion. The teacher will observe discussion and note the students who are participating in discussion. Students who are uncomfortable speaking in front of the class will be given participation grades based on their input in small group discussion and activities.

The students will work on the character profile sheets in their body biography groups. The character profiles will help students organize their thoughts before they have to complete their body biographies. The character profiles will be filled out daily, with them the students will be able to track the developments of Lennie’s and George’s relationship. The character profiles will be turned in with the body biographies. They will be graded based on participation. The character profiles are broken up into chapter segments. Each chapter segment will be worth 5 points for a total of 30 points.

The journals, discussion, and character profiles will be used as a means of formative assessment and gauge students learning on a day to day basis. The teacher will read a sample of the journals each day to make sure students are responding to the questions. The student’s sharing of their journal entries will also serve as a means to assess their understanding. The teacher will monitor small group and class discussion to make sure the students are grasping the material. The teacher can structure the discussion questions to address the needs and problems of the students. While the students are working on their character profiles the teacher will be moving through the room answering any questions the students might have. The teacher can also check on the student’s progress on the character profiles at this time. By checking each of these daily the teacher can modify the next lesson's Overt Instruction to address any issues the students may be having.

The group body biography will be a more formal assessment. The students will be told about the body biography assignment at the beginning of week two. They will be given the character profile worksheets when they are told about the body biography. The character profile worksheets are meant to be used as a means to prepare students for the body biographies. The group body biography will be created in class on Wednesday and Thursday of week three and will be presented on Friday of week three. The students will be given a along with the assignment so they know how they will be graded. The body biographies will be graded according to neatness, textual support for assertions, creativity, and the presentations in front of the class.

The essay is our major form of individual assessment for the __Of Mice and Men__ portion of the unit. The students will be asked to write a separate, well-developed 2-3 page essay for ONE of the three relationships given. The students must be sure to give specific reasons from the text to support their decisions as to whether the relationships are mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism. They will look at these three relationships: Curley and his wife, Slim and George, and George and Lennie. This essay must be typed, double-spaced with the usual fonts and formats. This essay will be due on Friday at the beginning of class. The students will be given the writing prompt at the beginning of the second week of this unit.

For the culminating project the students will create a three to five minute movie trailer for __Of Mice and Men__ or __The Grapes of Wrath__. The students will be given a number of choices for the theme of their videos. Their choices will be; portray the relationship between George and Lennie, show the impossibility of the American Dream, discuss/show the living conditions of migrant workers in either __The Grapes of Wrath__ or __Of Mice and Men__, show the future of what you think life on George and Lennie's farm would have been like, make a video with an alternate ending in either __The Grapes of Wrath__ or __Of Mice and Men__ using context as background knowledge, discuss the development of Tom Joad's character, or propose to us another topic of choice. The students will be given two weeks to create the video project, working in the same groups as the body biography. Along with the video the students will also turn in a screen play. The students will be given a handout with the instructions and rubric for the culminating assignment. The students will be given time in class to develop their screen plays and edit their videos. The project will culminate with a day of video presentations.

The activities in the unit will give us the opportunity to assess students as a group and individually. The in class discussion, body biography, and video trailer allow us to gauge the students learning in a group setting, while the journals, character profile worksheet, and essay allow for individual assessment. If too many students are getting A’s in the unit we may need to take a look at the difficulty of the essay and body biography assignments. We could become stricter with the criteria for A work on the body biographies. We could also grade the character profiles worksheets for more than just participation. If there are an inordinate number of failing grades we would have to assess the students understanding of characterization. The journaling activities, discussions, and character profile worksheets give us the opportunity to assess understanding on a daily basis. If students are struggling, these activities give us the opportunity to realize that and to address student problems quickly. They allow us scaffold students in ways that are most helpful to them.

At the end of the unit we will be asking students to; show their understanding of the theme of the American Dream in John Steinbeck’s works, analyze the relationships between the characters in Steinbeck’s works, and make predictions about possible plot outcomes. We want students to take the abstract idea of the American Dream and apply it to other works of literature and their own lives. We also want students to develop an understanding of characterization in works of literature. We would also like them to analyze the complexities of human relationships by looking at the way John Steinbeck portrays these relationships in his works of literature.

When we evaluate our own performance as teachers of these lessons we would need to look at our ability to lead the students in structured and productive readings and discussions of the text. At the conclusion of each lesson we should ask ourselves if the students met the objectives of the lesson. We should also ask ourselves how we could better scaffold student's understandings of the readings, as well as the themes found therein. Because we are using a substantial amount of group work we must make sure to check individual understandings as well as group understandings. We would need to evaluate our ability to respond to student issues and questions relating to the reading. By using formative assessment we should be able to address student needs as they arise. We must be able to modify our lessons to meet those needs. For example, if students are struggling with the Character Profile Worksheets we would modify the lessons to address issues of characterization. We would model how to fill out the worksheets as well as give overt instruction on characterization. At the end of the entire unit Jim Burke suggests, in __The English Teacher's Companion__, that we ask the questions such as: How long did the lesson actually take? What did you want them to get out of this lesson? To what extent did they achieve this? How did this unit relate to the previous unit/lesson? To what extent did you make the connection clear to them? What did they like most? Why? Did you help your ELL and special need students? What could you do to better support these students next time? What did you do best that you want to be sure to do again? Why did that work so well? By answering these questions we will be able to properly gauge the success of us as teachers and the development of our lessons.

__**Assessment Plan Timeline

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