SEWAC ASSESSMENT AWARD
Proposal
A Collaborative Lesson in
Six Trait Writing
using
Formative
Assessment
Submitted by
Menomonee Falls School District
June 17, 2002
"If we think of our children as
plants. . .SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT of the plants is the process of simply
measuring them. The measurements might be interesting to compare and analyze,
but, in themselves, they do not effect the growth of the plant. FORMATIVE
ASSESSMENT, on the other hand, is the garden equivalent of feeding and watering
the plant - directly affecting growth. "
(Unlocking Formative Assessment by Shirley Clarke, 2001)
Context Statement
The use of
Formative Assessment during the Six-Trait Writing process was a challenge that
both Kjna Noppen and Connie Wolf were excited to try for this assessment
project. We are both teachers at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in
Menomonee Falls, a conservative Milwaukee suburb of 30,000 people. Kjna
Noppen's class of twenty-seven fifth graders ranges in age from 11 to 12 years
old with abilities ranging from below grade level in reading, with one boy
receiving LD support in reading, to three designated gifted students who
receive daily support for their specific needs. One of her students is
African-American and receives speech and language services, and three have
Hispanic backgrounds. Kjna has been using the Six-Trait Writing process
throughout the year with her students. Connie Wolf’s self-contained third grade
classroom consists of 22 eight and nine year olds, also with a range of
abilities from below to above grade level performance. Two students are
serviced for learning disabilities, and one student is dependent on a
wheelchair and has other significant physical limitations. Two boys and two
girls are receiving medication for ADD and ADHD behavior modification. The
racial diversity consists of one African American and one Native American
student. Connie has used the Six-Trait Writing process on a limited basis
because of the School District's 3rd Grade Writing Assessment which is based on
more conventional criteria. She has been teaching her students using the
Formative Assessment format because of a collaborative learning project she is
involved in with elementary teachers in Cornwall, England. Our school
population of 800 students is a diverse mix of racial, religious and ethnic
working families with socioeconomic levels varying from welfare, single-parent
families (although less than 10 per cent of our students receive free or
reduced lunch) to affluent, white collar families.
After completing the SEWAC
assessment course through Alverno College during the 2001-2002 year, Kina and
Connie decided to collaborate on a combined class writing activity. Kina's
strength in teaching Six-Trait. Writing and Connie's experience in Formative
Assessment made a good collaborative background for teaching this project.
The District Standard which was
addressed during this project was: B.3.2. Students will exhibit an expanded
vocabulary through varied writing experiences. Neither teacher had taught
"Haiku" to their classes during the year and they decided that this
writing avenue would be an opportunity in which the older students could easily
mentor their third grade "writing buddies" while both classes
expanded their vocabulary. Since the third grade class had studied pond
organisms and the fifth graders had studied microorganisms, the topic
"organisms" was chosen by the teachers for this cross-curricular
activity. The project consisted of two lessons facilitated by both teachers in
a large, carpeted room where fifty students could work comfortably in pairs - a
fifth grader matched with a third grader. The rug area also allowed the
teachers to be mobile while addressing individual or whole group concerns, plus
facilitated whole group instruction and plenary.
Prior to the first combined
lesson, each teacher introduced the poetry format of Haiku in their individual
classrooms detailing the syllabic emphasis in the three line poem, gave a brief
history of Haiku, modeled several famous Haiku, (Connie modeled one of her own
about mosquitoes), and created a whole class Haiku together.
During the first combined lesson
in the large room, students were introduced to their partners. The topic of
organisms was introduced and each pair of students shared with each other their
favorite organisms and why they found them interesting. Connie showed students
the large LEARNING POSTER (see Article #1) which was displayed at the front of
the room in a highly visual location, and explained the Enduring Understanding
or, in the vocabulary of Formative Assessment, the "Learning
Intention".
We are learning to expand our
vocabulary.
Connie and Kina designed this Learning Intention after the
trait "word choice" in the Six-Trait Writing process. Both teachers
explained how the words that you choose can paint a picture in the reader's
eye. Kina wrote the word big on the chalkboard and asked for synonyms
that would paint a brighter picture than big. Students shared many
suggestions with each other.
The next step in the
Formative Assessment process was to introduce the
Learning Activity:
We will do this by writing a Haiku
about an organism.
We reviewed the basic format of the
Japanese Haiku together. Kina modeled a spontaneous Haiku about an amoeba on
the overhead, detailing each word choice and counting the syllables as she
wrote, sometimes choosing words that didn't fit the topic or rhythm of the
Haiku. Students were engaged as she chose inappropriate words and they
suggested new words until everyone was satisfied with the words that she chose
for her Haiku.
To facilitate self-assessment for
the students, Connie asked for important steps that were necessary in order to
successfully expand vocabulary while writing a Haiku. She wrote these success
criteria which were suggested by the third and fifth graders on the LEARNING
POSTER at the front of the room.
Success Criteria
We will be
successful when we:
1) Work together to. . .
Choose an organism to write about.
Share ideas.
Choose words together, with a thesaurus or using a word wheel.
Be creative.
Help each other revise our work.
2) Use words that are new, snappy, pain a picture and make sense.
3) Use the correct Haiku format:
1st line: 5 syllables
2nd line: 7 syllables
3rd line: 5 syllables
Connie showed the classes how to use the success criteria written on the LEARNING POSTER to check their writing progress as they went along. She used Kina's Haiku as the model and checked her writing against the Learning Intention and Success Criteria. The use of such modeling by the teachers was used throughout this writing activity to reinforce instruction.
The last step of the first-day activities involved Kina describing how partners will work together by helping each other choose an organism to write about, starting a rough draft, checking each other's writing for the correct syllables in each line, and helping each other choose interesting words. She displayed the five-step "word choice" Six-Trait Writing Rubric on the overhead so students would understand how their writing would be summatively evaluated. A further tool to assist our writing buddies in assessing their Haiku writing was the use of a "word choice" revision checklist. As students were writing their rough drafts, they referred to this checklist to guide their initial revisions. The first lesson lasted forty-five minutes and resulted in most of the students getting a good start or finishing their rough draft.
The second lesson two days later back in the carpeted room began with Connie modeling anonymous third grade and fifth grade Haiku on the overhead. These were evaluated by the attentive students against the learning intention and success criteria. Word choice was emphasized with one word from the first rough draft chosen to improve. Connie held up a thesaurus and explained how it could be used to find synonyms for worn out words. She looked up the word laugh and read aloud how many other words there were that meant the same thing. Kina added that the new word had to not only fit the meaning of the topic, but had to have the correct amount of syllables to fit the Haiku.
An additional word choice tool which was familiar to Kina's fifth graders, but not to the third grade was the "word wheel" which Kina drew on the chalkboard. She chose the word dirty from the second Haiku and asked for synonyms from the students. They eagerly volunteered enough words to fill 2 word wheels.
Each set of students was given a word wheel to fill in with their writing buddy using one of their repeated or worn out words from their rough drafts.
When rough drafts were
revised and edited, students wrote their smooth copy
on a special paper which allowed room for an illustration.
A final plenary was held on the carpeted area to review the Learning Intention with all students. Some of the self-evaluative questions Kina and I asked were: "Who helped you to expand your vocabulary?" (a friend, a thesaurus, a teacher or your own thinking) "What are you most pleased with about learning to expand your vocabulary?" "What did you find most difficult while learning to expand your vocabulary?"
Kina and I graded each Haiku using the success criteria and the Six-Trait Writing rubric 5-point scale. We highlighted three words on each Haiku which showed evidence of success. On an Improvement page, we addressed one word which needed further improving. Each student was responsible for responding to our suggested improvement in the space provided. This reflection was designed to show students that their work can always be improved even after they've written a final copy. A reflective opportunity was given to each child which asked them to choose one word or phrase in their Haiku which painted a clear picture. This reflection was based on the Learning Intention: "We will learn to expand our vocabulary."
The finished, colorful
Haiku were displayed in our school's front lobby with
a brief description of the project. Students, parents and teachers had a chance
to view our students' poems until the end of the school year.
Required Assessment Elements
A) The enduring understanding, or learning intention, is: Students will expand their vocabulary.
B) The criteria for success include: Students working together to choose a topic, sharing ideas and words, being creative, using a thesaurus or word wheel, and following the Haiku syllabic format.
C) Stimuli for this activity include: writing a short, unique poem using a familiar topic, having an opportunity to work with a writing buddy form a different grade level, and the chance to exhibit a finished writing in front of the whole school.
D) Student responses were varied throughout this learning activity. These responses include: oral contributions during the whole-class discussion, one-on-one sharing and guidance from a writing buddy, writing the drafts of a Haiku, editing and revising written work with a peer or teacher, improving a single word, and writing a reflection based on the Learning Intention.
E) Provision for feedback was on-going during both days of this activity in many different venues. A peer revision sheet helped students review each other’s writing and offer suggestion to each other. Many students met with a teacher for further revision suggestions. All students clearly saw three highlighted examples of good word choice in their Haiku because of the teachers’ quality marking. A teacher “Improvement” page provided further feedback in prompting each child to make an improvement on a single word.
F) Provision for self-assessment include: the LEARNING POSTER and the five point Six-Trait Writing rubric which offered visual guidance throughout this activity.
G) Student performance: The enclosed student work samples provide evidence that these students made significant progress in their writing. I will touch briefly on the four students we chose.
Student A: This third grade student has recently received therapy for ADHD and this was one of the first projects she was able to complete in a timely, neatly written, focused manner. The topic, short assignment, and opportunity to work with an older student helped her stay on task. Her improvement “cocoon” for “chrysalis” shows me that she was able to stick to the topic of butterflies as well as recognizing the syllable fit that the word made. She and her writing buddy agreed on her grade for her writing which shows that she understand the rubric.
Student B: This third grader is receiving LD services for reading. I asked her fifth grade buddy to read her Haiku aloud so that she would have an opportunity to offer suggestions orally. She used the LEARNING POSTER during her writing process to assess her progress. The words that she wrote in her improvement shows me that she understands the Haiku format and has a lengthy repertoire of synonyms.
Student C: The fifth grader chose an alternative word “injoys” for her worn-out word “likes” form the word wheel. It created a better picture and fit the syllable requirement in her Haiku.
Student D: Another fifth grader who is receiving LD reading support was especially enthusiastic about being a mentor to a struggling third grader. He showed his buddy how to use a thesaurus and he copied words from it onto his buddy’s word wheel. He also suggested a topic when his buddy couldn’t choose one for his Haiku. He was able to find another word for “flies” in his improvement page. He was proud of his achievements and selected his Haiku for his showcase portfolio at the end of the year.
H) Our reflection on student learning include several things that we would change if we do this activity again. We have decided not to use the five-point grading scale for peer or self grading. This activity was meant to bolster writing confidence, not to make children feel badly about their writing abilities. We did not feel it was effective in self-evaluation.
We also decided to use peer revision sheets as an overhead where peers could help each other and point them out together, rather than checking a series of boxes on a sheet of paper with no immediate, meaningful feedback to the writer.
Finally, we would do another writing buddy activity earlier in the school year to strengthen the mentor-mentee relationship. Kina and I saw our buddies waving and calling out to each other in the halls during lunch. This activity strengthened the community bond in our school. We realized the importance of collaborative interaction between teachers. Because of this project, Kina and I got to observe each other using “best teaching practices” and developed a mutual respect for each other’s professional expertise.
Formative Assessment is a strong process which enhances student learning. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg and are anxious to make it an integral part of our daily teaching routines. Not only did it guide students in recognizing their learning but it helped us concentrate on what we want students to learn, not just on what activities we want students to perform. It has helped us organize our teaching.
If our
proposal is accepted for the SEWAC Award, Kina and I will develop a Six-Trait
Writing resource library consisting of great childrens’ literature which models
all six traits. All teachers K-5 in our
school will be able to easily locate books when they model the Six-Trait
Writing process for their classes.
PLENARY
(or wrapping up a lesson)
Reflective Prompts:
I liked. . .
I discovered. . .
I learned. . .
I was surprised. . .
I think I will. . .
I never knew. . .
I still wonder. . .
SELF EVALUATION
Thinking about what happens when we are learning
Remember to link each reflective question to the
LEARNING INTENTION.
* Did you need help while you were learning to. . . ?
* Who helped you?
(a friend, a teacher, a
book, new equipment or your own thinking)
* What are you most pleased with about learning to. . . ?
* What did
you find most difficult while learning to. . . ?
* What did you find easy while learning to . . . ?
* Do you have any questions about. . . ?
* What have you learnt that is new?
Unlocking Formative Assessment by Shirley Clarke, fig. 3.1, p. 43