Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Professional Development > Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop > 8. Assessment and Accountability > 8.1 Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

English Language Arts

3-5

Assessment and Accountability Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

Session Preparation

To prepare for this workshop session, you will review the key terms, identify the strategies that you already use, and then read three articles on effective assessment practices.

Key Terms:

Notebook

What Do You Do?

Meaningful learning occurs when teachers routinely assess student performance and use the results of those assessments to plan instruction that meets the needs of the range of learners in their classrooms. Think about how you assess your students’ performance and growth in reading and writing. Print the Assessment Chart (PDF) to outline your assessment practices and the challenges (performing and interpreting assessments, finding enough time, etc.) you encounter. Think about these questions before completing the chart:

What do you want to know about your students’ reading and writing?
What formal and informal assessments do you currently use to determine your students’ reading levels and instructional needs?
How do you use assessment results?

Now complete the Assessment Chart to document the assessments you use to measure the various components of reading development and the challenges each poses for you. If you are taking this workshop for credit, save your chart for your Literacy Practices Portfolio.

Assignment

Examine the Literature

Print out three copies of the Examine the Literature Response Chart (PDF). Then read each article listed below, recording your ideas on the charts during and after reading. When you have finished, save your charts to submit as an assignment.

Focused Anecdotal Records Assessment: A Tool for Standards-Based, Authentic Assessment (PDF)
This article describes routines and guidelines for using content standards as a focus for developing anecdotal records.

Boyd-Batstone, P. “Focused Anecdotal Records Assessment: A Tool for Standards-Based, Authentic Assessment.” The Reading Teacher 56, no. 3 (2004): 230-239.

Literacy Assessment and the Future (PDF)
This article focuses on the kinds of literacies that are important to acquire and assess in our rapidly changing world.

Johnston, P. “Literacy Assessment and the Future.” The Reading Teacher 58, no. 7 (2005): 684-686.

Assessment Conversations (PDF)
This article explores how teachers can engage in conversations with students that inform teaching and learning.

Johnston, P. “Assessment Conversations.” The Reading Teacher 57, no. 1 (2003): 90-92.

Series Directory

Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Credits

Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 1-57680-815-7

Related Materials

Sections

8.1 Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

8.2 Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

Watch the video, "Assessment and Accountability," taking notes as you watch. After you watch, jot down your answers to the questions below. If you prefer to watch the video in segments, pause the video when you see the next chapter heading.

8.3 Extend Your Knowledge | Assessment and Accountability

8.4 Put It Into Practice | Assessment and Accountability

8.5 Reflect on Your Learning | Assessment and Accountability

Supplementary: Assessment Chart

Handout

Supplementary: Examine the Literature Response Chart

Handouts

Supplementary: Focused Anecdotal Records Assessment: A Tool for Standards-Based, Authentic Assessment

Handout

Supplementary: Literacy Assessment and the Future

Handout

Supplementary: Assessment Conversations

Handout

Supplementary: Retelling Guide

Handout

Supplementary: Sample Rubric

Handout

Workshops

Workshop 1 Creating Contexts for Learning

This session examines how classroom organization, routines, and grouping practices can enhance literacy skills in the middle grades. Literacy expert Jeanne Paratore discusses teaching strategies that foster reading and writing skills. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 2 Fluency and Word Study

This session focuses on how students in the middle grades develop vocabulary and reading fluency. Literacy expert Richard Allington discusses specific teaching strategies that help build fluency and vocabulary, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 3 Building Comprehension

Comprehending text is one of the main goals of reading. In this session, literacy expert Nell Duke discusses what good readers do and strategies teachers can use to help students build comprehension skills. Classroom footage provides examples of comprehension strategies.

Workshop 4 Writing

This workshop examines the relationship between reading and writing in the middle grades. Literacy expert Nadeen Ruiz discusses the connections, conventions, and inventions that provide a framework for teaching writing, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 5 New Literacies of the Internet

This workshop focuses on the evolving use of networked technology in education. Literacy expert Donald Leu discusses strategies that help students effectively read, write, and communicate on the Internet. Classroom examples illustrate strategies for using Internet resources in the classroom.

Workshop 6 Teaching English Language Learners

Changing classroom demographics call for a range or teaching strategies. In this session, literacy expert Robert Jim�nez discusses strategies teachers can use to create a successful learning environment for all students, while supporting English language learners. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 7 Teaching Diverse Learners

In this session, literacy expert Dorothy Strickland discusses how teachers can meet the diverse needs of readers and writers in their classrooms. Classroom examples and teaching strategies address different aspects of diversity, including culture, language, background, ability, and learning approaches.

Workshop 8 Assessment and Accountability

This session explores assessment, standards, and outcomes. Literacy expert Kathy Au discusses the strategies teachers can use to assess students' understanding in reading and writing. Classroom examples illustrate how students can participate in their own assessment.