Assessment

When planning assessment for my students I incorporate as much authentic assessment at possible. When writing a unit I always include a summative test, but the majority of my assessment activities are authentic with everything from highly

creative and constructive projects to traditional writing prompts with a real and concrete purpose.

The following pages contain examples of assessment activities that I have created and used.

The following is the “Case Packet” that I created which contains most of the assessment materials I used in my unit on

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

GC6 Spy Agency

Agent Photograph

Agent Name____________________________________

Agent Code Name_____________________________

Character Profiles

Character Name: _________________________________________

Interaction with Alex:________________________________

Significant Plot Actions ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Physical Characteristics __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Personality Characteristics ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Word Clues

word context DefinitionClaustrophobic (pg. 25)

Disseminate (pg. 30)

Ambush (pg. 41)

Resourceful (pg. 43)

Blackmail (pg. 45)

Rendezvous (pg. 47)

Neutralize (pg. 53)

Coup (pg. 61)

Harpoon (pg. 77)

Nematocysts (pg. 78)

Debriefing DocumentSomebody (the main character in this section) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wanted (their goal or motivation) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

But (the conflict) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So (the resolution to the problem) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So (what they did to try to get it) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clue Log

Prediction Log

Chapter 4 Role Play: “So What Do You Say?”

Alex wakes up in a comfortable room. He explores a bit, showers, and gets dressed. Then there was a knock at the door and the door opened. A young Asian woman in a nurse’s uniform came in.

Nurse: “Oh, you’re awake. And dressed. How are you feeling? Not too groggy, I hope. Please come this way. Mr. Blunt is expecting you for lunch.”

She leads him to the room where Mr. Blunt and a woman with a dark complexion are waiting.

Blunt: Alex. It’s good of you to join us.

Alex: You didn’t give me a lot of choice.

Blunt: Yes, I don’t quite know what Crawley was thinking of, having you shot like that, but I suppose it was the easiest way. May I introduce my colleague, Mrs. Jones.

Alex: Who are you? What do you want with me?

Blunt: I’m sure you have a great many questions. But first let’s eat. I hope you like meat. Today it’s carre di’agneu.

Alex: You mean roast lamb.

Blunt: The chef is French. (pause) As I’m sure you’ve gathered, the Royal and General is not a bank. In fact, it doesn’t exist…its nothing more than a cover. And it follows, of course, that your uncle had nothing to do with banking. He worked for me. My name, as I told you at the funeral, is Blunt. I am the chief executive of the Special Operations Division of MI6. And your uncle was, for want of a better word, a spy.

Alex: (smiling) You mean like James Bond?

Blunt: Similar. Your uncle was a field agent, highly trained and very courageous. He successfully completed assignments in Iran, Washington, Hong Kong, and Havana, to name a few. I imaging this must come as a bit of a shock for you.

Alex: I’m not shocked.

Blunt: Ian Rider’s luck ran out on his last mission. He had been working undercover here in England, in Cornwall, and was driving back to London to make a report when he was killed. You saw his car at the yard.

Alex: Stryker and Son. Who are they?

Blunt: Just people we use. We have budget restraints. We have to contract some of our work out. We hired them to clean things up. Mrs. Jones here is our head of operations. It was she who gave your uncle his last assignment.

Jones: We’re very sorry to have lost him, Alex.

Alex: Do you know who killed him?

Jones: Yes, but you don’t need to now right now, not at this stage.

Alex: Alright. My uncle was a spy. Thanks to you he’s dead. I found out too much so you knocked me out and brought me here. Where am I, by the way?

Jones: This is one of our training centers.

Alex: you’ve brought me here because you don’t want me to tell anyone what I know. If that’s what this is all about, I’ll sign the Official Secrecy Act or whatever it is you want me to do, but then I’d like to go home. This is all crazy, anyway. And I’ve had enough. I’m out of here.

Blunt: It’s not quite as easy as that.

Alex: Why not?

Blunt: It’s certainly tried that you did draw attention to yourself both at the junkyard and then at our office on Liverpool street. And it’s also true that what you know and I’m about to tell you must go no further. But the fact of the matter is, Alex, that we need your help. Have you hear of a man called Herod Sayle?

Alex: I’ve seen his news in the newspapers. He’s something to do with computers. And he owns racehorses. Doesn’t he come from somewhere in Egypt?

Blunt: Yes. Herod Sayle, was born in complete poverty in the backstreets of Cairo. He had nine brothers and four sisters, all living together in the small rooms along with the family goat. Young Herod never went to school and he should have ended up unemployed, unable to read or write, like the rest of them. When he was seven, he happened to see an upright piano fall out of a fourteenth story window. There were a couple of English tourists who would have been crushed beneath it except at the last minute Herod threw himself at them and pushed them out of the way. The tourists were enormously grateful to Herod, and they were also very rich. They adopted him and put him in school over here. One of his schoolmates is now the current English prime minister. Herod excelled in school and in many technological enterprises. His current project is a quite revolutionary computer that he calls the Stormbreaker. Later today, Sayle Enterprises will announce that they are planning to give away tens of thousands of these computers. In fact, it is their intention to ensure that every secondary school in England gets its own Stormbreaker.

Alex: So the man’s a hero.

Blunt: So it would seem.

Jones: However, for some time now, our departments has been wondering if he isn’t too good to be true. He has contacts in China and the former Soviet Union, countries that have never been our friends. The government may think he’s a saint, but there’s a ruthless side to him too. And the security arrangements down at Port Tallon worry us too. He’s acting as if he’s got something to hide. But the government’s too keen to get their hands on these computers to listen to us. That is why we decided to send your uncle down to the plant. Supposedly to check on security. But, in fact, his job was to keep an eye on Herod Sayle. He was there for three weeks when he sent us a message that he had discovered something and that the Stormbreakers musn’t leave the plant. He left for London at four o’clock, but he was ambushed in a quiet country lane. The local police found the car.

Alex: I don’t understand! What’s Herod Sayle got to hide?

Blunt: We don’t know, but we want to find out before they are shipped out on March 31st.

Jones: That’s only three weeks from now. We need someone to pick up at Port Tallon where your uncle left off.

Alex: I hope you’re not looking at me.

Blunt: We have to send someone in who won’t be noticed, who can look around and report back without being seen. A few months ago, one of these computer magazines ran a competition “Be the first boy or girl to use the Stormbreaker. Travel to Port Tallon and meet

Herod Sayle himself.” The boy who one is a computer wiz named Felix Lester, fourteen years old and looks a bit like you too.

Alex: Wait a minute—

Blunt: You’ve already shown yourself to extraordinarily brave and resourceful. First at the junkyard… that was a karate kick, wasn’t it? And then there was that little test we arranged for you at the bank. Any boy who would climb out of a fifteenth-floor window just to satisfy his own curiosity has to be a rather special, and it seems to me that you are very special indeed.

Jones: We’re suggesting that you come and work for us. We have enough time to give you some basic training and we can equip you with a few items that may help you with what we have in mind. Then we’ll arrange for you to take the pace of the other boy. We’ll pack him off to Florida or somewhere…give him a holiday. You shouldn’t be in any danger. After all, who would suspect a fourteen-year-old boy of being a spy?

Blunt: All right Alex, so what do you say?

Alex: No

Blunt: I’m sorry?

Alex: It’s a dumb idea. I don’t want to be a spy. I want to play soccer. Anyway, I have a life of my own. Why don’t you ask Felix Lester to snoop around for you?

Blunt: We don’t believe he’d be as resourceful as you.

Alex: He’s probably better at computer games. I’m sorry. I’m just not interested. I don’t want to get involved.

Blunt: That’s a pity. (pause) We better move on then to discuss your future. Like it or not, Alex, the Royal and General is now your legal guardian.

Alex: I though you said the Royal and General didn’t exist.

Blunt: Ian Rider has, of course, left the house and all his money to you. However, he left it in trust until you are twenty-one. And we control that trust. So there will, I’m afraid, have to be some changes. The American girl who lives with you—

Alex: Jack?

Blunt: Miss Starbright. Her visa expires. She’ll be returning to America. Unfortunately, you have no relatives who would be prepared to look after you, so I’m afraid that also

means you’ll have to leave Brookland. You’ll be sent to an institution. There’s one just outside Birmingham. The Saint Elizabeth in Sourbridge. Not a very pleasant place, but I’m afraid there’s no alternative.

Alex: You’re blackmailing me!

Blunt: Not at all.

Alex: But if I agreed to do what you asked…?

Jones: Help us and we’ll help you.

Alex: (pause) Yeah. All right. It doesn’t look like I’ve got very much choice.

Alex glanced at the slices of cold lamb on his plate. Dead meat. Suddenly he knew how it felt.

Case Packet Rubric

Score Packet Presentation

4

Packet is complete and shows significant effort and creativity in its completion. This student went above and beyond the given instructions.

Student demonstrates an excellent knowledge of the material being presented. Student stands still and tall, speaks clearly and loud enough for everyone in our group to hear.

3

Packet is complete or very nearly so. This student met all expectations with the minimum amount of effort and creativity. Little to nothing that makes this packet unique to the student

Student demonstrates a solid knowledge of the material being presented. Student may exhibit a couple of public speaking flaws (mumbling, not making eye contact, slouching)

2

Packet is partially incomplete. Those sections that are done may not be the result of little effort and creativity.

There are some significant holes in the student’s knowledge of the material being presented. Student exhibits multiple public speaking flaws.

1

Large portions of Packet are incomplete. Completed sections show little effort and creativity.

Student demonstrates a deeply flawed knowledge of the material being presented. Student exhibits multiple public speaking flaws.

0 Packet is blank. Student does not present.

The following is a lesson plan within my unit for The Giver by Lois Lowry. Students write letters to an elderly person who has made an impact on their lives. These letters actually get sent to the people to whom they are addressed.

Day Five:

I. Topic:1. Use of language2. The importance of feelings

II. Objectives/Standards:1. Given vocabulary words and definitions, TSWBAT create a letter discussing the importance of

precision of language as emphasized in The Giver to 95% accuracy. [1.5.7.B, 1.5.7.C] III. Teaching Procedures:

1. Introduction (Anticipatory Set): Provide each student with a paragraph which does not use language precisely. Have them read the paragraph and record their responses to the frustrations of reading such a paragraph. (5 min.)

i. Dogs curl their hair with forks. Butter helps to make them dirty after they curl their hair. When they are hungry, they drink some water. When they are thirsty, they don’t eat. Dogs sing to each other, and when they are happy, they growl. They also wag their legs when they are happy. Many brands of dogs can be terrible owners.

ii. Then, provide students with a short paragraph about the importance of using precise language in order to give readers the correct interpretation of one’s writing.

2. Give students twenty minutes to catch-up on all reading assignments. At the end of class, students should be finished with chapter six. Have them use the reading guide in the student packet. (20 min.)

3. Provide the following words and definitions for students. i. transgression pg. 8; chap. 1

ii. aptitude pg. 13, chap. 2iii. bewildered pg. 21; chap. 3iv. nondescript pg. 22; chap. 3v. vague pg. 35; chap. 5

4. Have students pick three of the vocabulary words. They will use these words correctly and precisely to write a letter to an elderly individual. In the letter, they must include the following:

i. The importance of using language precisely ii. How language can invoke feelings

iii. 3 questions to ask the elderly individual concerning their use of languageiv. An explanation of lingo/slang the student might use that an elderly person might not

know about.5. A rubric will be provided, and students will read a short paragraph in their packets emphasizing

the importance of respecting all ages of life because we can learn from all ages. It will also address differences in language based on age differences and the use of appropriate language for a particular audience. (15 min.)

6. Guided and Independent Practice/ Assessment:i. Students will finish their letters for homework.

7. Closure: i. Have students read the closing paragraph on respecting age. Have them respond to the

questions in the space provided. (5 min.) IV. Materials:

1. Pages in packeti. Anticipatory set paragraph activity page

ii. Vocabulary and letter writing page

iii. Extra paper for writing letters iv. Rubric for letter writing

2. Definitions taken from EMC Masterpiece Series version of The GiverV. Adaptations:

1. Provide more in-depth definitions of words and pictures for those who struggle to grasp the meaning of each of the words.

2. Give students a letter-writing template to help them compose their letter.3. If students have extra time, they should read ahead in The Giver.

VI. Evaluations:1. Formative:

i. Teacher will monitor as students write about paragraph on ‘dogs.’ ii. Written letter with rubric

VII. Reflection:1. Did the lesson accomplish learning of each objective?2. How did students respond to monitoring- are they learning material?3. How many students grasp the components of letter writing; should a brief overview have been

included?4. Did students seem engaged; were they actively participating?5. Do students seem to grasp vocabulary?