INTERNET RESOURCES FOR SERVICE PROJECTS IN YOUR CLASSROOM

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1 INTERNET RESOURCES FOR SERVICE PROJECTS IN YOUR CLASSROOM This University of Colorado Web site has extensive links to helpful information about service learning, a list of topics for students to explore, and contact information for agencies that are involved in service projects. At this addictive game site, every correct answer contributes rice to the UN World Food Program. Free Poverty is a world geography game in which students test their knowledge of the world. For each correct answer, students donate ten cups of clean water to third world countries. Aid to Children is a vocabulary game like Free Rice. For every correct answer, $ 0.25 cents will be donated to children in need through World Vision. Click for a Change is a site where students can play different types of online games in several different categories. Every game contributes money to a charity. The Click for a Change group selects various charities to support instead of supporting one particular cause. At Charitii students can play word puzzles to donate water and food, protect the rain forest, or provide education to people in developing nations. Help Thirst is a site where students donate water to those in need. It asks players to play memory games instead of answering specific trivia questions as some other sites do. SHOW STUDENTS HOW TO BENEFIT FROM FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS As teachers and students are well aware, assessments are a ubiquitous aspect of their educational lives. While summative assessments serve to assess how well students have mastered material, formative assessments are designed to help students improve their knowledge or skills as they work through a unit of study. In fact, frequent formative assessments are one of the most valuable tools teachers can use when offering either whole - group or differentiated instruction. 266

2 The range of formative assessments is limitless. In this list you will find some of the many formative assessment activities that you can use to determine how well your students have mastered the material under study. Labeling maps Labeling diagrams Oral questions Questions to be answered in complete sentences Essay questions Multiple - choice questions True - or - false questions Matching questions Putting items in order of importance Placing items in chronological order Research projects Research papers Self - evaluation Students evaluating each other s work Completion of checklists Analogies Teaching material to someone else Posters Booklets Portfolios Book reports Questions designed to facilitate comprehension The number of correct responses in a class discussion Completion of a project based on previous knowledge Recognition of names in the news Class newsletter Organized notebooks Restatement of material in the students own words Reading more on their own about a particular topic Worksheets Contracts for work to be completed Oral reports Formal speeches Problem solving Models Project progress reports Letters to the media Restating definitions Creating definitions Word games Puzzles Sentence completions Questions generated independently Identification of main points Original writings Classification of material into categories Evaluating material for themselves Combining various elements in a lesson Recognizing characteristics Recalling facts Using context clues Applying knowledge from one unit of study to another Completing an experiment Summarizing Expressing opinions Making comparisons Drawing contrasts Analyzing information Debating issues Constructing models Paraphrasing Section Ten: Promote Achievement and Learning 267

3 Illustrating ideas with words Writing samples Drawing maps Drawing diagrams Applying book knowledge to real - life situations As valuable as formative assessments are, however, one of the most difficult challenges for teachers of secondary students involves helping them learn to use formative assessments as encouragement to stay on task and work hard to achieve their potential. The problem that many secondary teachers experience with this type of assessment stems from the reaction that their students can have to a poor performance; often they can become so discouraged that they quit trying to do their assignments well. Other negative reactions can include defiance, angry outbursts, and other unpleasant class disruptions. Teachers who are prepared for this potential reaction, however, can help their students overcome their initial negativity and learn how to use the information they gain from formative assessments to improve their academic performance. In this list you will find a variety of ways that you can help students overcome their negative reactions and benefit from formative assessments: Many students only want to complete assignments that will be graded by a teacher. To overcome this reluctance without having to assign a grade for every paper that your students complete, consider grading only part of an assignment, giving a quiz on the material instead of a grade, or allowing the students to select their best work from a group of assignments. Other ways to use formative assessments to encourage students to improve their performance can include these quick methods: Help students correct their papers for a return of partial credit or for a chance to retest. Ask students to complete a brief self - reflection sheet about the assignment (see What Did You Learn from This Assignment? ). Allow students to write an explanation of their thinking process on various questions. They can include an explanation of what they should have been thinking as well as what guided them to answer the way that they did. Have students explain to partners what they will do differently on the next assignment, how they prepared for this one, and what they learned from their work. If the assignment has included a checklist (steps to complete, mistakes to avoid, final reminders, and so on) for students to use before submission, ask the students to use the information they have gained from the formative assessment to personalize their own checklist before they submit a final version of the assignment. Ask students to assess their readiness to move on to new material. If they are not ready, ask them what their next steps should be. Often students are more willing to take more time and care assessing another student s paper than they are their own. Use this tendency to have students help each other determine their weaknesses and strengths. Have students complete a reflection sheet (see the Reflection Sheet for Formative Assessments ). 268

4 Student Worksheet WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT? I know this thoroughly: I almost know this: I need to review this: Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Section Ten: Promote Achievement and Learning 269

5 Student Worksheet REFLECTION SHEET FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS Your name: Your partner s name: How would you rate the assignment? Self: A B C D F Partner: A B C D F What are the strengths of the assignment? Self: What are the weaknesses of the assignment? Partner: Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Suggestions from your partner: 270