Assessment Plan for Weather Unit

Purpose and Learning Outcome

My assessment plan has been created for a unit on weather in a second grade class. The unit will cover the topics of rain, snow, clouds, and sun/heat. The assessments and learning outcomes will specifically address the topic of clouds and the weather they produce. My goal for this unit of study is for students to gain an understanding of various types of weather and the effect that is has on us. The learning outcomes for the topics of clouds include higher and lower order cognitive skills and one of the objectives is linked to a performance assessment.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will recognize Stratus, Cumulus, and Cirrus with 80% accuracy
• Students will create drawings of clouds that they observe outside and label them with the correct cloud family

Assessment Context

Multiple Choice Test

1.      What types of clouds have curly and wispy shapes in them?

a.       Curly Clouds

b.      Stratus Clouds

c.       Cirrus Clouds

2.      Stratus Clouds are….

a.       Flat

b.      Round

c.       Puffy

3.      Cumulus clouds produce what kind of weather?

a.       Wind

b.      Snow

c.       Thunderstorms

Performance Assessment

Cloud Drawings and Small Group Presentation

Students will spend a half hour outside on the play ground observing and drawing the different clouds that they see in the sky. The students will then go back to the classroom to identify and classify the clouds they drew into the correct cloud families. Students will then present their drawings in small groups and explain why they group their cloud drawings into the specific cloud families using specific descriptive language.

Holistic Rubric

Observing and drawing clouds

0  No attempt to draw or observe

1  Limited observation and cloud drawings with no detail

2  Some observation with slight detail in cloud drawings

3 Good observation with most cloud drawings containing detail

4  Excellent observation with all cloud drawings containing detail

Identifying and categorizing cloud drawings into cloud families

0  No attempt to identify or categorize cloud drawings

1  One cloud drawing identified and categorized correctly

2  Some cloud drawings identified and categorized correctly

3  Most cloud drawings identified and categorized correctly

4  All cloud drawings  identified and categorized correctly

Presentation to small group

0  No presentation to small group

1  Short presentation to small group with no explanation of drawings of clouds

2  Short presentation to small group with some explanation of drawings of clouds

3  Detailed presentation to small group with most cloud drawings explained

4  Detailed presentation to small group with all cloud drawings explained

Total points = 12

Testing Constraints

The students will have a half hour outside to complete their drawings and then one hour to identify and categorize their cloud drawings and work on their presentation. The students will be allowed to refer to their science notebook to categorize the clouds they drew. Students will complete this performance exam at the end of a unit on weather and after reading and discussing types of clouds as a class. 

Test Items Rationale

Rationale

      I tried to choose test items for the learning outcomes that focused on some the assessment tools that we had covered during week 3. I used one portfolio assessment, one performance assessment and one essay assessment. I also included a tradition paper assessment that I commonly use in my classroom.

      

      The bug folder assessment is a portfolio assessment and I tried to use the portfolio as a way of assessing what the students had learned from the week long unit on bugs. I think that a portfolio assignment is an excellent way for students to finish a unit and show what they have learned. In the text the authors describe portfolios as an ideal way to assess final mastery, effort, reflection, and growth in learning (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010).

      I used a worksheet to assess the students understanding of what worms need to live. I thought that this would be a good place for a quick assessment that showed student understanding and recall of a few specific pieces of information. This would be a follow up to a more time consuming project to create a worm compost bin. I think that paper assessments can be the right tool to quickly see where your students are with basic facts and skills

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      The paper plate spider is a performance assessment that assesses what students learned about a spider’s anatomy. I like that through observing how each student creates their spider I can directly measure what the student has learned about the anatomy of a spider. Performance tests are meaningful assessments because they directly measure learning rather than just looking at indicators of learning (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010).

      I struggled a bit with the essay assessment item. I had a hard time coming up with an essay item that would apply to a pre-k class. I ended up writing an essay item for a second or third grade class and then modifying it to meet the needs of a pre-k class that had limited reading and writing skills. I tried to be specific to the information that I wanted in the answer and the context that I wanted the students to explain it in. Essay questions are great for assessing more complex and elaborate ideas, but you have to be careful to write the question with enough detail or you may not get an accurate assessment (Kubiszyn & Borich, 2010).

Kubiszyn, T., & Borich, G. (2010). Educational Testing and Measurement, Classroom

Application and Practice. (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.