Assessment2

Katelyn Kaufman Assessment Journal #2 March 5, 2009

During one of my visits to my third grade classroom I noticed that the students were being assessed by writing an essay. However, it was not a typical essay test that I remember doing in high school. The students were not asked to write the essay in one sitting but to rather divide it up into pieces. The structure of the assessment was for the students to initially receive instruction from the teacher, as a class. They sat at the circle area while the teacher went over ways for students to organize their ideas. They were to write an essay about a topic that they were an “expert” on. The teacher talked to them about the introduction of an essay, the three body paragraphs, and the conclusion. The students were then asked to go back to their seats and work in pairs to organize their thoughts. They had graphic organizers and they put their thoughts into bubbles. After they had organized their thoughts and ideas they were able to start writing. The process seemed to go smoothly for some children and not so smoothly for others. Some students had a good idea about what an essay consisted of. However, some did not have any ideas about how to keep their thoughts separate. The teacher assessed their progress and gave them tips. The students were able to pass in a rough draft and then make any changes that the teacher suggested. The students were then assessed on their final product. The teacher explained to me that although all of the students did not have perfect papers that met all the standards she was still satisfied. She further explained that even though all of the students did not do perfectly meet the standards their work still drastically improved. Most of the students showed hard work from the changes that they made to their rough drafts. I thought that this assessment was really effective. It was nice because it was a process and it was just not a one-shot assessment. The students had time to work with partners, organize their thoughts, receive feedback, and make adjustments. It was great because students were able to learn from their mistakes and this type of assessment was also very educational. The students were strengthening their writing skills and developing as writers. The students also felt great as they passed in their final pieces. In third grade it is a big deal to be able to write an essay. Lastly, the students were able to share their essays with their classmates which was really exciting for them. I was impressed by this long term assessment process and would love to use it in my class someday.