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Ilyssa Knoblach Assessment Journal 4 3/4/09

During my observation in my Third grade classroom, the students were completing a Pre-assessment activity. This activity is about a book the students had just finished reading about a Snowman. This Activity is a having the students create a Narrative essay. This part of the lesson demonstrates pre-assessment. After reading the book, the students were to create their own story of ‘A day with a Snowman’. As a class, the students began to think what they would do with a snowman if they had one. Would the students have a snowball fight? Or go sledding? After creating some ideas, Mrs. Ferguson handed out a worksheet that used five senses, and their interests, and values. On this worksheet the students answered (as a class, and individually) I feel..., I smell..., I see..., etc. For example some of the students wrote, ‘I see sparkling Icicles falling off from my gutters’. After writing what they “see” “hear” “taste”, beginning as a class, they began to write full sentences to their story. Mrs. Ferguson modeled to the students first, what a complete sentence in this cases my look like. A creative and effective way of doing this, Mrs. Ferguson provided a work sheet of ten possible, unfinished sentences, the students should complete. Therefore, Mrs. Ferguson looked back to what the students have written under, what they hear... what they taste..., etc. Than looked at the options of making a complete sentence. One of the sentences the students could make was, “I wish I could...” Another one of the sentences was “While I was outside I noticed...” Mrs. Ferguson than began to put the sentences together. As an example she said, I wish I could drink the delicious hot cocoa when I go inside.” This sentence was developed from what the students had tasted, and the provided sentence starter. After doing a few as a class, the students were asked to make two sentences for each of the ‘five sentences’. The teacher, a reading/writing helper teacher of the school, and myself, walked around the classroom to help the students create the sentences. Creating the sentences and completing the five senses questions was a good way of starting off the students in developing their Snowman story. This is a pre-assessment activity for the students to ask questions, use their prior knowledge, and construct new knowledge. The students will be writing their story on their own, and with the class. This is way for the teacher to assess the students on what the students already know on writing a story. This pre-assessment also allows the students to engage in new ideas to be used in their final writing assessment. I definitely noticed the students to be grasping the idea of complete sentences and creative sentences through this strategy.