keri_journal4

Keri Abramowicz Dr. Pete Adamy EDC 452 Assessment Journal #4

Fill In The Blank Assessment

In my practicum placement, I was able to observe my cooperating teacher give her students a fill-in-the-blank assessment on currency. They had been working on a currency unit which included learning the basics of money such as identifying and understanding the value of coins (penny through a quarter), as well as the differences in their shape, color, feel, and value. They learned how to count the coins using their addition and subtraction skills. They learned about coins before they moved onto the value of the dollar (one dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, 20 dollars, etc.). The fill-in-the-blank worksheet contained 10 questions that had different amounts in coins with a blank space next to it in which the students were to write down how much the coins in that question added up to. For instance, the first problem had a picture of 3 pennies and 1 nickel, and the students were to recognize that 3 pennies is 3 cents, and 1 nickel is 5 cents, and that there is a total of 8 cents. Another example was a picture of a quarter, a nickel, and 2 pennies. After the students completed the assessment, they were asked whether they thought it was easy, hard, or so-so. Most of them said it was either easy or so-so. After reviewing their work, my cooperating teacher and I noticed that they seemed to understand the value of the coins and their appearance. Some of the students would mix up the nickel and dime, but once they were reminded that the dime is the smallest of the coins and has ridges, they seemed to understand and recall what they had learned. Overall, I feel that this was a good assessment to see whether or not the students were grasping the lesson on the value of coins. The assessment could have possibly been richer if my cooperating teacher wrote a value down (i.e. 35 cents) and left a blank space for the students to draw out the coins that add up to the specific amount (i.e. draw a quarter and a dime), in addition to the pictures of the coins and leaving a blank space for the students to write the total amount. I do feel that this is a very important unit because understanding money, its value, and its appearance is crucial in the real world. The students have learned about the basics of money with the identification and value skills of the penny through the quarter. They are aware of the differences of color, shape, feel, and value. After the students master the very basics of the coins, they can work up to learning about the higher amounts of money, and eventually how to use a combination of coins and bills, which is a realistic and important lesson to be taught.

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