Tabitha Cartwright 14.1

(14.1) Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area. Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

My content area is English, which makes integrating a variety of assessments a little more challenging. The majority of English education revolves around presenting a work of literature for students to read, class discussion, and then a means of assessing what students have learned.

Informal Assessments
1. One method of informal assessment I would likely use in the classroom would be journaling. A way to utilize journaling would be to provide students with a few options to get them started on an entry based on the reading for the day. Some possibilities for starter topics would be to write about one major theme in the work, to consider the motives behind the actions of one character, or to consider the writing style of the piece and to create their own work of creative writing in a similar style.

2. Grading for thoughtful participation in class discussions is another method of informal assessment that can be used by English teachers. Discussion is a vital part of teaching literature in the high school classroom, and in order to have a successful conversation, students must be motivated to join in.

Formal
1. Testing is an obvious method of formal assessment, and this would work well in an English classroom. Types of questioning on a test can vary widely for English, especially when testing literature. Tests can contain multiple choice questions, true or false, and also short answer to test for reading comprehension, but can also use essay questions to check for understanding of larger themes within the work.

2. Essays are another major method of formal testing in an English class, and these can be staggered throughout the semester. For example, for each major work of literature to be read, such as for a unit on Shakespeare, different essay topics can be given for students to choose from. Essays are an excellent way to test both students progress on the course readings as well as to test writing skills.