Assessment Plan

4^th Grade Assessment Plan

Parts of Speech

Purpose

The parts of speech are the core of the English language. Teaching the parts of speech can be challenging and just as much of a challenge for students to learn. The purpose of this assessment plan is to help students understand the meanings and uses of each part of speech. It is also intended to prepare students to be able to properly utilize each part of speech in a sentence.

Learning Outcome

Students will be able to state the definition of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Students will also be able to identify the parts of speech in sentences.

Assessment Context

In an effort to teach the parts of speech, a series of lessons and activities will be introduced that will help students learn, while also having fun.

Practice Activity: “It’s in the Bag” Game

Materials: brown paper bags, index cards, pencil and paper

Activity: Teacher will write different words on index cards that represent the various parts of speech. Students will be divided into two groups and given a set up word cards and paper bags that are labeled with the different parts of speech. Teams will attempt to place the words into the correct bags. The team with the most correctly identified words in the bags wins.

This activity is designed to not only focus on the learning of these very important parts of our language, but to also encourage teamwork through friendly competition.

Following this and other activities, and several reviews of the lessons, students will be given an assessment on parts of speech. They will be given a list of sentences and must identify the part (s) of speech of the underlined word or words. Students must then identify the words as noun, pronoun, verb, adverb or adjective.

** Students will be introduced to other parts of speech such as conjunctions and prepositions at a later time. The initial goal will be to help them understand the other basic parts of speech before learning additional ones.

Category	4	3	2	1	Score
Understanding of topic	Student demonstrates complete understanding by attempting to complete test items.	Student demonstrates understanding of most test items. Is able to recall what parts of speech are.	Student demonstrates basic understanding of test items, but is unclear on most. Confuses some parts of speech with others.	Student lacks any understanding of subject matter. Cannot recall definitions of parts of speech.
Identifying parts of speech	Student is able to identify all the parts of speech previously discussed on test items.	Student is able to identify most of the parts of speech on test items.	Student is able to identify some of the parts of speech on test items, but is uncertain of many.	Student cannot identify or recall any of the discussed parts of speech.
Determining correct responses	Student correctly answers all test items.	Student correctly answers most of the test items.	Student only answers a small percentage of test items accurately. Student attempts to answer items correctly, but is unable to on most items.	Student is unable to answer any test items correctly.

Testing Constraints

Time/Reference Material: Students will be allowed 30 minutes to complete the test. They must also rely on their memory from class activities and discussions and cannot use textbooks. Since the information has been covered in great detail, and the test will not be long, these constraints are being placed on this assessment. Future assessments will require students to perform more difficult tasks related to the topic and will thus have different constraints.

Rationale Behind Learning Outcomes and Test Items

Writing test items can be a difficult part of teaching. Each type of test item has both advantages and disadvantages.  For example, matching tests can be easy to construct and score, but emphasize memorization on the student’s part.  Multiple choice tests allow for easy scoring as you’re only counting the number of correct answers. However, writing this type of test can be time-consuming to write, and must be carefully written.

The test items I chose were based on the experiences I’ve had working with 4^th grade students. Since I have primarily worked with students with moderate to severe behavior issues, stemming from various causes, these test items tended to work best. For the most part, they were easy to construct, and seem to have been easier for my students to understand. I want to make sure students are retaining information from lessons taught, and in turn, able to reflect their understanding on tests.

Fourth-graders use writing in almost all subjects. They have to write book reports and short stories, or simply tell about their weekends. I think it is important to help them build upon their writing skills not only during regular classroom time, but during tests as well. Essay items further allow teachers to determine how much students have learned and what can be improved upon.

Whichever type of test item you choose be sure it is carefully constructed to help test your learning outcomes. Having a clear sense of what it is you want students to know at the end of lessons makes test-writing easier.

HAPPY TESTING!!!

4th Grade Learning Outcomes

Welcome to my new blog! Below is a list of learning outcomes that I plan to explore during this course.

1.      Students will arrange a provided list of words in ABC (alphabetical order).

2.      Students will identify the subject and predicate in sentences.

3.      Students will recognize story elements such as character, plot, setting and theme in a story.

4.      Given a list of 10 words, identify their parts of speech with 80% accuracy.

More exciting and hopefully helpful information to come.


Test Items: Which Format to Choose?


There are many different types of test items.  As educators, we're probably faced with the decision of which type will work best for your students based on the lessons they've been taught. Here are a few sample test items that coincide with the above-mentioned learning outcomes. I have chosen four different formats, one being an essay item. Please take a look and think about which type test item works best for you.


Multiple Choice  (Learning Outcome #1)


Which of the following lists of words are in alphabetical order? Circle the correct answer.


A. puppy, produce, penny
B. arrange, artist, author
C. column, colander, calender
D. national, notion, neglect


Completion  (Learning Outcome #2)

Write S for subject or P for predicate for the underlined word or words.


____1. The boy ran quickly to win the race.


____2. My family likes to visit museums.



Matching  (Learning Outcome #4)


Draw a line to match the following words to the correct part of speech. 

1. quickly                                                      
2. swam                                                        
3. family                                                          noun
4. beautiful                                                      adjective
5. we                                                              verb  
6. teacher                                                       pronoun
7. applaud                                                      adverb
8. happily
9. leap
10. I 

Essay Item  (Learning Outcome #3)


Recall the story, "Mandie & Friends' Winter Adventures". Briefly discuss the three main character and how they met. Describe two places Mandie and her friends went during their travels.