Creating assessment questions

forces students to dig deeper

into the content provides

them with a clearer

understanding. It puts the

responsibility of learning on

them. It helps them to target

the key ideas of the topic, or

see where they are off base in

their understanding.

Next time you are

approaching an assessment,

flip the script and challenge

your students to create a

question or questions for

the assessment.

Raise the idea of depth of

knowledge. Demonstrate

how different questions get

to deeper thinking. Have

them create a “higher order

thinking” question on the

topic to be assessed. After

students create their

questions, they can exchange

them with another student to

answer them.

When first writing higher level

thinking questions, it might be

useful to have students work

in pairs or groups.

Student Created Assessments for Deeper Learning

Summer 2017 Volume 5 Issue VIII

Capture the Core

Inside this issue:

ELA 2

Math 3

Science 4

Social Studies 5

Learning Support 6

A Publication of the

Illinois State Board

of

Education Statewide

System of Support

Content Specialists

Th

ird th

rou

gh

Fifth

Gra

de

Groups create an assessment

rubric to evaluate the

responses. What would an

answer need to have in order

to “meet” the expectation?

They may want to create the

rubric before creating the

question (s). Emphasize to keep

it simple.

Another option is to require

groups to prepare a defense as

to why the questions were

created. This could make

for an interesting

assessment itself.

Questions from this

exercise could be used in

the final assessment.

Gather your district or building

team and attend the Lead,

Focus Connect Conference

June 19th in Springfield.

ISBE speakers, ROE/ISC

Presenters, and Content

Specialists will present key

information concerning

initiatives, policy, regulation, and

mandates

This learning experience is

designed to:

• Update and expand educators’

knowledge of current Illinois

initiatives

• Provide educators with

practical applications focusing

on key topics

• Promote sharing of expertise

and ideas among educators

Showcase exciting innovations

in education as we introduce

“Cool Schools” from around

the state

For more information or to

register, go to:

http://iarss.org/lead-focus-

connect/

Lead, Focus Connect Summer Conference

This month, favorite

strategies have been selected

from previous versions of

Capture the Core. For

writing in grades 3-5, Quick

Write/Quick Draw made it’s

mark! It can be used as a

formative assessment tool

along with providing

versatility for diverse learners.

Using the graphic organizer

found here, students will be

asked to reflect on something

they have learned through

writing. The concept is

more about getting thoughts

on paper. Students are asked

to write or draw everything

they remember about the

learning experience. The key

is to only allow so much time

to complete the writing/

drawing and not worry about

grammatical errors.

Students may brainstorm new

vocabulary words learned at

the bottom of their Quick

Write or vary the activity by

asking students to summarize

as well. Prompts may be given

to students such as the

following:

• What did you learn?

• What did you think about?

• What did you like most?

• What did you not like?

• What surprised you?

• What made you curious?

• What was the coolest thing

you remember?

your classroom. Many of

your old favorites for writing

are still available along with

materials to support

administrators, parents, and

diverse learners. It will be

available June 1st! Bookmark

the URL.

We also have a new

We don’t want you to miss the

newly designed literacy

website from ISBE:

www.illinoisliteracyinaction.org

This site replaces Writing

Matters so as to encompass all

things literacy! Housed on the

site are grade level materials to

support literacy instruction in

technology site ready to assist

you with incorporating

technology seamlessly. All

the sites have been reviewed

by ISBE Content Specialists

and offer specific detail about

uses. This site can be

reached at http://

ilclassroomtech.weebly.com/

Writing: Quick Write/Quick Draw

Bookmark Our New Sites!

Reading: Close Reading

writing and discover any

vocabulary that may be

new or necessary for

understanding. The

structure of the text is

also analyzed.

Third or subsequent

reading: Students

consider how the text

can be synthesized

across other texts/

authors/world views.

To support your

understanding of close

reading, check out these

resources:

Close Reading Shift Kit

Aspen Institute: Primer

on Close Reading

CriticalThinking.org: Art

of Close Reading

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

This strategy has, by far, been

highlighted extensively by the

adoption of new standards. It

allows the reader to peel

back the layers of the text by

completing repeated readings.

First reading: Students

read once for basic gist

and determine main

ideas.

Second reading:

Students consider the

author’s intent for

Speak less so

that they think

more. (Critical Thinking

Community)

Page 2 ELA

3rd - 5th

Inside Mathematics is great

resource that includes tools

for educators (Kindergarten-

12th Grade) to deepen their

knowledge of the standards,

aligned performance

assessment tasks, and videos

of real math classrooms fully

implementing the CCSS for

mathematics. Leapfrog

Fractions (located here:

http://

www.insidemathematics.org/

assets/common-core-math-

tasks/leapfrog%

20fractions.pdf) is a 3rd

Grade task aligned to

standards 3.NF.1 and 3.NF.3

as well as MP 2 and 7. In

order for students to

successfully get their frog

down the path of lily pads to

the island, the fractions on

the lily pads must add up to

exactly one whole. Two of

the lily pads are labeled with

fractional values. The third lily

pad is blank requiring

students to

determine the sum

of the first 2

fractions and how

much more is

needed to reach 1.

Subsequently,

students are

presented with a set

of 3 fractions and

asked if this frog will

successfully make it to the

island.

org/content-standards/5/OA/

A/1/tasks/969) is a 5th grade

task aligned to 5.OA.1.

Students work in groups of 2-

4. They roll 4 dice to

generate their “seed”

numbers. They use those 4

number to build expressions

that generate as many

numbers as they can (1-10).

Scoring is done as in bowling;

numbered “pins” are

Illustrative Mathematics is a

great math resource for

educators from kindergarten

through 12th grade. The site

includes professional learning

documents and opportunities

and the content standards

with supporting documents

and aligned tasks. Bowling for

Numbers (located here:

https://

www.illustrativemathematics.

“knocked down” by creating

an expression equal to

the number. Groups

work together to

achieve a strike,

brainstorming

strategies for

challenging numbers

which leads them to

discuss and analyze the

expressions they are

generating.

Leapfrog Fractions

Bowling for Numbers

Do the Dew

elementary standards. Do the

Dew (https://gfletchy.com/do-

the-dew/) addresses 4.NF.4b.

Act 1 shows students a single

can of Mountain Dew, a pile

of sugar poured in front of it,

and then a whole case of

Mountain Dew. Students are

left to articulate the problem

they are going to solve and

determine what information

they will need to solve the

problem. In Act 2, the

students are provided with

the nutritional information

for one can of the soda and a

picture that shows that 46

grams of sugar is equal to 1/5

of a cup. Students can then

use this information to

calculate the sugar in the

case. This task also provides

the opportunity to engage

students in a dialog about

healthy eating habits and

sugar intake.

3 Act Math Tasks have been

popular in many math

classrooms due to their

engaging nature and

opportunity for students to

grapple with mathematics in

real world contexts. Until

recently, most of these tasks

were aligned to middle and

high school standards.

Graham Fletcher has created

and shared over 50 tasks

many of which align to lower

“I certainly do care

about measuring

educational results. But

what is an ‘educational

result?’ The twinkling

eyes of my students,

together with their

heartfelt and beautifully

expressed mathematical

arguments are all the

results I need.”

~Keith Devlin

Mathematics Page 3 Volume 5 Issue VIII

3rd - 5th

NASA’s Jet Propulsion

laboratory has a series of

activities in its Engineering in

the Classroom aimed at

integrating the NGSS

engineering practices into

science courses. One fun

activity to try with your

students is Parachute Design,

where students investigate

payload delivery. https://

www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/

activity/parachute-design/

This Learner.org resource

gets students using their math

skills as they calculate and

graph photoperiod to

discover the relationship

between latitude, sunlight and

seasons.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/

tm/mclass/

PracticePacket1_Latitude.html

Get engineering with JPL’s Parachute Design

Get Graphing and Calculate Photoperiod

Weave the Web with the USDA

The USDA provides an NGSS

aligned activity about food

webs. In this hands on lesson,

students build food webs with

yarn and animal cards,

meeting NGSS performance

expectation 5-LS2-1.

http://forces.si.edu/main/pdf/2

-5-WeavingTheWeb.pdf

“Engineering stimulates

the mind. Kids get bored

easily. They have got to

get out and get their

hands dirty: make

things, dismantle things,

fix things. When the

schools can offer that,

you'll have an engineer

for life.”

Bruce Dickinson

Page 4 Science

3-5th Grade

Explore more activities

at the NGSS Hub at

NSTA.org

Teachers at Beckemeyer Elementary School in Hillsboro, IL

were kind enough to share a unit of inquiry that fourth-grade

students engaged in earlier this school year. Shonda Ronen, a

first-grade teacher and Teach Plus Illinois Teaching Policy

Fellow was the elementary team leader for the Illinois Task

Force to Revise the Social Science Standards and now

continues to promote the implementation of the new standards

across the state. Ronen has been working with Marcy Jorn, a

fourth-grade teacher in her building, and her class throughout

this inquiry-based civics unit earlier this school year.

Mrs. Jorn's 4th grade class engaged in an inquiry based civics

unit in April. This unit aligns with the newly adopted Illinois

Social Science Learning Standards by encompassing all of the

Inquiry Skills

Standards and

Civics

Standards at

the fourth-

grade level. In

the area of

civics at the

fourth-grade

level, students

are asked to

“Explain how

rules and laws change society and how people change rules and laws

in Illinois” (SS.CV.4.4), “Explain how a democracy relies on people’s

responsible participation, and draw implications for how individuals

should participate.” (SS.CV.2.4), “Identify core civic virtues (…) and

democratic principles (…) that guide our state and

nation.” (SS.CV.3.4), as well as "Distinguish the responsibilities and

powers of government officials at the local, state, and national

levels." (SS.CV.1.4).

Ronen and Jorn kicked off the unit by generating student

interest with the School House Rock Video “How a Bill

Becomes a Law”. The students were intrigued by the fact that a

bill starts as simply an idea. This inquiry was structured to be

very open-ended as students could choose to investigate how a

bill becomes a law and then try to come up with an idea to

drive change at the school, local or state level. This flexibility

allowed students to distinguish the roles of the different

officials. They quickly learned that some of their proposals

didn't need to go to the Senator or Mayor but were more

related to our own district and could be heard by the principal

and superintendent/school board. Other proposals needed to

be brought to the Mayor, Representative or Senator.

Students came up with their own ideas for change and

then were grouped based on like questions or ideas.

Groups utilized their textbook, other resources and trade

books, and

even using

kid safe

search

engines to

conduct

research

along the

way.

Throughout

the unit

local

officials

such as the

school Superintendent David Powell, Mayor Bryan

Sullivan, Representative Avery Bourne, and Senator Andy

Manar visited Jorn’s classroom to speak with the students

about their role and answer students’ many questions.

In culmination of the unit and to practice taking informed

action, students wrote letters to the principal and met

with him to

discuss

allowing an

additional

recess,

wrote

letters to

the Mayor

and Senator

Manar to

urge various

bills and

laws, as well

as made

flyers for

the school and community to advocate for the issues

they’d been researching. Their learning journey was also

featured in the local newspaper! Students could

demonstrate that they truly understood the fourth-grade

civics practices after taking the lead on this inquiry.

Thank you for sharing Shonda and Marcy!

Fourth Grade Inquiry Spotlight: Civics Unit

Social Science Page 5 Volume 5 Issue VIII

3rd - 5th

“Relationships matter: the currency for systemic

change (is) trust and trust comes through forming

healthy working relationships. People, not

programs, change people.”

The more healthy relationships a child has,

the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change

and the most powerful therapy is human love.” - Bruce D. Perry, M.D.,

Ph.D.

Check us out on the web:

Illinois Classrooms in Action

Comprehensive

System

of

Learning

Supports

Children’s Mental Health Month - Trauma

Related Conditions for Learning Indicators are included in the Rising Star on IIRC school improvement tool and accessible at the ISBE Learning Supports web site.

All classrooms teachers set expectations for

behavior, academics and general procedures

for students to follow to be successful.

However, some students may struggle to

navigate social interactions and comply with

rules and authority due to unknown factors.

Educators and school personnel can support

the whole child by looking closer into what

may be motivating those difficult behaviors.

Students who have experienced trauma in their

lives may be more anxious, worried, angry,

agitated and

uncomfortable than their peers with transitions

and changes in routine. They also may

interpret social cues differently creating

challenges in building friendships.

Academically, students who have experienced

trauma may experience difficulties in focusing/

concentrating, recalling/remembering,

organizing/processing information and planning/

problem-solving.

For more resources:

Classroom Strategies

Understand what trauma looks like in the classroom and respond through compassion, not discipline. Be trauma-informed when assess ing chi ldren’s behaviors. Is the behavior that is being seen as problematic, disrupt ive, non -compliant actually triggered by traumatic memories . Fact sheet avai lable at : http ://b it .ly /2qi34gs

Provide consistency and stability in the interactions with students. Children with extensive trauma histories may have dif f iculty interpreting safe and unsafe environments and consequently behave in ways that are not adaptive outside of the traumatic environment . Teachers, administrators and school personnel who foster a sense of safety and predictabi lity wil l choose to remain consistent in how they work with these chi ldren. http: / /inspiredteaching.org/wp-content/uploads/ impact -research-briefs -relationship-based-discip l ine.pdf

When appropriate, work with families and other supports to identify a l l options that could help a chi ld enjoy and succeed in school. http://b it .ly /2pdmIdx

Be concrete in offering suggestions for managing emotions. These chi ldren may lack the ski lls for self -regulat ion. They can’t just “calm down.” Assistance with how to calm down at: http://developingchi ld.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/

http://csmh.umaryland.edu/

What Can Educators Do To Support A Student Impacted by Trauma?

Anxious/Worried Weak Executive

Functioning skills Sadness

Allow students a flexible deadline for worrisome assignments

Provide the student with recorded books as an alternative to self-reading when the student’s concentration is low.

Reassure the student that they can catch up. Show them the steps they need to take and be flexible and realistic about your expectations.

Double check to see that assignments are written down correctly.

Break assigned reading into manageable segments and monitor the student’s progress, checking comprehension periodically.

Help students use realistic and positive statements about their performance and outlook for the future.

Adapt assignments to fit the students learning style with student input.

Create a flexible academic demands to balance the energy levels of the student.

Help students recognize and acknowledge positive contributions and performance.

Post a daily schedule where it can be seen easily so students know what to expect.

Identify a place where the student can go for privacy until he/she regains self-control.

Depressed students may see things black/white– all bad or all good. It may help to keep a record of their accomplishments to show them.

Reduce school workload when necessary.

Create an academic planner to manage assignments and due dates.

Break tasks into smaller parts.

Ask families what works at home. Encourage small social interaction –small group work.

http://bit.ly/2pYv6Ld

*University of Maryland School of Mental Health– Children’s Mental Health Fact Sheet for the Classroom (Modified)