Contributions to the Profession

Below are just a few examples of creative methods I have developed to assess student learning. 

This project is best used to assess student mastery of rhetorical, persuasive, and argumentative skills. 

I had success implementing this activity with a broad range of students: Honors, EL & LTEL, and IEP students can all succeed with this project. This activity was originally inspired by the ERWC Curriculum (writing.csusuccess.org), but the core task and idea can be modified and recreated for any classroom. This task is best implemented after students have had time to grow comfortable in your class and with each other (at least until November or December). 

To begin this unit, select a TEDTalk as your mentor text. Depending on your goals for this project, it can be as engaging or as controversial as you like. I suggest finding a topic that will maintain student interest, as you will be reading and watching this TEDTalk often at the start of the unit! Use this mentor text to analyze the speaker's rhetorical strategies, which you will use as guides for students to develop, draft, edit and present their own 3-5 minute TEDTalks on a similar or related topic. Depending on your students, topics can be assigned, however I had the best outcomes with student-selected topics (under general guidelines to meet the theme of our unit). Depending on the unit theme and goals, you can require or encourage students to create visual aids to accompany their TEDTalk (create graphs and pie charts to present data, gather effective photographs to strengthen pathos, and so on).

Accommodations: Some students may need to present their talk in small groups or record ahead of time for privacy.

As an activity, children's literature can be used to introduce and practice literary devices, plot elements, rhyme scheme, using evidence, summary vs. analysis, theme, and more! As a project, this format can be used to assess student mastery of research skills, reading comprehension, or rhetorical and writing strategies.

Example Activity: When my students were struggling with summary vs. analysis, I brought some of my kids' books from home. Students got into pairs and picked out a children's book from my selection, and used a graphic organizer to practice writing a summary of the book, focusing on main ideas. They then practiced reading between the lines to find and explain the theme of the book (this can be surprisingly challenging with some books! Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree sparked great discussion in my class. Books with multiple or less obvious morals and themes will better challenge students.) Lastly, they practiced supporting their analysis of the book's theme with evidence, showing how they reached their conclusions. This is a great activity that can introduce big ideas and topics in a short but engaging way.

Example Project: Having students create their own children's book is an effective project that can assess mastery of almost any skill. I used this specifically for students to present a research project. They had to not only conduct thorough research on a topic, but had to consider their purpose and audience to further their use of rhetorical strategy in making an effective book (this is a great way to foster creativity and combat plagiarism). 

This can assess nearly any writing skills in students, including rhetorical strategies, as well as Speaking & Listening skills.

Find a podcast to play for students in class (I found Seven Minute Opinions was highly effective and engaging for introducing this as a persuasive writing culminating project). Using transcripts and any related articles or passages as your mentor texts, model and analyze the rhetorical strategies you hope students will practice and model for this unit. Guide students through the drafting stages (graphic organizers and maps can be helpful for some classes, but could hinder creativity - consider your ultimate goal and your students). Depending on the topic and purpose, students could be required to conduct and record interviews as part of this project. 

For optimal results, Spotify for Podcasters is a great, user-friendly app with tools that allow students to edit and create professional quality podcasts. As a bonus, students are very excited to find their work can be published directly to Spotify. Another more simplified way to collect student work for this project is Flip.