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Here is the cast of A Doll's House at South San Francisco High School. The show will be up in Late October. I will send more information for anyone is interested in see this production. Hope all is well everyone!

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Gee I wonder who this could be😂😂

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yeayyy

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"Go where you are celebrated, not where you're tolerated!"

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"Go where you are celebrated, not where you're tolerated!"

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- Donna Altes

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Composers Authentic Assessments!

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Alternative Assessments in the Math Classroom

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Alternative Assessments in the Math Classroom

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Almost done!!!

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South San Francisco High School's spring musical directed by Michael. This is behind the scenes created by one of my students.

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Little Shop of Horrors Ending Comparison

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Behind the Scenes: Little Shop of Horrors

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A summation of my experience with the Little Shop of Horrors cast. ❤️ If you don't see yourself in this video, it's because I suck at gathering photos and videos but know that I still love you just as much! Keep the drama department spicy. Skid Row (Downtown) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBS7urRovlo

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Curriculum and Common Core-based activities

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Curriculum and Common Core-based activities

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Pre-K through 8th grades with Pre-calculus, geometry, algebra 1 and 2.

This site also offers activities from varied subjects (Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies)

+++Common Core Standards are also included in a separate tab. :)

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Discover thousands of math skills covering pre-K to 12th grade, from counting to calculus, with infinite questions that adapt to each student’s level.

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World's most popular online marketplace for original educational resources with more than four million resources available for use today.

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About us

Founded in 2000 by a high school teacher in the Bronx, DonorsChoose empowers public school teachers from across the country to request much-needed materials for their students. Right now there are thousands of teacher requests that you can help bring to life with a gift of any amount.
Read the story

Support teachers and students with a

Monthly Donation

Choose a new project every month.

We'll charge you once a month, and you handpick the projects you want to support. No time to pick? We'll use your donation to help an urgent teacher request.
Support teachers monthly

Transparency & Efficiency

We know that you care about how effectively your donation is being used. That's why we show you how every dollar was spent, how you made a difference, and how grateful the students and teachers are!

We've received the highest possible ratings from:
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The most trusted classroom funding site for teachers

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by teachers, donors, administrators, and partner organizations across the country.
Learn how to get funded

Looking to help out? There are thousands of exciting teacher requests that would benefit from a donation of any size!
Find a request to support

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DonorsChoose: Support a classroom. Build a future.

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DonorsChoose connects teachers in high-need communities with donors who want to help.

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Good Tidings has built or renovated over 170 youth athletic facilities in low-income communities.

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Philanthropic Ventures Foundation - Creative, Responsive, Unorthodox, Hands On Grantmaking.

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1. Individual white boards
2. Stenographer notebooks
3. Spinner and other Kagan aids
Parent Club
Mini grants from local association
Community Foundation
County Office has suppliesand monies
GoFundME

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Creative Educator

A free source of strategies to foster creativity, and integrate technology into the classroom.

Pics4Learning

A curated, copyright-friendly image library that is safe and free for education.

Rubric Maker

Create custom rubrics for your classroom.

Wixie

An online platform where students share what they know through their writing, their voice, and their art.

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Creative Educator A free source of strategies to foster creativity, and integrate technology into the classroom. Pics4Learning A curated, copyright-friendly image library that is safe and free for education. Rubric Maker Create custom rubrics for your classroom. Wixie An online platform where students share what they know through their writing, their voice, and their art.

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I use this in my classroom all the time.

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At the Folger Shakespeare Library, we're proud to work alongside teachers from across the country to develop engaging, effective tools for teaching and learning Shakespeare and other complex texts.

The Folger approach

Our approach to education:

Connects students with Shakespeare's language head on, so that they own the plays and everything in them.

Builds on that foundation with elements of performance and scholarship, at a level and in a way that only the Folger Shakespeare Library can.

Supports all students in reading closely, asking good questions, citing textual evidence, and benefiting from lasting relationships with words and ideas.

To learn more about how we're helping teachers promote and assess deep learning, take a look at our teaching philosophy and statement on the Common Core-or visit T eaching Shakespeare, our blog for teachers.

The Folger's teaching modules offer a road map for using the Folger approach in the classroom. Try a teaching module and see for yourself how powerful this kind of learning can be!

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At the Folger Shakespeare Library, we're proud to work alongside teachers from across the country to develop engaging, effective tools for teaching and learning Shakespeare and other complex texts. Our approach to education: Connects students with Shakespeare's language head on, so that they own the plays and everything in them.

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http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/portfolios.htm

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Share the first five pages with your math teachers

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This  is a resource for songs to use in a wide variety of subject areas.
There are links to tracks and CDs for download.

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Children's Songs and Educational Music for preschool, elementary, middle and high school. Lyrics, mp3 downloads, DVDs and CDs.

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Good music research place.

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Delivering music since 1876. JW Pepper ® is your sheet music store for band, orchestra and choral music, piano sheet music, worship songs, songbooks and more. Download and buy printable sheet music online at JW Pepper. ®

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Glad to be done, but will miss you all....

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Glad to be done, but will miss you all....

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Apps That Rise to the Top: Tested and Approved By Teachers

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Apps That Rise to the Top: Tested and Approved By Teachers

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Really good list from KQED

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Book Creator is only available for iPads, allowing kids to easily create their own iBook by importing images, multimedia, text, and audio. Its simplicity makes it good for kids of all ages. Even though it has been around for quite some time, some educators still call it their number-one tool. One downside is that the output can only be viewed on iOS devices.

Tellagami is a tool to share quick animated messages. Users pick a character, record an audio message or type text and send it to someone else. It can be used in conjunction with other tools to make it even more powerful.

ExplainEverything is another tool for creating video like tutorials. Students or teachers can take photos or images, annotate them, record voices over them and explain different concepts that way. It could be good for giving students directions or for having students explain what they've learned.

Haiku Desk is a free presentation tool with many themes and Creative Commons images to choose from. Users can import photos, make charts, and generally tailor a presentation to their own style.

SlideIdea is another tool that allows teachers and students to make presentations come alive. The tool allows users to embed polls, annotate slides, and add audio recordings over images or text on a slide. "The thing about iPads and iPhones is they have cameras and microphones so we should use them," Luhtala said. "The idea is to embed the world you are experiencing in your presentation." This app is free.

Knowmia is a free presentation tool alternative to ShowMe or ExplainEverything. While these tools have similar functionalities, some teachers see them as progressing in sophistication with ScreenChomp best for elementary school teachers, ShowMe a good choice for middle school, and ExplainEverything a better option for high school students. Knowmia includes a class roster list and some learning management system functions in addition to the presentation tools.

ReadWriteThink Timeline allows students to arrange work sequentially. "It used to be that you would have to finish your task online before you could stop or you would lose it and now you can store it," Luhtala said of the updated version.
VIDEO TOOLS
iMovie is still the preferred tool for many teachers using school issued iPads or other Apple products in their classrooms. It comes preloaded on the devices, is a powerful tool and can be used in conjunction with other apps like Green Screen or Tellagami.

Green Screen is an app that allows students to combine recorded video footage with a background of their choice ($2.99). The weatherman standing in front of a map is a good example of the green screen effect. Many educators report using it in conjunction with other video apps.

iStopMotion is a fairly simple tool for creating animated videos. Students can record or import audio and match it up to their visuals. One teacher used this app in conjunction with Aurasma to create a live diorama in the library. It's pricier than most education apps at $9.99

CrowdFlik is a free app that allows a group of people observing the same event from multiple perspectives to combine all their photos or video footage together. Users upload all the collected footage and CrowdFlik stores it in the cloud. Then users can edit the media clips together into a video containing multiple viewpoints or perspectives of the same event.

Koma Koma is a simple stop-motion animation tool. It only has four commands -- shoot, delete, play and save -- so kids can focus on the content without having to worry about complicated controls. One teacher asked her students to use the app to record music videos that include claymation and collage. The simplicity allows for lots of creativity, and it's free.

VideoScribe is another, more expensive, way to create animated videos. It replicates the stop motion fast note taking style that has become popular in advertisements or when explaining things. The British app is available under a licensing fee of 16 pounds per month.
PHOTO EDITING
Pixlr Editor and Pixlr Express allow for free, easy photo editing and fun filters and overlays respectively.

SnapSpeed is a free photo editing tool which, in conjunction with a camera phone, lets a user select a part of a photo and highlight that without discoloring the rest of the person. It's a good way to call attention to different parts of a photo.
AUGMENTED REALITY
Aurasma is one of the most popular augmented reality tools and it's free. It allows teachers to "tag" physical objects with videos, animations or 3D scenes so that if a student hovers over the object with their mobile device they'll see the attachment. In Luhtala's school students record videos of their excitement about different books in the library and attach them to different books. Students looking for something to read can get a direct recommendation from a classmate.

Another librarian made a claymation video and attached it to a diorama in the library. When students scanned the diorama using Aurasma, they watched it come to life.

Chromville is a free app that is part augmented reality experience and part game. Focused on younger students, it's centered around a world in a galaxy far away where the colors are fading. Students download a blank coloring page, fill it in with color and then hover over the images to make them come to life.
READING ENGAGEMENT
BiblioNasium is not a mobile app (yet) but Luhtala finds it to be a great way for younger kids to engage socially around reading. Similar to GoodReads, but aimed at a younger audience, the platform allows teachers to pose reading challenges in a set time period. Students can add books they've read and post reviews. Some librarians have found this gamification approach can make reading more fun and can inspire young readers.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Subtext allows teachers to upload PDFs and embed questions to help students be close readers and understand point of view: "This has been the one thing that has wowed our English department to get them on board with iPads," Luhtala said. The department is using it in single articles, to compare to articles and with e-books. It also prompts readers to write comments at the end of each chapter, creating a reading journal. It is free.

StripDesigner lets students become comic book writers using their own photos and templates available within the app. Student can write text bubbles, place them in the frame and create color gradients for added effect. The app costs $2.99.

Kidblog offers a free, safe place for younger students to blog. Teachers have control over all the publishing features and student blog entries are private by default. Despite the sanitized environment, many teachers feel their student write better for the larger class audience than they do when they know only a teacher will read their work.

Poems By Heart is a game to help students memorize classic poetry. While many teachers are moving away from memorization as the most important skill in the classroom, it can be fun for brain training.

Poetry, a free app made by the Poetry Foundation, is a wheel that spits out a poem. Luhtala likes it because it's a way to broaden students' thinking about what kinds of poetry they like and gives them access to a wide range of poetry in different styles.
COMMENTING TOOLS
Ask3 is a tool for quickly sharing text and audio between teachers and students. It allows a user to turn an iPad into a whiteboard, record voice and text to either ask a question or get feedback. It's a good way to have an interactive conversation with another student in the class. Students sometimes send Luhtala an Ask3 video and she can record comments or annotate and send it right back.

Join.me allows educators to screen share with students so both parties can control the same desktop. "We're trying to offer online services to students at night when they're doing they're homework," Luhtala said. This tool has allowed her easy access to the problem a student is working through. She also likes it because it's easy to set up accounts for students. There are free and pro versions, but for education uses free offers lots of useful tools.

PDF Expert is an app that allows students to annotate, highlight, place bookmarks and in other ways mark up digital texts. Luhtala recommends using it with smaller classes. One frustration is that it doesn't integrate well with Google drive, which many schools are now using for student work. It's also a bit pricey at $9.99.
CODING
Hopscotch is a simple, free app to teach rudimentary coding ideas to younger students. Students can make characters of their choosing do actions using a visual coding language consisting of blocks of code.

LightBot is another programming tool for slightly older children. Rather than trying to make a character move or create an animation, this app is more of a game, with students using a visual programming language to move through various levels. The "lite" version is free, but the version with codeable puzzles costs $2.99.
NOTE TAKING AND ORGANIZATION
Clear is a simple, gesture-based to-do manager. It's easy to stay organized, take notes, make different to-do lists and delete things.

Evernote is a note-taking and organizational app that has become common in and outside of education. One nice feature allows users to upload handwritten notes to better enable users to keep all their thoughts in one place. Luhtala suggests that the more users tag their notes the more effective this tool can be.

Notability is favored by many schools for note taking. It allows teachers and students to share notes and annotate PDFs. Luhtala wishes it allowed her to grab a document out of a student's document folder, comment on it with her voice and send it back. But using the app so fluidly is a bit tricky. The app costs $1.99

PaperPort Notes offers a free alternative note taking tool to Notability. Luhtala likes it because she almost never writes text notes to students, preferring to record herself explaining comments and attaching the recording to specific parts of a document. This app does allow for text notes too.

Paper allows for more creative note taking for those who like sketches, diagrams and other non-textual notes. It has clean, simple visuals. "This is a beautiful application," Luhtala said. "The problem is that it has in-app purchasing, which is always a problem for iPads that are circulating." In other words, it's free to try, but if a user wants more functionality he can click over the app store and go wild -- not something schools want students doing.
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Digital PassPort is one of Luhtala's favorite tools for teaching digital citizenship lessons. Created by Common Sense Media, a non-profit that has been creating digital citizenship content and curriculum for schools, it comes highly recommended.

Nearpod is a participatory presentation tool that allows students to interact with the content while keeping control with the teacher. Luhtala says it's as a good tool to transition middle-schoolers into appropriate behavior online. They can practice by interacting with the teacher first.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EasyBib and NoodleTools are both bibliography tools that can help students stay organized and track their research online. Once a student signs in for the first time these apps connect him or her to other online resources they've stored.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Educators have been using Pinterest for a long time to share ideas with one another. Now some educators are finding it to be a simple portal to parents who want to support their learners at home. Teachers can stash resources on different subject areas on boards so parents can further learning at home. It can be a great way to bolster the school to home connection in some communities.

Instagram is best known as a social media tool, but some educators are using it to help students document their experiences. "The next big thing is Instagram," Luhtala said. Hashtags can help keep photos of the same topic together and students can use it in the field to take notes. Later their 'grams and tweets from the field can be pulled into something more cohesive using Storify.

Storify is a way to archive social media. Some educators are finding it to be a good way to archive a school's backchannel over a day or week. There's no app yet, but this could be another powerful tool for adding transparency to the discussions taking place online.
APPS FOR EDUCATORS/LIBRARIANS
edWeb.net is a community of educators discussing tips and trends through online discussions. While the site hosts webinars that teachers can attend for continuing education credits, Luhtala uses the mobile app to keep tabs on different evolving conversations with her professional learning community throughout the day.

Follett Destiny is a powerful tool for active librarians who spend more time visiting classrooms than sitting in the library -- librarians like Luhtala. When she does an activity in a classroom, she can check out books to students on the spot using this mobile app. It's a handy way to make sure a student gets the resource he needs at the moment it is suggested to him.

DestinyQuest is a free app that allows students and teachers to access the library catalogue from a mobile device. Students can search for resources, leave reviews, and check account information.

Follet TitleWave gives librarians an easy way to order new books. When out and about, if an educators sees a book that would make a good addition to the library she can take a picture of the cover and the app will automatically start populating a cart.

Google Voice Connects is a call forwarding service. Luhtala uses the app to make herself available to students after hours without releasing her personal phone number. Text messages can be collected through the app or in an email, making it less intrusive.
MISCELLANEOUS
EduClipper is a popular portfolio tool that allows teachers to manage the portfolio for a secure environment, but still allows kids to work independently. Students create their own content, use online resources and mash it all together to create projects.

ThingLink is a free app that lets a user tag images with audio or video and share them widely. "It's one of my favorite go-to things," Luhtala said. She uses it to feature book awards or other things she wants students and staff to notice.

Remind101 is an easy way to text students through a distribution list. They can see the message, but have no access to the teacher's cell phone number. "I'm all about finding ways to reach out to your kids," Luhtala said.

Socrative offers free versions of its app for students and for teachers. It's an easy polling app that gives teachers an instant assessment of whether students are understanding concepts in class. Teachers can also create short answer questions in the app. Polleverywhere is a similar tool.

Symphonizer is great for music classes. Teachers or students upload sheet music and can then turn the page by smiling.

Voice Dream Reader will take any text, like an online article, and read it aloud. It has a much nicer computer voice than many computer assisted devices and could be a good alternative.

WordLens is the free app to go to for a quick translation from one language to another. Just hold a mobile device over the text and scan it for a translation.

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Apps That Rise to the Top: Tested and Approved By Teachers | KQED

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Educators from around the country share their favorite educational apps.

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Thinglink allows a user to add content to images. For example, a student could display a map of Washington, D.C. and add a video explaining how a bill becomes a law over the Capitol building. And it’s easy. The user just clicks a spot on the image and adds text, a link to a website, or an embed code for video. It’s a quick and easy way to make a project more dynamic and interactive.

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ThingLink: Create unique experiences with interactive images, videos & 360° media

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Easily create interactive and immersive visual experiences for online communication and learning. Start a free trial!

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Quincy

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Variation on Adjective Name Game! I make sure it is clear that the gestures must be appropriate:)

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Variation on Adjective Name Game! I make sure it is clear that the gestures must be appropriate:)

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Homework ...valuable? (Washington Post Article, 2012)

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Homework ...valuable? (Washington Post Article, 2012)

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/26/homework-an-unnecessary-evil-surprising-findings-from-new-research/

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Great ear training activity.

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Here is a rubric that you can use for almost any PowerPoint Project you assign.

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Michael!

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Help your teachers understand what it can feel like to be an EL student.

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This is a great way to get to know your students. Keep this in your personal file for students and refer to it whenever you need.

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This is a great way for students to get to know one another

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This template form is intended to help you get started writing an "I Am From" poem. Not to be confused with the "I Am" poem, this poem is more about your memories and upbringing. This poem is personal and should reflect specific details and feelings about your life and memories. After you finish and press the "Create It" button, feel free to add or delete lines where you see fit. Think of this form as a tool for brainstorming.

This poem template is inspired by George Ella Lyon's "Where I'm From" poem.

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This template form is intended to help you get started writing an "I Am From" poem. Not to be confused with the "I Am" poem, this poem is more about your memories and upbringing. This poem is personal and should reflect specific details and feelings about your life and memories.

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Make a lil you!
PS. You can add bitmoji to both your smartphone and your gmail!
https://www.bitmoji.com/

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Build wonderful classroom communities with parents and students.

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Digital Portfolio App for Students - Display Classroom Work with ClassDojo | ClassDojo

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Need a digital portfolio app for students? Easily display classroom work with ClassDojo. It's easy to access, cross-device compatible, & intuitive. Try it!

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The Authentic Assessment Toolbox is a resource to help K-12 teachers, especially new teachers, create authentic tasks, rubrics, and standards for measuring and improving student learning.

What is Authentic Assessment? defines and gives examples of authentic assessment, compares it to traditional assessment, and suggests that a combination will most likely meet teacher and student needs.

Why Use Authentic Assessment? explains why authentic assessment is appropriate in certain cases:

it provides direct measures;

captures constructive nature of learning;

integrates teaching, learning and assessment; and,

provides multiple paths to demonstration.

In How Do You Create Authentic Assessments? the development process is presented in four steps, which comprise the heart of the website:

1. Identifying Standards

The section on Standards distinguishes standards from other student performance statements by considering breadth of coverage and feasibility of measurement and observation.

2. Selecting Authentic Tasks

The section on Authentic Tasks describes characteristics of authentic tasks and distinguishes them from traditional tasks.

3. Identifying the Criteria for the Task

An extensive section on types of authentic tasks lists and provides PDFs of examples.

4. Creating the Rubric

The section on Rubrics covers descriptors, levels of performance, and analytic versus holistic rubrics.

A section on Portfolios explains why they are useful, how to create a portfolio assignment, and how teachers who haven't used portfolios before can get some experience by using them on a smaller scale.

A section of Examples provides specimen documents for standards, tasks and rubrics, and portfolios for K-12 and higher.

A Glossary of Authentic Assessment Terms is included.

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The Authentic Assessment Toolbox is a resource to help K-12 teachers, especially new teachers, create authentic tasks, rubrics, and standards for measuring and improving student learning. What is Authentic Assessment? defines and gives examples of authentic assessment, compares it to traditional assessment, and suggests that a combination will most likely meet teacher and student needs.

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de Young

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Purchasing tickets for the benefit raffle is another way to support the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Tickets can be purchased on site during BTA week at the raffle desk in Wilsey Court. The raffle drawing will be held Sunday, March 18, at the de Young; winners need not be present.

A. Seven-Night U.K. Garden Tour

Enjoy a seven-night horticultural break for two adults at one of HF Holidays' country houses around the United Kingdom. Includes full-board accommodations, garden visits with area experts, and all transportation and admissions to gardens. Airfare not included.

B. Nouveau San Francisco

Be part of the newest happenings in San Francisco. Enjoy two nights at San Francisco Proper Hotel, the city's first luxury lifestyle lodging to open in over a decade. The package also includes hotel restaurant credit, tickets to the Smuin Ballet, and gift certificates to local restaurants.

C. Classic San Francisco Staycation

Be a tourist in your own backyard. This prize includes two nights at the stunning Palace Hotel, admission passes to Pier 39, a collection of restaurant gift certificates, and tickets to the San Francisco Symphony and Smuin Ballet.

D. Manhattan Behind the Scenes

There's nothing quite like Sunday in New York. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour and tea at Christie's auction house and a night at the unique Library Hotel, next to the main branch of the New York Public Library. Airfare not included.

E. Sonoma Extravaganza

Enjoy a tour of the Sunset Test Gardens at Cornerstone, a floral workshop with Tesoro Flowers, a cooking class at Ramekins, bubbles and bites at Gloria Ferrer, and two nights at the Cottage Inn and Spa.

F. Catered Party

Host a party at your home for up to fifty guests! Foxtail Catering & Events will provide a full-service event in your home with appetizers and beverages. Save this event for a birthday, anniversary, or simply a night to gather your friends and family together. Sit back and relax and let Foxtail do the rest!

Ticket entries are not tax deductible. All ticket sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.

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For one week only, the de Young hosts its annual floral takeover, now in its 34th year. Florists from San Francisco to Tokyo breathe new life into our collections, creating their own masterpieces inspired by the works of art.

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Create your own rubrics!

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RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics, but does not have the time to develop them from scratch.

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Alternative Assessment ideas

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When people think of assessment, pencils and bubble sheets may be the first things that come to mind. Assessment does not always have to involve paper and pencil, but can instead be a project, an observation, or a task that shows a student has learned the material.

In the end, all we really want to know is that the skill was mastered, right? Why not make it fun and engaging for students as well?

Many teachers shy away from alternative assessments because they take extra time and effort to create and to grade. On the other hand, once the assessment guidelines and grading rubric are created, it can be filed away and used year after year.

The project card and rubric can be run on card stock (one on each side of the page), laminated, and hole punched with other alternative assessment ideas. Keep them all together in a binder or with an o-ring. Assessment just became a snap!

Here are 40 alternative assessment ideas to get you started!
Alternative Reading Assessments 1. Bookmark
Create a bookmark to match the theme of the last book read.
2. Time Capsule
Put together a group of 5 things from the story of the week.
3. Stuffed Animal
Students can make a stuffed animal that matches the theme of the story read.
4. Business Card
Summarize the story by designing a business card (this will be harder than it sounds).
5. Radio Show
Create a radio program that is set in the same time as the book.
6. Recipe
Make a recipe (or just the instructions) for something that a character in the story might make.
7. Paper Doll
More geared towards the younger set, this activity involves creating paper dolls and costume changes for the characters in the story.
8. Wanted Poster
Make a wanted poster for the antagonist in the book.
Alternative Writing Assessments 9. Eulogy
Write a eulogy for a word that is overused in the student's own writing samples.
10. Infomercial
Students will tape a segment that uses persuasion.
11. Bumper Sticker
Design a bumper sticker with a catchy slogan for each of the writing genres.
12. PowerPoint
Pairs can create a slideshow about their writing process from start to finish.
13. Newscast
Students can form teams to create a news program about writing conventions (run-on sentences, spacing, punctuation, etc.)
14. Comic Strip
Draw a comic strip that shows examples of figurative language.
15. Brochure
Create a brochure that explains the steps involved when writing for different audiences.
16. Survey
Create a survey of students' favorite writing styles or writing pet peeves. Make a graph that explains the results.
Alternative Math Assessments 17. Acrostic Poem
Using one math term, such as geometry or algebra, make an acrostic poem.
18. Internet Resource List
Students will find a list of websites that explain the current math concepts correctly.
19. Readers' Theater
Perform a readers' theater that is all about the current topic.
20. Crossword Puzzle
Use the vocabulary from the assessed chapter to create a crossword puzzle, including the design and matching clues.
21. Scrapbook Page
Each student makes a page that describes a certain vocabulary word. Combine them to provide a future review tool for students.
22. Paint By Number
More artistically-inclined students may want to create a paint by number portrait that includes math terms and examples. They can also write and solve problems that match the paint-by-number answers.
23. Pattern
Find a pattern in the current math unit that can be explained.
24. Collage
Using magazines, students can cut up and paste math strand examples.
Alternative Science Assessments 25. Help Wanted Ad
Write an ad to find a "professor" who can help to explain the subject at hand.
26. Singing Telegram
More musically-inclined students may love to create a song about the latest chapter.
27. Calendar
Mark on a calendar (paper or electronic copy) the time frame for how long it takes to see changes in a scientific event (such as erosion or plants growing).
28. Diary
Pen a diary entry from a famous scientist.
29. Advice Column
Students write advice to an "anonymous friend" who has a scientific problem that needs solved.
30. Trivia Game
Students create the questions (and answers) that will be used in a review game.
31. T-shirt
Design a t-shirt that matches the current science concepts.
32. Experiment
No explanation needed for this one.
Alternative Social Studies Assessments 33. Cheer
Compose a cheer for someone in history who has struggled through something in your latest unit.
34. Fashion Sketch
Draw an example of what a person would wear from the era being studied.
35. Toy
Create a drawing (or a prototype) of a toy that might have been used from the children of that specific time period.
36. Documentary
Recreate an important historical event.
37. Family Tree
Research the family tree of a famous historical person.
38. Time Line
Students create a class timeline as they study different eras. Post the master time line up in the classroom and add as new eras are learned.
39. Speech
Memorize and recite an important historical speech.
40. Museum Exhibit
Students each create a museum "artifact" and set them up in the classroom as a museum, where they will stand next to their artifact to explain and answer questions from visitors. Invite other classes or parents to come do a walkthrough of your museum.
What are some other ideas you have also used in your classroom? Share in the comments section!
Charity L. Preston, MA is an author, teacher, and parent. Most importantly, she is an educator in all roles. The ability to teach someone something new is a gift that few truly appreciate. Visit her now at http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com or at her Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/TheOrganizedClassroomBlog to sign up for a free newsletter that offers free downloadable classroom resources every month delivered right to your inbox!

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40 Alternative Assessment Ideas for Learning

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When people think of assessment , pencils and bubble sheets may be the first things that come to mind. Assessment does not always have to involve paper and pencil, but can instead be a project, an observation, or a task that shows a student has learned the material.

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Robert Marzano's 6 step Academic Vocabulary + extras