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Resources for Students with Special Needs

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Resources for Students with Special Needs

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Services & Resources - Special Education (CA Dept of Education)

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Programs and services available to students with disabilities, publications, training and technical assistance opportunities, and recruitment resources and materials.

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Did you know that typically, only 5% to 10% of instructional time is devoted to vocabulary instruction, yet students, especially struggling students and English learners (ELs), need between 12 and 14 exposures to words and their meanings to fully learn them (Durkin, 1978/79; Roser & Juel, 1982; Scott, Jamieson, Noel, & Asslin, 2003)? Teaching the meanings of important words before learning new content activates students' background knowledge and prepares them for learning and comprehending. In other words, teaching vocabulary provides the "Velcro" for new information to "stick to."

What Research Says About Effective Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary instruction must be explicit. Explicit vocabulary instruction includes an easy-to-understand definition presented directly to students along with multiple examples and nonexamples of the target word, brief discussion opportunities, and checks for understanding.

Vocabulary instruction must include multiple practice opportunities for using words within and across subjects. That is, instruction must be extended over time with opportunities for students to hear, speak, read, and write words in various contexts. This builds students' breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge.

Vocabulary should be taught schoolwide and across all subject areas. Each subject has a unique set of vocabulary terms, and students need to know their meanings and how to use them in various contexts.

Word Selection

Instructional time is precious, and teachers are not able to address every unknown word students might encounter, so careful word selection is key. When deciding which words to target for explicit instruction, consider words that are

essential to understanding the main idea of the text or unit,

used repeatedly or frequently encountered across domains, and

not part of students' prior knowledge.

ELs may require even more careful word selection and extensive vocabulary instruction because they may be learning conversational language and academic language at the same time. Colorín Colorado provides additional information about selecting vocabulary words to teach ELs.

Some of Our Favorite Vocabulary Instructional Activities for ALL Content Areas

The five activities described below are effective ways to teach vocabulary for all students, but especially for struggling students, students with learning disabilities, and ELs.

1. Essential Words Routine

Teachers use a simple graphic organizer to preteach the meanings of important words in about 5 minutes per word. During this routine, teachers introduce target words with definitions, visual cues, and examples. Students engage in immediate practice using the words through collaborative student turn-and-talk activities.

Resources

2. Frayer Model

One way to have students extend their knowledge of important words is through a Frayer model. This graphic organizer builds vocabulary and conceptual knowledge across content areas. The strategy requires students (not the teacher) to define a vocabulary word and then list its characteristics, examples, and nonexamples. Frayer models can be completed in collaborative groups using textbooks and other subject-matter materials while the teacher circulates around the classroom and assists students.

Resource

Online module, examples, and templates from the IRIS Center

3. Semantic Mapping

Semantic maps visually display and connect a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts. Implementing semantic map activities in your classroom will help students, especially struggling students and students with learning disabilities, recall the meanings of words and understand how multiple words or concepts "fit together." Teachers will find that using a semantic map, combined with explicit instruction and practice opportunities, is an effective way of expanding students' vocabulary and supporting their content knowledge.

Resources

4. Vocabulary Review Activities

Multiple opportunities to practice using new words is an important part of vocabulary instruction. In previous TCLD research studies, brief review activities were built into novel unit lesson plans to help students practice (and remember) the meanings of important words. Each of these activities takes 5 to 10 minutes and is easy to prepare.

Partner Review Routine: Partners work together to quickly review words learned the previous day.

Sentence Review Routine: Partners create sentences using words assigned by the teacher.

Examples and Nonexamples: The teacher tells students scenarios or shows pictures and students respond chorally to each scenario, indicating whether it is an example or nonexample.

What Word Fits? The teacher asks a question and student partners hold up an index card with the word that fits or answers the question.

Resource

Each activity is described in more detail beginning on page 33 of the TCLD booklet Reading Instruction for Middle School Students: Developing Lessons for Improving Comprehension

5. Morphemic Analysis Routine

Explicit instruction of words is important, but it is impossible to teach all the unfamiliar words students will encounter. One way to help students develop strategies for approaching unfamiliar vocabulary is to teach morphemes (prefixes, roots, and suffixes). Students can be taught the following morphemic analysis routine to help them engage in independent word study.

Resource

Learn more about the morphemic analysis routine by reviewing this online learning module from the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academies.
Have questions? Feel free to drop us a line!

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Five Research-Based Ways to Teach Vocabulary

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Did you know that typically, only 5% to 10% of instructional time is devoted to vocabulary instruction, yet students, especially struggling students and English learners (ELs), need between 12 and 14 exposures to words and their meanings to fully learn them (Durkin, 1978/79; Roser & Juel, 1982; Scott, Jamieson, Noel, & Asslin, 2003)?

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Making an Effective Rubric: Strategies and Tips

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Resources for Supporting Learners with Disabilities - Digital Promise

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A word map is a strategy to help learners learn new vocabulary word. There are many different variations of how to use this strategy. One way is to use the four-corner vocabulary chart, and with this method students write the definition, use it in a sentence, they draw picture of the word, and write the word in the corner. Other methods to use this strategy is to add antonyms, synonyms, dictionary definitions, part of speech and more. This strategy can be adjusted to meet the needs of all learners. Throughout this strategy students are making personal connections, because they are drawing their own picture, writing their own sentence and the definition in their own words. By doing this, it gives more meaning to learning the vocabulary word, and this would help struggling readers tremendously. Graphic organizers are helpful for all learners because it really helps them organize their thoughts. According to Echevarria, Vogt & Short (2014), "These charts provide more context and "clues" than typical word walls, because they include an illustration, definition, and sentence for each vocabulary word" (p.81). According to Robert Marzano (2009), an educational researcher, he mentions that in order for students to effectively learn vocabulary they need to follow a six-step process. The steps are as followed:

(Marzano, 2009).
The first three steps are in a word map. The following three steps can be done after the word map has been completed.

The image above is an example of a very common word map. In this word map, students write the vocabulary word in the center, they define the word, provide synonyms, use it in a sentence, and draw a picture of it.

In this example above students go into more detail with the word. They find the synonym, antonym, dictionary definition, sentence from the text and other forms of the word.

The image to the left is similar to the other two word maps above. Students write the word, use it in a sentence, write the definition, find a synonym for the word, illustrate it and determine it's part of speech.

Math- For a math lesson, a word map can be easily adapted just like in the photo to the left. In one corner the student can write the word, in another corner the student can write the definition. In the other two corners students can write an example and then some facts to go along with the math vocabulary word. By providing examples it brings meaning to the word, just like a picture does when learning reading vocabulary words.

History- For a history lesson, one way to adapt this strategy is to change the headings slightly. On this graphic organizer it could include: the vocabulary word, time period, definition, and picture. By adding the time period it gives an understanding of when the word was used, and it give more meaning to the word. For example if a student is learning about what a Red Coat is, they could write Revolutionary War (1775-1783) in the time period section.

Science- For a science lesson, the template would not change very much. However, a teacher could ask the student what area of science the word falls under. This might help students categorize what vocabulary words belong where. For example, if the vocabulary word is cumulus, the area of science might be meteorology.

Physical Education- For a physical education lesson, a student could still write the word, draw picture, define the word, and maybe list games they can play relating to the topic. For example, if students are learning about basketball students can list lightning, 3 vs. 3, and others for possible games they could play.

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Teaching and Learning / English Language Development (ELD)

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Constructing Meaning provides teachers with the process and tools for weaving explicit language instruction into content-area teaching. Lesson planning is driven by the content and academic language demands of discipline-specific learning. Based on backward design and a gradual release of responsibility model, the Constructing Meaning process prompts teachers to:

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College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard CCS

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College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard CCS

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College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards - Content Standards (CA Dept of Education)

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The College and Career Readiness standards anchor and define general, cross-disciplinary literacy expectations that must be met for students to be prepared to enter college and workforce training programs ready to succeed.

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Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are what you want your students to learn, either as a result of a specific lesson or on the grander, more general scale of the entire course. Learning outcomes target knowledge, skills, or attitudes for change. Bloom's taxonomy specifically targets these by seeking to increase knowledge (cognitive domain), develop skills (psychomotor domain), or develop emotional aptitude or balance (affective domain). Learning outcomes might be identified by someone outside the teacher, such as state-wide or departmental standards. The taxonomy provides a basis for developing sub-goals and assessment methodology to meet these goals. It is important to note that learning outcomes are goals, and are not the activities performed to achieve those goals. Outcomes can be categorized into broad, global outcomes that may take many years to achieve and provide direction for education, educational goals that guide curriculum development over the weeks or months it takes to complete a specific course, and instructional goals that narrowly focus on the daily activities, experiences, and exercises used in a specific lesson plan.

Objective Builder Tool

For applications specific to a course, the Center for Distributed Learning has developed an objective builder tool to help craft the language for measurable learning outcomes.

Applications of the Taxonomy

Taxonomies are developed to provide a framework for organizing a continuum along an underlying structure. For example, languages may be classified as Romantic, Germanic, etc. based on their underlying grammatical structure and origin. Bloom's taxonomy primarily provides instructors with a focus for developing their course learning outcomes. There are a number of reasons why a teacher would want to use Bloom's taxonomy. Initially, it can be used to increase one's understanding of the educational process. Teachers can see and understand complex cognitive development and how lower-level skills build into higher-order thinking (e.g., recalling facts and comprehending previous problems allows a student to apply their experience to similar problems). Using this understanding facilitates the prioritizing of material and can steer the organization of lessons to maximize class time. For example, lower-level skills (e.g., memorizing factual knowledge) can be developed before higher-level skills are introduced (e.g., analysis of relationships). Current educators frequently face a confusing array of standards and curriculum requirements. Bloom's taxonomy offers a guiding framework for breaking these criteria down into accessible chunks which can be used to direct day-to-day lesson plans and can be easily compared to their own goals for the class. Just as different levels require different instructional delivery methods, they also require different assessment methods. Bloom's taxonomy can be used as a checklist to ensure that all levels of a domain have been assessed and align assessment methods with the appropriate lessons and methodologies. In this way, the taxonomy also makes it easier for you to maintain consistency between assessment methods, content, and instructional materials and identify weak areas.

Update to Bloom's Taxonomy (2001)

Originally, Bloom's taxonomy was one-dimensional with an exclusive focus on the knowledge domain. The current updated version developed by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) reorganizes, and highlights the interactions between, two dimensions: cognitive processes and knowledge content. Anderson and Krathwohl identify two reasons for updating the original handbook. They emphasize a refocusing of educational outcomes back to the original handbook, which was ahead of its time and can still offer assistance to modern educators and to incorporate new findings in psychology and education into the framework. In their revision, cognitive processes are presented as verbs and the knowledge content are presented as nouns. Along with exchanging the levels of Evaluation and Synthesis (which they rename to Creation), Anderson and Krathwohl redefine the knowledge dimension to include four types:

Factual Knowledge: Basic elements of a discipline that a student must know and be able to work with to solve problems including basic terminology and specific details and elements.

Conceptual Knowledge: Interrelationships between basic factual knowledge that demonstrate how elements work together, for example, classifications and categories, principles and generalizations, and theories, models, and structures.

Procedural Knowledge: How something is done including the methods of inquiry, skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods needed to investigate, apply, or analyze information.

Metacognitive Knowledge: Awareness and knowledge of one's own cognition including strategies for learning, contextual and conditional knowledge about cognitive tasks, and self-knowledge.

References:
Bloom, B. S. (1969). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals : Handbook I, Cognitive domain. New York: McKay.
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., & Bloom, B. S. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

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IntroductionBloom's taxonomy was developed to provide a common language for teachers to discuss and exchange learning and assessment methods. Specific learning outcomes can be derived from the taxonomy, though it is most commonly used to assess learning on a variety of cognitive levels. The table below defines each cognitive level...

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I Can Statements are family-friendly guides that can be used to help your family and ensure your students are on track for their grade level. All learning objectives for English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies are provided, written in family-friendly language. I Can Statements help make grade-level learning targets clear for families and they address the standards students of the same grade level learn in all public schools.

Multi-Grade Level Lists

The skills noted in the multi-grade level lists for science and social studies can be learned and applied to the content areas for their respective grade level groupings. These lists should be used in conjunction with the content standards. These skills can be assigned to the lessons in your personalized curriculum to demonstrate the following intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills.

K-8th Grade: Science & Engineering Practices-Crosscutting Concepts

K-8th Grade: Historical & Social Studies Analysis Skills

I Can Checklists

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I Can Statements - Cabrillo Point Academy

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Best practices to support MTSS instruction in education

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MTSS in education stands for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. Explore MTSS best practices and examples for instruction in schools.

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Response to Intervention is a multi-tiered approach to identifying and supporting students with learning and/or behavioral needs. This is a process used by educators to help students who are struggling with a skill or a lesson. There are three different tiers for identifying and supporting students who may have a learning need, behavior need or both.

RTI is not just for kids that officially need that support, it's for all children. Tier 1 is 85% of your kids and that is a major chunk of your classroom. Tracking data is essential in the RTI process. We can determine if the supports are working and if we are best serving each child.

Differentiation will benefit all learners. Here are ways that Nearpod can support your Tier one students.

Live lesson vs. student-paced

Nearpod works on any device. As the teacher, you now have increased mobility to walk around the room and work with those that need support. Proximity is a wonderful differentiation tool that is possible with the increased mobility. Create a small group live lesson for those that need support and give a self-paced code for those not in your live lesson small group. Now you have the same content running in different ways.

Nearpod has engaging activities such as Collaborate , and Draw It activities. All interactive activities encourage active participation and give all students the opportunity to share their thinking without the fear of raising their hand.

Embedded check for understanding

Interactive formative assessment activities such as polls, open-ended questions and quizzes give instantaneous student and teacher feedback so the teacher can gauge who they need to intervene with targeted coaching immediately.

Tracking student data

The teacher screen will show student responses to activities in real time. All of this data is housed in the teacher reports so they can print individual or whole class data to share with parents during conferences or specialists to document student's progress.

Tier 2 Instruction:

Ways to use Nearpod to provide accommodations for your students:

Having the student-paced lesson available (post-live lesson) for kids who need repetition of the material.

Split the class. Allow one group to work independently or in pairs with student-paced. Conduct a live-lesson in a small group.

Embed video content to deepen understanding.

Add reference media to interactive activities for students that need more support.

Add a voice recording for oral administration.

Embed graphics organizers to the Draw-It activity for visual support.

Place a Google Doc in your live lesson with different links to student-paced lessons.

In live lesson, add an activity in real time to check for understanding.

Share your self-paced lesson with so they can support their child.

Using Nearpod to Track Data

Tracking data is a vital part of the RTI process. We worked with our school's diagnostician to ensure that we used the same vocabulary that teachers and parents would see in an IEP or 504 plan.

Pacing and reminders to stay on task

The teacher-led version of Nearpod is great for pacing. It helps those students that struggle with pacing and keeps them on task. For the kids that want to rush, it helps them slow down. For those students who need frequent reminders to stay on task, the embedded activities help to bring students back to attention. Check for understanding

Add a quick activity to try to catch any misunderstandings.

Reduce distractions
While in the teacher mode, students aren't going anywhere unless we're moving them forward. They aren't tempted to open new tabs and go off task.

Tier 3 Examples

Here are a few ideas for your Tier 3 students.

Focus on individual needs by creating a Nearpod lesson for individual students based on their accommodations

Chunk the Nearpod lesson by breaking larger lessons into multiple lessons

More frequent small group instruction

Adjust the reading level to meet the needs of your students

Consider assigning an alternative assignment

Consider using an alternative rubric for students with modified curriculum

Nearpod easily allows you to duplicate your Nearpod lessons. By duplicating the assignment, you're not creating a totally different Nearpod. You're making one copy and slightly changing the lesson by editing with a few clicks to create a personalized learning experience for your students.

Nearpod can ensure your data tracking is accurate and effective while at the same time taking the long hours you spend documenting out of your day. Now you can spend time where it matters most - with your students!

More RTI Information

For more RTI information, you can watch the video .

Miranda and Michelle are instructional technology specialists, Google Educators and Google Certified Trainers at Prosper ISD. Miranda is the Region 10 North Coordinator of the North Texas ITS Group. Michelle is the Lead Facilitator of North Texas ITS Group. Michelle is a Flipgrid Ambassador and Nearpod Certified Educator.

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Using Nearpod for Response to Intervention - Nearpod Blog

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Response to Intervention is a multi-tiered approach to identifying and supporting students with learning and/or behavioral needs. This is a process used by educators to help students who are struggling with a skill or a lesson. There are three different tiers for identifying and supporting students who may have a learning need, behavior need or both.

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Vocabulary Game Tools

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Handwriting Worksheets

These are the latest versions of the handwriting worksheets. They have been rewritten to use sweeping lines instead of static fonts. This results in natural curves that match how cursive lines are actually written. Some additional formats and features will be added as we continue development. Please let us know if you have any issues using them.

Copyright © 2002-2023 WorksheetWorks.com All Rights Reserved.

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teaching materials worksheets printables math fractions handwriting geometry homeschooling classroom teachers parents geography spelling language puzzles

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Find worksheets about Handwriting Practice

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There are a variety of ways to assess a student's progress and understanding. Two of the primary methods are formal and informal assessments. Formal assessments include tests, quizzes, and projects. Students can study and prepare for these assessments in advance, and they provide a systematic tool for teachers to measure a student's knowledge and evaluate learning progress.

Informal assessments are more casual, observation-based tools. With little advance preparation and no need to grade the results, these assessments allow teachers to get a feel for student progress and identify areas in which they might need more instruction. Informal assessments can help teachers pinpoint students' strengths and weaknesses and guide planning for upcoming lessons.

In the classroom, informal assessments are important because they can help identify potential problem areas and allow for course correction before students are required to demonstrate understanding at a formal evaluation.

Many homeschooling families prefer to rely almost entirely on informal assessments because they are often a more accurate indicator of understanding, particularly for students who don't test well.

Informal assessments can also provide vital student feedback without the stress of tests and quizzes.

Following are just a few examples of creative informal assessments for your classroom or homeschool.

Observation

Observation is the heart of any informal assessment, but it is also a key stand-alone method. Simply watch your student throughout the day. Look for signs of excitement, frustration, boredom, and engagement. Make notes about the tasks and activities that elicit these emotions.

Keep samples of student work in chronological order so that you can identify progress and areas of weakness. Sometimes you don't realize how much a student has progressed until you compare their current work to previous samples.

Author Joyce Herzog has a simple but effective method of observing progress. Ask your student to do simple tasks such as writing an example of each math operation he understands, writing the most complicated word he knows he can spell correctly, or writing a sentence (or short paragraph). Do the same process once a quarter or once a semester to gauge progress.

Oral Presentations

We often think of oral presentations as a type of formal assessment, but they can be a fantastic informal assessment tool, as well. Set a timer for one or two minutes and ask your student to tell you what he's learned about a particular topic.

For example, if you are learning about parts of speech, you could ask your students to name as many prepositions as they can in 30 seconds while you write them on the whiteboard.

A broader approach is to present students with a sentence starter and let them take turns finishing it. Examples include:

"My favorite thing about this topic was..."

"The most interesting or surprising thing I learned about this was..."

"This historical figure was..."

Journaling

Give your students one to three minutes at the end of each day to journal about what they learned. Vary the daily journaling experience by asking students to:

list 5-10 facts they've learned about a topic

write about the most exciting thing they learned that day

list one or two things they'd like to know more about

note something that they're having trouble understanding

list ways that you could help them understand a topic better.

Let your students write questions for each other on a piece of paper. Instruct students to crumple their paper, and let them have an epic paper wad toss. Then, have all the students pick up one of the paper balls, read the question aloud, and answer it.

This activity wouldn't work well in most homeschool settings, but it's an excellent way for students in a classroom or homeschool co-op to get the wiggles out and check their knowledge on a topic they've been studying.

Four Corners

Four Corners is another fantastic activity for getting kids up and moving while also assessing their knowledge. Label each corner of the room with a different option such as strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree, or A, B, C, and D. Read a question or statement and have students go to the corner of the room that represents their answer.

After students reach their corner, allow them a minute or two to discuss their choice in their group. Then, choose a representative from each group to explain or defend that group's answer.

Matching/Concentration

Let your students play matching (also known as concentration) in groups or pairs. Write questions on one set of cards and answers on the other. Shuffle the cards and lay them, one by one, face down on a table. Students take turns turning over two cards trying to match a question card with the correct answer card. If a student makes a match, he gets another turn. If he does not, it's the next players turn. The student with the most matches wins.

Concentration is an extremely versatile game. You can use math facts and their answers, vocabulary words and their definitions, or historical figures or events with their dates or details.

At the end of each day or week, have your students complete an exit slip before leaving the classroom. Index cards work well for this activity. You can have the questions printed on the cards, written on the whiteboard, or you can read them aloud.

Ask your students to fill out the card with answers to statements such as:

Three things I learned

Two questions I have

One thing I didn't understand

What I found most interesting

This is an excellent activity for gauging what students have retained about the topic they are studying and to determine areas which may need more explanation.

Demonstration

Supply the tools and let students show you what they know, explaining the process as they go. If they're learning about measurements, provide rulers or a tape measure and items to measure. If they're studying plants, offer a variety of plants and let students point out the different parts of the plant and explain what each does.

If students are learning about biomes, provide the settings for each (drawings, photos, or dioramas, for example) and model plants, animals, or insects that one might find in the biomes represented. Let students place the figures in their correct settings and explain why they belong there or what they know about each.

Drawing is an excellent way for creative, artistic, or kinesthetic learners to express what they've learned. They can draw the steps of a process or create a comic strip to depict a historical event. They can draw and label plants, cells, or the parts of a knight's armor.

Crossword puzzles

Crossword puzzles make a fun, stress-free informal assessment tool. Create puzzles with a crossword puzzle maker, using definitions or descriptions as the clues. Accurate answers result in a correctly-completed puzzle. You can use crossword puzzles to evaluate understanding of a variety of history, science, or literature topics such as states, presidents, animals, or even sports.

Narration is a method of student evaluation widely used in homeschooling circles and inspired by Charlotte Mason, a British educator, at the turn of the 20th century. The practice involves having a student tell you, in his own words, what he has heard after a read-aloud or learned after studying a topic.

Explaining something in one's own words requires comprehension of the subject. Using narration is a useful tool for discovering what a student has learned and identifying areas that you may need to cover more thoroughly.

Invite students to act out scenes or create puppet shows from topics they've been studying. This is especially effective for historical events or biographical studies.

Drama can be an exceptionally valuable and easy-to-implement tool for homeschooling families. It's common for young children to incorporate what they're learning into their pretend play. Listen and observe as your children play to evaluate what they're learning and what you may need to clarify.

Student Self-evaluation

Use self-evaluation to help students reflect on and assess their own progress. There are many options for a simple self-assessment. One is to ask students to raise their hands to indicate which statement applies to them: "I fully understand the topic," "I mostly understand the topic," "I'm a little confused," or "I need help."

Another option is to ask students to give a thumbs up, a sideways thumb, or a thumbs down to indicate fully understand, mostly understand, or need help. Or use a five-finger scale and have students hold up the number of fingers that corresponds to their level of understanding.

You may also want to create a self-evaluation form for students to complete. The form can list statements about the assignment and boxes for students to check if they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree that the statement applies to their assignment. This type of self-evaluation would also be useful for students to rate their behavior or participation in class.

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13 Creative, Observation-Based Assessments for the Classroom

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Informal assessments play a vital role in both traditional and homeschool classrooms. Try these creative ideas to assess student progress.

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Simple and Quick Informal Assessment Strategies

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Simple and Quick Informal Assessment Strategies

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https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/Blanks-Informal-Assessment-Strategies.pdf

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Formative assessment-discovering what students know while they're still in the process of learning it-can be tricky. Designing just the right assessment can feel high stakes-for teachers, not students-because we're using it to figure out what comes next. Are we ready to move on? Do our students need a different path into the concepts? Or, more likely, which students are ready to move on and which need a different path?

When it comes to figuring out what our students really know, we have to look at more than one kind of information. A single data point-no matter how well designed the quiz, presentation, or problem behind it-isn't enough information to help us plan the next step in our instruction.

Add to that the fact that different learning tasks are best measured in different ways, and we can see why we need a variety of formative assessment tools we can deploy quickly, seamlessly, and in a low-stakes way-all while not creating an unmanageable workload. That's why it's important to keep it simple: Formative assessments generally just need to be checked, not graded, as the point is to get a basic read on the progress of individuals, or the class as a whole.

7 Approaches to Formative Assessment

1. Entry and exit slips: Those marginal minutes at the beginning and end of class can provide some great opportunities to find out what kids remember. Start the class off with a quick question about the previous day's work while students are getting settled-you can ask differentiated questions written out on chart paper or projected on the board, for example.

A quick way to see the big picture if you use paper exit tickets is to sort the papers into three piles: Students got the point; they sort of got it; and they didn't get it. The size of the stacks is your clue about what to do next.

No matter the tool, the key to keeping students engaged in the process of just-walked-in or almost-out-the-door formative assessment is the questions. Ask students to write for one minute on the most meaningful thing they learned. You can try prompts like:

What are three things you learned, two things you're still curious about, and one thing you don't understand?

How would you have done things differently today, if you had the choice?

What I found interesting about this work was...

Right now I'm feeling...

Today was hard because...

Or skip the words completely and have students draw or circle emojis to represent their assessment of their understanding.

2. Low-stakes quizzes and polls: If you want to find out whether your students really know as much as you think they know, polls and quizzes created with Socrative or Quizlet or in-class games and tools like Quizalize, Kahoot, FlipQuiz, Gimkit, Plickers, and Flippity can help you get a better sense of how much they really understand. (Grading quizzes but assigning low point values is a great way to make sure students really try: The quizzes matter, but an individual low score can't kill a student's grade.) Kids in many classes are always logged in to these tools, so formative assessments can be done very quickly. Teachers can see each kid's response, and determine both individually and in aggregate how students are doing.

Because you can design the questions yourself, you determine the level of complexity. Ask questions at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy and you'll get insight into what facts, vocabulary terms, or processes kids remember. Ask more complicated questions ("What advice do you think Katniss Everdeen would offer Scout Finch if the two of them were talking at the end of chapter 3?"), and you'll get more sophisticated insights.

3. Dipsticks: So-called alternative formative assessments are meant to be as easy and quick as checking the oil in your car, so they're sometimes referred to as dipsticks. These can be things like asking students to:

write a letter explaining a key idea to a friend,

draw a sketch to visually represent new knowledge, or

do a think, pair, share exercise with a partner.

Your own observations of students at work in class can provide valuable data as well, but they can be tricky to keep track of. Taking quick notes on a tablet or smartphone, or using a copy of your roster, is one approach. A focused observation form is more formal and can help you narrow your note-taking focus as you watch students work.

4. Interview assessments: If you want to dig a little deeper into students' understanding of content, try discussion-based assessment methods. Casual chats with students in the classroom can help them feel at ease even as you get a sense of what they know, and you may find that five-minute interview assessments work really well. Five minutes per student would take quite a bit of time, but you don't have to talk to every student about every project or lesson.

You can also shift some of this work to students using a peer-feedback process called TAG feedback (Tell your peer something they did well, Ask a thoughtful question, Give a positive suggestion). When you have students share the feedback they have for a peer, you gain insight into both students' learning.

For more introverted students-or for more private assessments-use Flipgrid, Explain Everything, or Seesaw to have students record their answers to prompts and demonstrate what they can do.

5. Methods that incorporate art: Consider using visual art or photography or videography as an assessment tool. Whether students draw, create a collage, or sculpt, you may find that the assessment helps them synthesize their learning. Or think beyond the visual and have kids act out their understanding of the content. They can create a dance to model cell mitosis or act out stories like Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" to explore the subtext.

6. Misconceptions and errors: Sometimes it's helpful to see if students understand why something is incorrect or why a concept is hard. Ask students to explain the " muddiest point" in the lesson-the place where things got confusing or particularly difficult or where they still lack clarity. Or do a misconception check: Present students with a common misunderstanding and ask them to apply previous knowledge to correct the mistake, or ask them to decide if a statement contains any mistakes at all, and then discuss their answers.

You can use sticky notes to get a quick insight into what areas your kids think they need to work on. Ask them to pick their own trouble spot from three or four areas where you think the class as a whole needs work, and write those areas in separate columns on a whiteboard. Have you students answer on a sticky note and then put the note in the correct column-you can see the results at a glance.

Several self-assessments let the teacher see what every kid thinks very quickly. For example, you can use colored stacking cups that allow kids to flag that they're all set (green cup), working through some confusion (yellow), or really confused and in need of help (red).

Similar strategies involve using participation cards for discussions (each student has three cards-"I agree," "I disagree," and "I don't know how to respond") and thumbs-up responses (instead of raising a hand, students hold a fist at their belly and put their thumb up when they're ready to contribute). Students can instead use six hand gestures to silently signal that they agree, disagree, have something to add, and more. All of these strategies give teachers an unobtrusive way to see what students are thinking.

No matter which tools you select, make time to do your own reflection to ensure that you're only assessing the content and not getting lost in the assessment fog. If a tool is too complicated, is not reliable or accessible, or takes up a disproportionate amount of time, it's OK to put it aside and try something different.

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7 Smart, Fast Ways to Do Formative Assessment

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Within these methods you'll find close to 40 tools and tricks for finding out what your students know while they're still learning.

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Social Studies Formal Assessment Examples

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Social Studies Formal Assessment Examples

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Engaging Students with Academic Vocabulary » Thinking Maps

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Students who struggle with academic vocabulary will have a much harder time making meaning out of text and accessing grade level content. To truly internalize new words and their meanings, students need to actively engage with them.

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Assessment drives instruction. A reflective teacher looks at how his or her students are performing and crafts lessons and activities to meet their needs. Because of this, teacher need to make sure that the tools that they are using to assess their students are effective.

Rubrics are often a great assessment tool to use with students. However, rubrics can work double duty by not only providing an overall view of how students are performing, but they can also be an effective instructional tool for TEACHERS as well.

In this post, I want to take a deep dive into what rubrics are and how they can be used effectively as instructional AND assessment tools.

But first, let's start with the basics.

Rubrics are a scoring tool that evaluate a student's performance, understanding, and effort toward a certain skill or topic. Sometimes rubrics are used solely by the teacher, while other times the rubric is written in kid-friendly language so that students can understand the expectations given. This post is going to focus on the latter.

Rubrics explicitly outline the criteria and expectations for one or more categories as they relate to a particular assignment. Within each category are levels of quality, typically given a number rating (ex. 1-4) or a characteristic rating (ex. poor-excellent). Take a look at the rubric below for assessing a students understanding of the reading comprehensions strategy for asking questions:

On a sliding scale from 1-4, students are assessed on their ability to ask questions as they read. Each level of performance uses clear language that distinguished one level from the next. For example, notice the progression of words used to describe a student's ability to use evidence from the text to support their questions. In level one, the word struggleis used. It then progresses to sometimes, to usually , to a confident I can use evidence.With each level, the standard is clearly outlined for the student. Typically, a student performing at level 4 is performing slightly above grade level, while 3 is performing on grade level, level 2 is slightly below grade level, and level 1 is significantly below grade level. Rubrics are great for creating consistency from student to student. Ideally, two teachers evaluating the same student should come up with the same score using the criteria of a rubric.

When used correctly, rubrics help both teachers and students.
Rubrics help teachers...

Guide Instruction - Teachers can use a rubric to see how their students are performing in a variety of categories and craft follow-up lessons and individual conferences to help their students improve

Save Time - After the initial work of creating a rubric is done, the rubric can used again and again to effectively assess their students year after year

Remain Consistency - By using the same criteria from student to student, teachers can assess each student using the same guidelines

Offer Clear Feedback - Rather than just giving students a grade (ex. 85% or B+), students can see exactly what they did well and where they need to improve.

Rubrics help students...

Take Ownership of Their Learning - Since rubrics clearly outline the criteria for each level, they can put forth effort to perform to the best of their ability.

Understand Expectations - When written in kid-friendly language, students can use the rubric to understand exactly what is required of them on all aspects of their assignment.

Take Steps Toward Improvement - When students see where they are currently performing and compare that to where they want to be, they can, along with your help, develop action steps to help them improve.

Rubrics work best for assignments that are subjective. On the other hand, objective assessment such as multiple choice, fill in the blank, or assessments that only have one answer are not ideal for rubrics. Use rubrics for:

Written Assignments (essays, summaries, narratives, opinion pieces, etc.)

Hands-On Projects (ex. create a shoe box biome or a poster for a specific topic)

Oral Presentations

Group Projects

Interactive Notebooks

Artistic Assignments

Assessing a students use of a reading skill or reading strategy

Assessing behavior (perfect as a classroom management strategy!)

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully gives you a jumping off point.

Rubrics are, of course, an assessment tool, however, they can also be an effective instructional tool. To help set your students up for success, present the rubric to them before the assignment is given. This will set the expectations and clearly outline the assignment. Provide examples and models for all levels of the rubric so that students not only see the expectations in writing on the rubric, but also see those expectations put into action through a completed assignment. Plan ahead - if possible, keep or make copies of student work in varied levels of performance to use in future years. Remove or blackout student names, of course. Using real student work is a great way to provide authentic examples of each level for your students. However, if you are just getting started with rubrics, create your own examples until you have real ones from former students.

When appropriate, involve students in creating the rubric. This will help students "buy-in" to the process and even encourage them to take ownership in their learning. If you choose to do this, however, be sure it is after students have had multiple experiences with being assessed with a rubric. That way they will be familiar with the process. You might even provide them with a list of descriptor words that they can use in each level and category. Include words and phrases such as always, sometimes, usually, struggles, lacks, with/without assistance, detailed, simple, complex, in/correctly, many, several, and little. Avoiding using subjective words like interesting and creative, as this promotes assessing with an opinion.

Before assessing an assignment using a rubric, reread the entire rubric. This will help set intention and purpose going in to the grading process. On occasion, have a colleague assess the same assignment with the same rubric. Think of it as "quality control." Be open to tweaking a rubric as needed to make it more clear.

For individual students, make note of follow-up teaching points that you'll want to address during small groups or individual instruction times. Are there are few students that could benefit from the same follow-up lesson (based on the rubric)? Pull a small group to reteach or clarify a skill or strategy as needed. The ultimate goal of a rubric is for students to receive feedback that they can use to improve their performance. Use this small group or individual instruction time to give them actionable steps that will help them to do just that. Reference the language used in the rubric as much as possible when providing these action steps. Use phrasing like " in order to score a 3 in that category, you'll need to..." or "The thing that's keeping you from jumping up to the next level is...to get there, try..."

Look for trends across your class. Was there an area that many students scored lower on than expected? If so, perhaps that section of the rubric is unclear, or you need to reteach a certain skill.

When appropriate, have students use the rubric to assess themselves. This could be very eye-opening to how they view their ability and performance on a particular assignment. Discuss and compare your rubrics. Doing so will be a valuable conversation between you and your student.

As with anything in our classroom, there are times when it is appropriate to differentiate. Rubric are no different.

One way to differentiate a rubric is to eliminate certain categories. Determine one or two goals that you'd like your student to focus on. Take the interactive notebook rubric, for example. If you have a student that struggles just create pages that are neat and organized ( we're talking pieces sticking out of the notebook, bent and crumpled, or parts of it glued down in any which way, and handwriting that makes you go cross-eyed!), it's going to be difficult to even seen if they have accurate content. Focus on just the "Neatness & Organization" category for one particular assignment. Help them to get a handle on that before focusing on the other categories.

That's not to see they aren't being assessed on those categories, but when it comes to giving actionable steps that students can run with to improve their performance, narrow your focus for greater success in the long run.

Likewise, another way to differentiate is to eliminate the number of levels of performance. For example, If you know a student is not going to even come close to reaching a level 4 at this point on any given rubric, leave it off the rubric completely. This will take some of the overwhelm away and help students focus on what they can accomplish and be successful at.

On the other hand, if a student isn't even registering on the rubric that you've already created, there's no point in even using it with that particular student. Instead, create one that will actually help them improve. If a student has an IEP or other educational plan set in place, use the goals outlined there to develop a rubric that is a more accurate measure of their abilities.

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Using Rubrics for Instruction and Assessment in the Elementary Classroom - THE CLASSROOM NOOK

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Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute Podcast :

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Supporting Students with Disabilities Local Resources

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Supporting Students with Disabilities Local Resources

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International students with physical, mental, intellectual or learning disabilities should be aware of the many resources available to them during their time on U.S. campuses.

The below links and information are meant to provide insight into the resources available at U.S. colleges and universities and through organizations committed to empowering students with disabilities in the United States. Many individual campuses also have student services and associations that offer further information.

Diversity Abroad: The mission of Diversity Abroad is to ensure that students from diverse economic, educational, ethnic and social backgrounds are aware, have equal access and take advantage of the benefits and opportunities afforded through global education exchanges.

Mobility International USA (MIUSA): Mobility International USA empowers people with disabilities to achieve their human rights through international exchange and international development.

Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD): The Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) is the leading professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher education.

The Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH): SATH is an educational nonprofit that works to raise awareness of the needs of all travelers with disabilities, remove physical and attitudinal barriers to free access and expand travel opportunities in the U.S. and abroad.

United States Government Support for Persons with Disabilities: The United States is committed to advancing empowerment, dignity, and equal rights for persons with disabilities. We believe that all people, in every country, deserve full and equal access to all spheres of society.

Understand Your Legal Rights: Public colleges and universities in the U.S. are required by law to make reasonable accommodations to promote an accessible environment for students with disabilities. Learn more about how these laws might ease your experience on campus.

Three Noteworthy Laws

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) - Title II of the ADA covers state funded schools such as universities, community colleges and vocational schools. Title III of the ADA covers private colleges and vocational schools.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) - Schools receiving federal dollars regardless of whether it is private or public is also covered by the regulations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requiring schools to make their programs accessible to qualified students with disabilities.

Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 - The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination in air transportation by domestic and foreign carriers. Contact the Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer Protection Division for questions about air travel.

A guide to information about each of the U.S. disability rights laws is available at https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm. This guide covers the following laws: Americans with Disabilities Act; Telecommunications Act; Fair Housing Act; Air Carrier Access Act; Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act; National Voter Registration Act; Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; Rehabilitation Act; Architectural Barriers Act

ADA National Network: The ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on how to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to support the mission of the ADA to "assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities."
Disclaimer: The Information Provided Is Not Legal Advice. Information Is Subject To Change Without Notice And The Viewpoints Expressed By The Private And Non-Profit Organizations Listed Do Not Necessarily Represent The Viewpoints Of The Department Of State. For Further Information, Please Refer To The Resources Available At The Respective Schools To Which You Will Be Applying.

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Resources for Students with Disabilities

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International students with physical, mental, intellectual or learning disabilities should be aware of the many resources available to them...