Formative Assessment

Throughout the unit, students were given a variety of formative assessments. The primary formative assessment used on a daily basis was a thumbs up/down for students to visually show their understanding of the concept or idea being taught. For example, when speaking about counter arguments, students were assessed half way through the lesson to show a thumbs up/down to demonstrate how well they currently understood what a counter argument is. Based on the data received, I provided additional examples to help clear up misconceptions.

Another type of formative assessment used throughout the unit was journal quick writes. The last three to five minutes of most lessons was dedicated to answering a short answer question in a response journal. I collected the journals at the end of each lesson to read the students’ responses, make comments, or answer questions. This became an ongoing discussion for students to share questions or concerns, as well as a way for me to check for understanding for the daily lessons taught. If patterns emerged while reading the journal responses, I would address this during the following class time.

The final type of formative assessment was the persuasive essay. The students were assigned a formal persuasive essay over the course of half of the unit. The homework for most evenings worked on components of the persuasive essay, including choosing a topic, finding support, and creating an outline. Class time was dedicated to allow the students to write a rough draft of their essay, peer edit the essay, and begin a final draft. The final draft was graded by rubric to determine learning gains so far, and directly influenced which information needed to be re-covered before the final Persuading Product Activity.

Performance Assessment

One performance assessment was given to end the total unit. Students were placed in small groups, and worked as a group to create a persuasive product commercial script. The students were then recorded performing their commercial, and a video was put together to be watched during the final lesson party day. The students were graded on adherence to commercial script guidelines, including: using facts, opinions, and counter arguments; use of a visual with necessary components; and meeting video requirements. To view the point sheet or examples of the students’ final project, visit the lesson plan section of this work sample.