Integration and Differentiation of Curriculum

Meeting the needs of all students and driving your instruction of CCSS

through Formative Assessments

Cut to the Core Conference Presentation Ms. Jill E. Souza

Elementary School Coordinator Johnston School Department

What is the Difference between Formative and Summative Assessment?

Formative Assessment Summative Assessment• The goal of summative assessment is

to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark

• Information and/or date from summative assessments can be used formatively when students or faculty use it to guide their efforts, instruction and activities in the classroom

• Formative assessment is not for the teacher; it is for the student

• The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by the classroom teacher to drive instruction and to improve learning for students.

• Formative assessments help students identify their strengths and weaknesses while also providing important data for classroom teacher to address problems immediately with struggling students

Specific Examples of Formative and Summative Assessments

Formative Assessments – “Low Stakes”

Examples• Asking students to draw a

concept map in class and/or FactStorming page on a particular topic

• Turn in a research proposal for early feedback

• Asking students to create a My Opinions Journal for a specific topic or unit of study

Summative Assessments – “High Stakes”

Examples• NECAPs, Standardized tests• Domain Unit Exam• A Theme Project • Midterm Exam• Performance Assessment in

Math• A Research Paper

Importance of Formative Assessment in the Classroom

There are 5 key strategies that need to be aligned with classroom practices, as well as, Common Core State Standards, in order for effective use of Formative Assessment:

Clarifying, understanding, and sharing curriculum ideas

Engineering effective classroom discussions, tasks and activities that produce data/evidence for learning

Providing feedback that moves learners forward

Activating students learning through collaborative learning, reciprocal teaching, and/or peer assessment

Activating students as owners of their own learning

How can all this information be applied to the new shifts in the ELA CCSS?

Instructional Shifts for Deeper Learning

English Language Arts – 6 Shifts• Shift 1: Increase Reading Informational Text – Increasing the amount of informational

text students read in grades K-12 will prepare them to read college and career-ready texts• Shift 2: Text Complexity – Teachers will create more time in the curriculum for close and

careful reading while providing necessary supports to make central text accessible to students reading below grade level.

• Shift 3: Academic Vocabulary – Students need to constantly build the vocabulary they need to access grade-level complex texts.

• Shift 4: Text-based Answers - Teachers ensure classroom experiences stay deeply connected to the text and that students develop habits to assess their comprehension of a text.

• Shift 5: Increase Writing from Sources – Students K-12 develop college and career-ready skills through written arguments that respond to the ideas, events, facts, and arguments presented in the texts they listen to and read.

• Shift 6: Literacy Instruction in all Content Areas – Students learn through reading domain-specific texts in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects and by writing informative/explanatory and argumentative pieces.

FACT:

Ongoing Formative Assessments and Differentiation of Instruction within

any classroom will allow for true alignment with the Common Core

State Standards in terms of classroom instruction for deeper

learning.

Activities for a Differentiated ClassroomComplimenting the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts

Examples1. Science Thematic Unit/ELA – What happens when

one link in a food chain weakens or disappears? Find an example of a food chain that has experienced this that was cited from the current science text or one that you have researched. Write an argument explaining why that food chain is needed in a particular ecosystem and how we can protect and preserve the organisms in the food chain so this does not happen. (ELA Shifts 5 & 6)

More examples:• How does the Declaration of Independence affect our lives today? Write a

letter and/or email to your teacher with a response that shows your depth of knowledge about the 4 parts of the Declaration and the academic vocabulary that supports the content being discussed. (ELA Shifts 3, 4,5 & 6)

• Note-taking in any subject – Noting What I Learned – This is used with students in younger grades, struggling learners, or students new to note-taking who need a structure for notes while being prompted to provide three details for every main idea noted. As they draw the main idea in each box and write its three details, they create pre-writing material for an essay. (See handout)

• Reading/ELA – Create a visual timeline of a main character that illustrates and briefly describes important decisions the character makes and how he/she changes from the beginning to the end of the story.

• Analysis of Informational Text – Example :Write a belief statement conveying your viewpoint and feelings about an environmental issue related to oceans, such as oils spills or offshore drilling.

Conclusion• The effective classroom teacher drives

instruction through evidence/data gathered by purposeful formative assessments and differentiated activities;

• It is the classroom teachers’ role to prepare and organize the content and curriculum to be presented ; it is also a teachers’ role to adjust instruction to accommodate students’ differences; and finally

• All teachers must encourage and engage students in the learning process for deeper understanding of content through the CCSS.

Thank you!