Savannah Bakker

Bon Air Elementary School – 5th Grade

Teacher Work Sample: Plot Structure/Story Elements

ASSESSMENT PLAN

Throughout my teacher work sample, I included a variety of assessment strategies to

guide student learning. Using different strategies helped me gauge student understanding of the
topics, and from there, helped me to adapt/alter my instruction. Many of my assessments were
observation or discussion based. By walking around the room during lessons, I could observe
and make note of which students seemed to be struggling, then could provide reteaching when
necessary.

1. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
 Class Discussions:

A large amount of the assessment in this unit was based on discussions I had with the students.
By having discussion-based lessons, students have the chance to share their thoughts, ideas and
questions. Additionally, I can better gauge their understanding since many of the students are
verbal processors.

 Anchor charts/Activities (Guided Practice):

Many of the activities were done as a whole class, but all of the students were involved. By
having students complete the “Henry’s Freedom Box” activities, I could assess the extent of their
understanding. They were asked to do some higher-order thinking activities, such as determining
character traits and text evidence. By having most activities be with the full group, I was also
meeting individual learning needs because I was helping scaffold them through the process.

 Observations:

I was walking around the room during each lesson in order to listen in on student conversations
and provide extra explanation when needed. I was making note of the students who seemed to be
struggling.

 Thumbs up/down Method:

The thumbs up/down method is a strategy I use frequently to informally assess my students. It is
a simple way to check in and see which students feel confident or feel like they need additional
help. Throughout lessons and during closures I often ask how the students feel about the topic
and use the thumbs up/down method as a means of checking for understanding.
 SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

 Story Elements Skill Review Packet:

Each day a new group of students was at the “skill review” center. They had the chance to
practice story elements and complete a packet that they turned in. I was able to use this to see
what students could do independently. This packet was set up in a similar format to their pre and
post-test, so they were using the same types of skills.

 Plot Post-Test:

At the end of the week/unit, students took the plot post-test with the same types of questions as
the pre-test. This allowed me to see the student growth that occurred as a result of the lessons
taught. The results were encouraging and allowed me to see that the lessons did help students
develop a more thorough understanding of the topic, even in a short amount of time.

2. QUALITY CONTROL

A. Fair

I created assignments and assessments based on the needs of my learners. I implemented

discussion-based lessons so that all students could participate and be involved. The students
were scaffolded through the learning process with full group instruction, small group
instruction and individual activities. The students with accommodations had their needs met
during the tests. Additionally, there was no time limit for the pre or post-test, so all students
were able to take their time and do their best on the assessments.

B. Accurate

Based on the standards and objectives for each lesson, I made sure the activities and
assessments were accurate. I ensured that the lessons were written so that students could be
challenged, but also be successful. The assessments had questions/passages that were
developmentally appropriate and correlated with the standards being assessed. Some of the
questions themselves were different on the post-test, however, the skill being assessed, and
the types of questions remind the same. This allowed accurate, dependable results.

C. Consistent

Since the beginning of this placement, I have witnessed the importance of reviewing with
this class. Not only does the class benefit from discussions and thorough explanations, but
they also benefit from reviewing topics previously learned. Each lesson was consistent. At
the beginning of each lesson we reviewed the content previously taught, and the repetition
helped the students be more successful on their post-test. Additionally, the results from the
assessment lined up with my expectations based on my observations and discussions with the
students
 D. Free from Bias

When taking tests, the students understand the expectation that their voices are off and if they
need help, they raise their hand. This provides an environment that is not distracting and can help
the students be successful. Students who had accommodations to have the test read aloud used
headphones so the noise would not be a problem. I made sure to remind students of the
expectations prior to starting the test. Also, even though I used questions from the “Study Island”
test website, I got to choose the questions. I was able to pick developmentally appropriate
questions that were appropriate for the class yet would still challenge them.

3. EFFECT ON STUDENT LEARNING

I organized my teacher work sample in a logical way. The information is thorough so that it
demonstrates the depth with which I thought about this unit. The lessons positively impacted my
class and helped them have success and show growth. The graphs below show the growth of the
students/class from the pre to post-test.

4. REPORTING RESULTS

PRE-TEST POST-TEST Difference

# of questions # of questions
correct (out of 9) correct (out of 9)
Student 1 2 7 +5
Student 2 8 7 -1
Student 3 6 8 +2
Student 4 5 7 +2
Student 5 6 8 +2
Student 6 5 8 +3
Student 7 8 9 +1
Student 8 7 7 =
Student 9 8 8 =
Student 10 8 9 +1
Student 11 2 4 +2
Student 12 9 9 =
Student 13 2 7 +5
Student 14 8 9 +1
Student 15 6 8 +2

This graph shows the students’ scores out of nine questions. The graph shows the number of
questions the student got correct on the pre and post-test. The last column shows the difference.
Most of the students improved, three students scored the same, and only one student went down.
The graph above represents the class average percentage on the pre and post-test. The students
averaged 66.6% on the pre-test and grew to an 85.1% on the post-test. The students made
significant growth as a result of the lessons in this unit.
The graph above shows the individual students’ scores (percentages). The green column
represents the pre-test and the purple represents the post-test.

5. INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY

Bon Air is a technology academy, so each student in the class has a computer. The students took
both their pre and post-test on “Study Island” which is a testing website through Clever. The
students use this website frequently and are familiar with all of its tools. I chose to implement
their test online in order to integrate technology and use a testing method that students were
familiar with. This website also allowed me to choose their test questions and gave me full score
reports after each assessment. Additionally, the students were able to use their computers during
lessons to look up any information that they were unsure of. We also used the projector during
the lesson where we reviewed the pre-test. Integrating technology engages the learners, so I used
that to my advantage when planning this unit.