Formative Assessment Action Plan

Adapted from Figure 9.15

Title of Lesson: Magnet Investigation Grade Level: 2
Content Standards:
2.2 (Science) The student will investigate and understand that natural and
artificial magnets have certain characteristics and attract specific types of metals.

2.1 (English) The student will use oral communication skills.

Share information orally with appropriate facts and relevant details.

Description of the Lesson:

This whole group lesson will combine oral speaking skills and science content
information. The students will listen to a read aloud about Magnet Max who
discovers that his magnet is attracted to some items and repelled from others.
After the read aloud students will be provided magnets. They will go on a hunt
around the room to find what their magnet might be attracted to. Students will
work in partners to check off a list of items that are labeled in the room, to
determine if the magnet is attracted to them. Follow up discussion after the
checklist will provide students an opportunity to practice using attract in context.

Language Proficiency Levels for English Learners:

• 1 Level 1 student
• 2 Level 3 students

What construct will you assess? (e.g., academic language, content, or both?)

I will assess both academic language and content

Academic Language
Level 1 Student will correctly
(orally) use the
vocabulary terms repel
and attract when while
being show examples of
north and south poles
coming near each other
with two magnets.
Content
Student will correctly
identify magnets
repelling and attracting
to each other, orally.
Student will identify the
north and south pole of a
magnet.
 Level 3 Student will correctly Student will correctly
describe the vocabulary identify magnets
terms repel and attract repelling and attracting
while demonstrating with to each other, orally.
two magnets. They will They will successfully
explain what poles are identify which poles a
near each other to near each other to cause
describe cause and effect. a certain outcome.

How will you share your assessment expectations with your students?
They will be provided a rubric:

Level 1
Yes: No: Yes: No:
I can use the words I can recognize the
repel and attract north and south poles
correctly. on a magnet.

Level 3
Yes: No: Yes: No:
I can use the words I can demonstrate the
repel and attract north and south poles
correctly. on a magnet reacting
to each other.

At what point in the lesson will you assess the construct?

After the hands on application and partner discussion students will meet with the
general education teacher and complete the assessment.

What assessment methods / tools will you use? Why?

The rubric shown above and two magnets. I will use real magnets as a visual aid
which supports Level 1. Level 3 will use the magnets to help explain their
thinking. These visual aids/manipulatives are an appropriate scaffold for their
speaking levels.
 I will provide Level 1 with a sentence frame:
When the ______ and the ______ poles are near each other the magnets ____________.

This will be a familiar sentence frame because we will use it during instruction
and hands on demonstration.

How will you evaluate the information you collect through the assessment?

I will evaluate using the rubric and then reflect with the ESOL teacher on areas
for growth in their academic language if needed.

How will you use the data you collect to inform your instruction?

The outcome of the assessment will tell me if a review is needed for each
student.
For both levels if they can identify each pole and use both vocabulary words
correctly, they will move on. If they cannot identify the poles they will continue
to work on labeling games with magnets. If they cannot describe the repel or
attract vocabulary words correctly, we will continue with hands on
demonstration and kinesthetic practice with movement games and hand
movements to represent the vocabulary terms.

Retrieved from the companion website for Unlocking English Learners’ Potential: Strategies for
Making Content Accessible by Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin, www.corwin.com. Copyright © 2017 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reproduction
authorized only for the local school site or nonprofit organization that has purchased this book.