Biographies

Assessing Projects : Using Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning

Intermediate Phase Assessment Plans | Senior / FET Phase Assessment Plans

Biographies

At a Glance

Grade Level: 3-5
Subjects: Language
Topics: Biographies
Higher-Order Thinking Skills:Metacognition, Making Connections
Key Learnings: Interviewing, Narrative Writing, Biographies
Time Needed: 40 minutes a day for 2 weeks

Things You Need

Classroom Management Procedures

Assessing Projects (CD)

Assessing Projects* (online)

Project Summary
After listening to and reading several biographies, both in books and magazines, learners brainstorm about what makes a biography interesting and what makes a person important to answer the Essential Question, How are we all unique? They then interview the residents of a local nursing home to find out what makes the person unique and write articles about them. After learners receive feedback from their peers and participate in learner-led conferences with the teacher about their writing, they work in a group to compile the articles into a magazine. In a final celebration, the learners share their publication with the senior citizens who they interviewed.

Curriculum-Aligned Questions

Essential Question
How are we all unique?
Focus Questions
What makes a biography interesting?
How is my life like the lives of others?
Content Questions
What is a good interview question?
How do I punctuate quotations?

Assessment Plan
This timeline shows in chronological order the different types of formal and informal assessments that occur during the unit. The table below explains how each assessment is used and who uses it for what purpose.

Assessment Timeline

Before project work begins

Learenrs work on projects and
complete tasks

After project work is completed

Discussion

T-Chart

Journals
Practice Interview Feedback
Interview Checklist
Magazine Article Feedback

Individual Writing
Peer Writing Feedback
Magazine Checklist
Magazine Rubric

Magazine Article Rubric
Magazine Rubric

Final Reflection

Assessment	Process and Purpose of Assessment
Discussion	Learners read biographies and discuss what makes a person important. The teacher uses the information from this discussion to guide learners as they plan and conduct their interviews.
T-Chart	The teacher uses learners’ contributions about what details were selected for the biographies they read to plan teaching to help learners choose what to include in the biographies they write.
Journals	Learners write in journals about what makes the person in the biographies they are reading interesting and important. The teacher uses this information to plan mini-lessons during the reading and writing stages of the project.
Practice Interview Feedback Form	Pairs of learners role-play an interview in front of a small group of their peers who fill out this form to give them feedback about their interviewing techniques.
Interview Checklist	Before learners conduct their interviews, they use this checklist to help them prepare for a successful interview.
Article Checklist	This checklist reminds learners of what they need to include in their articles while they are writing.
Magazine Article Rubric	Learners provide suggestions for what makes articles interesting and their thoughts are included in a rubric for the magazine articles. Learners use the rubric as they write to help them produce high-quality writing and to give feedback to their peers in writing groups. The teacher uses the rubric to assess the individual articles in the magazine.
Writing Preparation Meeting	Learners use the Magazine Article Rubric, and think about their past writing, to prepare for their writing conference with the teacher. The teacher collects information from the learner during the meeting in order to provide appropriate individual instruction and to determine classroom trends and issues to inform future teaching and learning activities.
Peer Writing Feedback	Learners meet periodically in small groups to share their writing and to use the Magazine Article Rubric to provide feedback about content, organization, style, and conventions.
Magazine Checklist	This checklist helps learners manage their time efficiently while they are putting together their magazine.
Magazine Rubric	In groups, learners use this rubric to help them create a magazine that meets high standards of quality.
Final Reflection	When the magazine is completed and shared, learners write a metacognitive reflection in which they describe what they learned about writing and interviewing and set goals for their next writing project.

Credits
A teacher contributed this idea for a classroom project in the USA. A team of educators expanded the plan into the example you see here.