Reading Quizzes and Socratic Seminars
I learned about this assessment from my cooperative teacher. Considering that our students had to read from the class novel every night, we felt it necessary to have some way of checking that they had not only read but comprehended and analyzed the text. Every day they would either have a socratic seminar (class divided into two groups, each verbally answered three questions via a nine minute discussion) or reading quiz (students individually wrote down their answers to six questions in twelve minutes). Through these formative assessments, I endeavored students to think about the why instead of the what. I created this document on my own and without the help from any sites, sources, etc. *I have included sample answers that I would expect from the students.*
Second Six Weeks Exam
I was charged with the responsibility of creating a summative assessment that mirrored the STAAR test for 9th grade students. We never explicitly "taught to the test" during my student teaching experience, so we used this opportunity to acclimate students to the test format. I decided to go online, find and copy the appropriate text boxes, and add them to a document accompanied by simple and straightforward questions. The students accomplished relaying their answers within strict parameters.