Students should realize that writing is a process of discovery which transcends the English classroom. Writing only about literature limits their experiences. The types of writing assessed on the Georgia Middle Grades Writing Assessment (MGWA) are: Narrative Writing, Persuasive Writing, and Report Writing (Expository). This MGWA guide is divided…

The assessment model described in this guide was initially developed by a team of fifth-grade teachers who wrote objectives of integrating social studies and language arts. It helps the teacher guide students to create a task-specific rubric that they use to evaluate their own and peers' work. Teachers review the student evaluations, determine the…

Consisting of items from the 1998 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment as well as some items created specifically for the Practice Test, this Practice Test intends to be representative of the type of test and contain items similar to those that appear on actual grade 5 reading tests. These practice tests are not intended to be psychometrically…

In society, information/ideas are communicated through various media (words, symbols, illustrations, etc.). When analyzing comic strips, it is noticeable that each has a different style, point of view, setting, plot, and summary, communicated not only through words, but through illustrations and style--creating comic strips can summarize various…

This book is a guide to the development and use of performance tasks and rubrics in the upper elementary school mathematics classroom. It contains a rationale for, and a discussion of strengths and limitations of, performance tasks to assess student achievement and progress in mathematics. A field-tested process is offered for developing…

The visual arts offer aesthetic, perceptual, creative, and intellectual opportunities. This lesson points out that by creating and painting mythological characters, students will improve their ability to analyze, reorganize, critique, and create. The lesson also intends for fourth-grade students to gain insight into Greek culture through the…

Children can learn to express themselves through the performing arts in constructive ways. Theater, specifically, employs the use of all dimensions of learning. In this lesson, students will engage in basic theater techniques for creating a character through movement and voice. The lesson, lasting 5 class periods, introduces them to guidelines for…

The call for educational reform has caused mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment to come under both professional and public scrutiny. The three elements contesting for leadership in assessment reform are the conventional testing agencies, reformers led by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and political agencies…

This book is a guide to the development and use of performance tasks and rubrics in the middle school mathematics classroom. It contains a rationale for, and a discussion of strengths and limitations of, performance tasks to assess student achievement and progress in mathematics. A field-tested process is offered for developing performance tasks…