Chapters six of “Book Club Plus!” focused on assessment and I found this chapter very interesting especially in comparing and contrasting with the assessments used in my classroom. In this chapter various different assessments are discussed, “These tools may include work samples collected in portfolio’s, reading logs and journals, standardized tests, running records and teacher observations, student self-evaluation sheets, evaluations of student-led book clubs, language and fluency skills checklists, and project evaluation sheets”(81). In my classroom my CT uses teacher observations, standardized tests, but sadly other than that I haven’t seen many different assessments used in my classroom. I feel that journals would be very useful and I think it is a way of assessing students that is non-threatening way and helps them to develop their writing skills. I think that we could take this journal writing a step further by having them, if they feel comfortable, read these journals in groups or to partners. In”Book Club Plus!” the goal is to tie reading and writing together because, “reading supports students’ development as writers supports students’ development as readers” (84). I think that by doing so students reading and writing skills would greatly improve and this would be done in an informal way.
The book discusses the “I can” strategy and I felt this would be one that would be very successful if it were implemented within my classroom. I feel that this is a great way for students to set achievable goals. Then once these goals are attained the students can feel a sense of ownership with the skills that they are able to demonstrate in the classroom context. The book discusses how this is a, “quick way to reference the goals they were all working toward” (85).
Another large part of the book club plus technique involves group work. I found this section extremely interesting because I always struggle when trying to decide how to group my students. According to student levels? According to gender? It is difficult to foresee how the groups will interact with each other. The book discusses various ways to group students and also assess them at the same time which I think would be an extremely useful tool, as the book suggests possibly “heterogeneous groups with respect to ability” (88). I think grouping within the Book Club Plus! techniques is a skill that comes with practice and time.
My CT had my students do a writing called the “special place” place. This was an example of my CT engaging our students in wonderful in-class writing. My teacher did a great job of facilitating this writing and really genuinely getting them excited to write a piece of their own. She had them close their eyes and visualize a somewhere they loved to be. She then walked them through a place that she loved to go by having them close their eyes and using only her descriptive language to help them create a mental picture of this place. This was a great way for the students to see the power of language and to learn about imagery and sensory images. She encouraged them to use descriptive words in their writing by walking them through the drafting and writing process of her own paper and special place. She modeled this so well and I feel that this was so crucial to how the papers turned out. In our Book Club Plus book it discusses the steps to facilitate writing and I feel that although this may have been a step that was more fitting to the younger grades, this was nevertheless, a very effective tool with my students. I feel that my CT is a great example for me to learn from.
Overall, I feel that my teacher has various assessments, writings, and readings that are similar to the ones discussed in the Book Club Plus!, “Teachers who understand and focus on content standards, and who make links between instruction and classroom assessment, are more likely to be effective” (102).
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