Retelling provides information about a student’s comprehension following his or her reading of text. It enables the evaluator to determine how the student constructs his or her own meanings from the text without direct questioning from the evaluator.

• What the student thinks is important to remember or retell
• If the student’s retelling fits the purposes set for reading
• If the structure and sequence of the student’s retelling matches that of the text

Discussions involve dialogue between two or more people whereby various aspects of a subject are considered.

An example of using discussion as a form of response to literature is Literature Circles. Literature Circles offer students opportunities to discuss what they have read with others.

A writing sample is a written product which can be in draft or finished form, generated by a teacher or student prompt. It can range in length from a one-sentence response to a multi-paragraph essay to a formal research paper. It can be fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose.

Students present the product(s) of their work individually or in groups and respond to questions from a panel and/or the class. Directions: Literary Connections Students in small groups determine one major thematic connection among at least three texts, prepare a one-page written summary and an audio/visual exhibition of their findings. The summary is distributed to the whole class in advance of the exhibition. Video, skit, artwork is presented to the class and is followed by questions from a panel of peers and the class. The performance is assessed in three sections: written summary, exhibition, and defense.

Part of the class discusses a topic in a small group in the middle of the room while the rest of the class observes.

Students may research and deliver a variety of formal speeches, both prepared and extemporaneous. Some conventional types of formal speeches are: exposition, persuasion, storytelling, argumentation, demonstration, and entertainment. The audience of peers, parents, community members, or the teacher can respond on a checklist.

Students use textual evidence in a mock trial format to explore the moral dimensions of a literary character or characters. Note: this task is an excellent method for involving reluctant readers deeply in the text itself.

The purpose of a learning log is for students to rehearse their understanding of material and to clarify their knowledge in preparation for further study. Below is an example of a learning log suitable for a wide variety of grades and settings.

Students think back on an experience or text and write their reactions. The reflective log typically provides them an opportunity to extend their initial impressions, make connections with other learning, and think about learning.

• Organizers
• Vocabulary
• Other sources
• Advance organizers
• Questions

Date:
Class:
Page #:

• Get the facts and spelling right.
• If unclear, ask.
• Leave space between subtopics in case you need to add more notes.
• Review notes within 24 hours
  --make notes by creating categories and study questions.
• Include a brief review of all notes in every study session until the test or paper.

Brain-compatible education
9/14/95
ED 413, methods
p. 1

• ability to detect patterns and make approximations
• phenom. capacity, various types memory
• ability: self-correct, learn from experience
  analysis, synthesis, self-reflection
• inexhaustible capacity create

• new research supports
• educators can no longer ignore
• total change in schooling

These include the assessment tools that have been used traditionally in schools: true-false, matching, completion items, essays, justified multiple choice.

• These tasks can provide information about recall and literal comprehension.
• They can be useful in testing logic and the ability to recognize connections.
• They are sometimes a form of time-efficient feedback.

• It is time consuming and difficult to construct a good written test.
• Many teachers have very little training on how to create a meaningful test.
• Teachers need to consider the various learning styles, multiple intelligences, cultural diversity, and learning problems of students and provide a balance of assessment activities that allow students to succeed.
• Within developmental limits, more items are better.
• Limit true-false items due to the high probability that students will guess.

• Avoid absolute words like all, never, and always.
• Make sure items are clearly true or false rather than ambiguous.
• Limit true-false questions to 10.
• Consider asking students to make false questions true to encourage higher-order thinking.

• Limit list to between 5-15 items.
• Use homogeneous lists. (Don’t mix names with dates).
• Give clear instructions. (Write number to left of the matching item, draw a line between matching items, etc.).
• Give more choices than there are questions.

• State main idea in the core or stem of the question.
• Use reasonable incorrect choices. (Avoid ridiculous choices.)
• Make options the same length (nothing very long or very short.)

• Structure for a brief, specific answer for each item.
• Avoid passages lifted directly from text (emphasizing memorization).
• Use blanks of equal length.
• Avoid sentences with multiple blanks.

• Avoid all-encompassing questions (such as "tell all you know about").
• Define criteria for evaluation.
• Use some higher-order thinking verbs like "compare and contrast" rather than recall verbs.

At your tables, discuss each of the following questions. Then divide the questions among you, and each of you write a response for one question. You may draw on the knowledge of your table partners, but each question’s final written answer is the responsibility of the person who "volunteers" to answer it. You will be graded using these rubrics: group participation and written essay.

1. The Iliad focuses on the behavior of warriors in times of crisis and examines what each person owes to him or herself and to the community. What does each of the following characters owe to himself and to others? a) Agamemnon, b) Achilles, c) Patroclus, d) Hector, and e)Paris

2. In The Iliad, is it true that a person’s reputation is worth more than wealth and power? If so, is this still true today? Why or why not? Explain.

3. Why does Homer choose an argument over a woman as the cause of a tragic quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles? Does it matter what actually causes the quarrel? Explain.

4. Why does Achilles refuse to fight for the Greeks when Agamemnon takes Briseisūlove of Briseis? honor? pride? Defend your opinion.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

1. Who is Miss Havisham?

2. What is Estella’s first impression of Pip? And Pip’s of her?

3. What are your first impressions of Miss Havisham’s house?

4. Just Pip’s look at Miss Havisham and her strange surroundings can reveal much about her character and her story.What can YOU discern?

5. Why is her demand for Pip to "Play!" so disconcerting?

6. Pip says he feels ashamed of who and what he is&emdash;why? Knowing his life circumstances, what could you tell him to make him feel better?

Readings: "Snows of Kilimanjaro," "Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," The Sun Also Rises, and The Old Man and the Sea

What is Hemingway’s view of women’s role in society? Is his view accurate today for society at large? for you? Remember to defend your response with examples from the class readings and from contemporary society.