Story Retelling

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.

Retelling may be analyzed for the following information:

• 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.

1. Select text for reading. (This can be done by evaluator or student.)
2. Before reading, tell the student that he or she will be retelling the selection after reading.
3. Have student read the text (silently unless a miscue analysis is being done).
4. After student has read the text, ask him or her to put it aside and retell everything he or she can remember. Consider tape recording the telling or drawing pictures sequenced with simple sentences.
5. Take notes as needed as student retells.
6. When student finishes retelling, ask if there is anything else he or she would like to add.
7. If desired, follow the retelling with guided questioning to elicit more information.

Analyze retelling using retelling scoring guide.

Language Master

The Language Master activity is a discrete skill activity that assists students in hearing and then orally producing certain linguistic and grammatical elements and assisting in aural comprehension of the target language: alphabet, vocabulary, or short sentences.

1. Draw a picture of letter with object that begins with letter name.
2. Record letter sound, paste picture and letter, name of picture, letter sound on Language Master card.
3. Have student run the card through machine; listen, repeat recording own voice, listen again.
4. Do same with vocabulary words, words beginning or ending with sh, ch or short sentences.
5. Have student create Language Master cards for other students' use.

Anecdotal notes of oral language production, for example

1. Student accurately repeats phoneme, vocabulary, or sentence.

Student shows oral/aural discrimination, e.g., sh/ch or fluency with specific grammatical structures.

Pen pals

Students write personal letters to another person in the target language (a classmate, a student in another school/level/city or country).

Topics may include school activities, their family, sports, hobbies, holidays, the activities of the past weekend, plans for next summer, etc. Students ask questions requesting information from their pen pals. They might work on a particular subject, perhaps comparing their locations, creating fable, or writing a mystery story. Then students report to class about the pen pal and their joint project.

Assessment Instrument: anecdotal notes

Picture Composition

Students carefully select one color comic strip frame from the Sunday paper.

Responding to questions, they write the answers in the target language in paragraph form describing and/or inventing what is in the picture. Who is it? Where is s/he going? What is s/he wearing? (Include colors) What is s/he doing? What is s/he going to do?

Checklist of subject/verb agreement; adjective/noun agreement; use of immediate future; etc. 

Recipes

Skits

Class has been developing and videotaping commercials for video presentation to class. Students were asked to

1. Compare two products in two minutes, using props;
2. Use mas que, menos que appropriately;
3. Use imperfect tenses with antes, cuando yo era niņa, yo usaba/lavaba/comia/manejaba, correctly.

The student(s) show the video commercial to the class. Each student and the teacher, score the video as they watch it.

Scoring Guide is based on the skit instructions

1

Mas and menos que were used

used often and correctly

not used or incorrectly used

3

2

1

2

The imperfect forms were used.

past and present used correctly

not used or incorrectly used

3

2

1

3

The use of prepositions was

frequent and correct

absent or incorrect

3

2

1

4

The commercial was easy to understand

Yes

No

Mapping or Webbing a Story

Teacher passes out map and tells a story. Students number in sequence each place that the narrator goes, or students may read a story and map out the story on their own.

 Assessment Instrument #1

Teacher uses a checklist to see if the students have understood story by seeing if they have numbered the places correctly.

 Assessment Task #2

Each does a web of his or her immediate or extended family (at least 4 members). Included for each family member must be:

1) an activity the family member likes to do

2) a personality trait

3) a physical characteristic

4) the person's age.

 Assessment Instrument #2

Checklist for:

1) number of family members identified

2) correct usage of vocabulary

3) correct subject-adjective agreement

4) if presented orally, pronunciation  

Sequencing

Students see pictures of a story, for example, "Raul's Daily Routing," while teacher narrates. Teacher then asks questions about the story. Students arrange themselves in group, and are given identical sets of the same pictures and must orally retell story in the original sequence.

Checklist:

1. Did students remember the sequence correctly?
2. Could they retell from their pictures in a grammatically correct way?
3. Could they use correct pronunciation?
4. Was their retelling fluid and well paced?

Fantasy Experience

The specific assessment task and tool of this activity may vary widely, depending on student's proficiency. At Novice level, it may assess knowledge of vocabulary items (occupations, items of clothing, colors, family members); at the Intermediate level, it may be used to relate an imaginary experience in the past (correct use of grammar being tested); and at the Advanced level, students may show their mastery of the subjunctive (if I were rich, I would ....; or if I had lived in medieval Europe, I would have....).

A checklist or likert scale can be developed to note whether items for which the student is being assessed (vocabulary grammar, subjunctive...) are present or how well they are being used.

Questions and Answers

Novice level: student responds to teacher's questions at various levels of complexity, attesting to oral comprehension, mastery of vocabulary, level of discourse, etc.

 High Novice/Intermediate levels: students may be asked to generate a list of questions, to ask these questions of one or more other students, to record the information gathered and write it up in report form.

Checklist or scoring guide noting vocabulary, grammar items, appropriate forms of address, or whatever is being mastered in the class.. 

Creative Movement, Song, and Dance

Students have studied the movements and characters of the local animals. Teacher shows the movements of stand up, squat, walk, run, hide, crawl, go in and out, get under, and climb. The lesson is continued for a couple of weeks as whole group or as smaller group activities during PE time, recess, or indoor activity break.

Follow directions given by teacher.

Checklist of understanding of vocabulary words and of large muscle coordination.

Teachers incorporates learning a Yup'ik song into storytelling along with movements above to create a dance. The students learn the song, "Lu, Lu, Lu, Uaq-qa-qa"and to retell the story behind the song. The movements to the song help the students to not only to memorize the dance song, but also to relate to their own life experiences and to remember the sequence of the story. The cultural experience is learned.

Students perform song and dance.

Anecdotal notes record cultural understanding, ability to perform the dance, song, and movements, retelling the story of the dance sequencing. 

Familiar Assessment Tasks

Familiar assessment instruments 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.