Social Studies Pre-assessment Strategy for Differentiating Instruction ✏
5 students who answered most, including the most difficult, of the pre-assessment questions correctly
12 students who have some knowledge about the topic as shown in their score, but need to develop higher order thinking skills
3 students with limited knowledge about the topic, struggling with language and are at different reading levels
2 students who have little to no comprehension of the the topic and need to be tested further for special needs
Group Activity. Students share their 5 points and 5 ideas. They see which ideas overlapped and which were interesting, surprising or similar to others. Students discuss what the purpose of the UN is, the challenges they face and the solutions to these challenges.
Simulation. Students roleplay the Veto Power of the UN which includes China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. Each student assumes 1 of the 5 countries and focusing on the issue of climate change, they propose the resolutions their country would introduce to the Security Council and why it should pass. This verbal discussion is simple yet also demonstrate the knowledge of the UN process and scratches the surface of complex and deep-rooted issues.
5x5 Journal. Students write about 5 of the most intriguing or interesting points about the United Nations. Students write about 5 things that resonated with them from each idea and explain why
Group Activity. Students collect their 3-2-1 Reflections and get into 4 groups of 4 (selected by the teacher) where they discuss their 3-2-1 and students begin to answer the 1 question each group member has. After all the questions have been addressed, groups can rotate and the discussion begins anew .
Connecting the questions and the answers. Students now have reflected upon and answered the questions. Back in the original group, each student answers the question they had by presenting it to the group. New questions can arise and students share what they learned in the group activity that they did not know before.
3-2-1 Reflection and write about 3 things they learned, 2 things they still want to learn and 1 question that they have.
Creating Concept Maps with single-words, drawings and collage. Students link similarities in the topic for example UN, a peace sign, impoverished people, medicine - a visual road map to what the UN's purpose is.
To complete a pre-assessment while improving reading level skills, Assistive Technology will be used. Voxy is a great app because it focuses on specific topics and proficiency level while personalizing the lesson for students.
Daring Doodles The students draw (rather than write) about what they think they know and what they do not know.
Using Assistive Technology can be used for special needs students to complete the Social Studies pre-assessment. Low-Tech Handouts can support these two students add to their Graphic organizers.
Interview. The students are news reporters and they interview the teacher asking questions about the subject matter (UN) and are able to receive answers to their questions which they take notes on.
Students will do an oral KWL Chart with their teacher, so that they can reflect on the work while receiving immediate and direct feedback from teacher.
Assessments that will be used to track students throughout the Unit
Metacognition.
Metacognition enables students to reflect on what they did during this lesson and for what reason it was done. At the end of this lesson, students complete a simple chart with the following questions: What did we do? Why did we do it? What did I learn? How can I apply it? What questions do I still have about it?
Assessments that will be used to track students throughout the Unit
Exit Slips Students will write about two things from this lesson that they enjoyed and one thing that they did not enjoy learning about. We use this exit ticket to finalize the lesson with a class discussion.
Assessments that will be used to track students throughout the Unit
Observation Observing the students and reflecting on whether to change or modify a specific strategy. Teacher can observe students when they are in small groups or engaged in a learning task to analyze if they are participating, persistent, having a hard time or look to classmates for help.
Assessments that will be used to track students throughout the Unit
Performance Task
Teacher will use the material that is being learned in class to assess the students performance by asking them questions or providing key words while the student answers to show ability, skill and attitude.