More Strategies to Monitor Student Understanding:)

How can teachers be sure that 80% of the students in their classes follows the lesson?  When can a teacher assign homework knowing students are fully prepared to do it?  How can a teacher know when a student is struggling?  The answer to all of the above is ongoing monitoring through formative assessments aka checks for understanding.  Though this topic has been addressed in this blog before, it never hurts to have a few more instructional monitoring tools in the teacher tool belt.

So here is one site with a new look at how to check for understanding for ELLs in all classes.  Simply check on an activity used in the class, and see it can be adjusted, expanded, or scaffolded for ELLs in mainstream classes with ease.  The descriptions of the approaches are short but thorough.  Further, there are additional instructional weblinks embedded throughout. 

This last list, more easy to implement checks for understanding, offers 11 approaches that are quite popular at many grade levels in all disciplines.  Note that none of the approaches are new. They are still actively used throughout classrooms everywhere because they are easy to implement and kids love them!

Denise

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Regular Checks for Understanding Are a Must For Common Core Based Lessons

Though technology has its definite pluses in the classroom, it should not be the only tool used by the teacher to assess student understanding in a lesson.  Since not all schools have the most recent versions of iPads or MAC, they need to look to other sources of materials to support/scaffold/assess student progress throughout a lesson.

So what forms of non-tech formative assessments are available for teachers?  I am pleased to say that there are many out there.  In fact, none of them are new.  Most have been around for years and are just as effective now as they were in the past.  Each one has its own unique way of keeping "a finger on the pulse" of class progress and only costs a very small fraction of what an iPad would cost.  Further, each offers a unique way of delivering formative assessments and this allows a teacher to address the many learning styles of students. 

Which ones are the best?  That decision rests with each teacher and his/her teaching style:)

EASY NON-TECH Checks For Understanding FOR ANY SUBJECT/GRADE LEVEL

Visit our website for more ideas in this area:)

Denise

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Follow us on TWITTER @ell_teacherpros

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