Appendix D: Evaluation Example

Sample 1: English 11

Topic: Short Stories and Related Articles - How We View Our World and Portray Ourselves

Comprehend and Respond (Strategies and Skills)

It is expected that students will:

• explain the effects of a variety of literary devices and techniques, including figurative language, symbolism, parody, and irony

It is expected that students will:

• develop coherent and plausible interpretations of abstract, complex, or specialized material
• interpret details and subtleties to clarify gaps or ambiguities in written, oral, or visual works

It is expected that students will:

• make connections between the ideas and information presented in literary and mass media works and their own experiences
• demonstrate a willingness to take a tentative stance, tolerate ambiguity, explore multiple perspectives, and consider more than one interpretation
• support their opinions or respond to questions and tasks about the works they have read or viewed

It is expected that students will:

• assess their own and others' work for sentence clarity, precision of language use, and variety and artistry of expression
• use appropriate criteria to critique and appraise their own and others' ideas, use of language, and presentation forms, taking into consideration the purposes of the communications

It is expected that students will:

• create a variety of academic, technical, and personal communications, including multi-genre presentations, articles, formal reports, advertising and persuasive materials, résumés, and research papers

It is expected that students will:

• evaluate and adjust their own roles to align with the group's purpose
• apply a variety of strategies including diplomacy and compromise to solve problems and achieve group goals
• develop and use criteria to evaluate group processes and their own roles in and contributions to group processes

The unit involved students in a series of activities related to reading various short stories and articles. Evaluation was based on:

• a response journal
• a personal perspective article
• speaking and listening in a small-group discussion
• self-awareness of speaking and listeningin a small-group discussion
• a seminar

• The unit began with students, in small groups, brainstorming all the central character types and short story scenarios or plots they could remember from their previous reading experience. Next they categorized their ideas according to what these characters and plots revealed about human experience and behaviour, and drew an appropriate visual symbol for each category. Each group explained its categories to the class and then posted the symbols around the room.
• After the brainstorming activity, the teacher and class discussed what it means to speak and listen well in a small group. From this discussion, they generated criteria for small-group speaking and listening skills. Throughout the unit, students wrote reflectively on their speaking and listening abilities after each small-group activity.
• Using the information generated by students about characters and plots, the teacher presented a brief introductory lesson about the unit's focus, which was to read a variety of short stories and thematically related articles. Students were to read materials selected by the teacher and some of their own choosing. Before students read each story or article, the teacher conducted a mini lesson on literary techniques (e.g., using viewpoint or mood) or reading strategies (e.g., making inferences or skimming topic sentences).
• After each reading, students wrote in their response journals using a format or focus proposed by the teacher. They drew on the ideas in their response journals to discuss what they read, first in small student-led groups and then as a whole class. Before they began writing in their response journals, students as a class determined the criteria for a good response-journal entry. They refined these criteria after some writing was completed.
• During the unit, students worked in small groups to lead seminar discussions about one of the assigned short stories. Before they began preparing for their presentations, the students as a class talked about what constitutes a seminar and outlined the classroom expectations for it. The class also discussed criteria for evaluating the seminars.
• As a concluding activity for the unit, each student wrote an article from a personal viewpoint about a strongly felt personal event or issue. They began by analysing articles from various sources to learn more about the style and construction of an article written from a personal perspective. When they completed the articles, students worked together to edit and proofread them. They then submitted them to a local newspaper or to The Vancouver Sun's "Voices" column for possible publication.

The teacher reviewed with students the learning outcomes for these activities and explained the requirements of each task. The teacher and students decided that the following key criteria should be demonstrated in the assigned tasks.

Response Journal

• personalized and thoughtful responses that make connections with personal experience and other texts
• specific references to the text
• revisits and revises original responses
• explores more than one interpretation and considers diverse perspectives
• interprets and analyses characteristics of genre, purpose, and technique

• engaging, clear, and thoughtful presentation of personal event or viewpoint
• precise and powerful vocabulary; varied patterns and lengths of sentences
• organized structure
• uses standard English; no surface errors

• voice easily heard and understood; may use non-verbal cues for effect
• chooses clear and precise words and uses specific language appropriately
• varies language for effect and audience; uses tentative and inclusive language
• works comfortably with group and helps develop and sustain group's interactions
• offers clarification, elaboration, explanation, feedback, suggestions, hypotheses, questions, and synthesis as needed

• analyses key features of interaction
• refers to specific strategies and incidents to analyse how they worked
• insightful about personal intentions and others' intentions or perspectives
• understands personal biasses and preferences and how they affect interactions and understanding
• analyses what worked and speculates about other choices that might have been more effective

• presentation is clear and easy to follow
• language and tone are appropriate
• makes specific references to text that enhance understanding and presentation of a literary element
• well-organized flow
• attempts to involve participants by inviting questions and comments
• presents thoughtful activity to illustrate selected literary element

The teacher and students used criteria lists and rating scales to evaluate student performance.

Rating	Criteria
Outstanding	personalized, innovative, and thoughtful responses that make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides specific evidence that demonstrates close familiarity with and understanding of reading selection interprets and analyses genre, technique, and purpose of selection shows evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Very Good	personal and thoughtful responses that make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides specific evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection often interprets and analyses genre, technique, and purpose of selection usually shows evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Good	personal and generally thoughtful responses that often make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts provides some specific evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection sometimes interprets and analyses genre, technique, and purpose of selection may show evidence of reflecting on and revising initial responses
Satisfactory	personal and sometimes thoughtful responses that may make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts may provide some evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection may attempt to interpret and analyse genre, technique, and purpose of selection may show evidence of reflecting on initial responses, but rarely revises them
Minimally Acceptable	personal responses that may make connections with previous knowledge and experience as well as other texts limited evidence that demonstrates familiarity with and understanding of reading selection little or no attempt to interpret and analyse genre, technique, and purpose of selection generally does not revisit initial responses
In Progress/Failure	extremely limited and unclear responses that seldom demonstrate evidence of meeting the criteria no response attempted

Rating	Criteria
Outstanding	engaging, creative, and thoughtful presentation of personal event or viewpoint precise, vivid, and sophisticated vocabulary; varied patterns and lengths of sentences coherent and organized structure few surface feature errors, only noticeable if looking for them
Very Good	clear and thoughtful presentation of personal event or viewpoint complex, precise vocabulary and varied sentences logical organization few surface feature errors, might be occasional spelling or punctuation errors
Good	quite well-developed and detailed presentation of personal event or viewpoint generally precise vocabulary and complex sentence structures containing minimal errors obvious organization generally few surface feature errors, some punctuation, spelling, or pronoun reference errors
Satisfactory	direct and usually easy-to-read presentation of personal event or viewpoint straightforward vocabulary and effective sentences that are rarely complex or varied competent organization surface feature errors such as comma splice, spelling, or pronoun reference errors
Minimally Acceptable	limited clarity and thought in presentation of personal event or viewpoint unsophisticated and, at times, inappropriate vocabulary with simple sentences lacking in variety evidence of some organization surface feature errors may at times distract reader

Rating	Criteria
Strong	uses voice and physical expression and may use non-verbal cues to build communication chooses clear and precise words and uses specific language appropriately varies language for effect and audience; uses tentative and inclusive language works comfortably with group and helps develop and sustain group's interactions offers clarification, elaboration, explanation, feedback, suggestions, hypotheses, questions, and synthesis as needed
Good	voice easily heard and understood and may use non-verbal cues for effect chooses clear words and may occasionally experiment with more subtle or specific language may use some tentative and inclusive language works comfortably with group and contributes to social dynamics often makes suggestions, asks questions, or adjusts thinking after listening to others
Competent	voice can be heard and understood, tries to make eye contact, and occasionally uses body language may have difficulty using complex or unfamiliar language may use some inclusive language takes part in group discussion and follows basic rules for working with others contributes some ideas and suggestions to group
Developing	voice unclear or difficult to hear at times, with little variation in tone and expression little eye contact relies on familiar language and often uses vague or general words shows some awareness of the responsibilities of contributing to a group offers ideas that may not connect with those of others, and may not be able to explain or clarify ideas

* Based on the reference set Evaluating Group Communication Skills Across Curriculum.

Rating	Criteria
Strong	independently plans, monitors, and analyses interaction refers to specific strategies and incidents to analyse how they worked generalizes beyond immediate situation insightful about personal intentions and others' intentions or perspectives understands personal biasses and preferences, and how they affect interactions and understanding
Good	analyses key features of interaction refers to specific features of group or individual activity with prompting analyses what worked and speculates about other choices that might have been more effective may make inferences about others' feelings and behaviour but has difficulty generalizing from one situation to another recognizes group identity and personal responsibility for making a group work
Competent	aware of simple strategies for improving communication aware of a few strategies that tend to be suggested for all situations talks about group activity in general way, but has difficulty identifying specific features that were effective or ineffective may identify with group and take some responsibility for group's successes and problems
In Progress/Developing	recognizes effect of words and actions generally unable to discuss behaviour without prompting takes little or no responsibility for problems or conflicts shows little evidence of making deliberate choices as a speaker or listener

* Based on the reference set Evaluating Group Communication Skills across Curriculum.

Rating	Criteria
Outstanding	Presentation is clear and enjoyable to listen to. Language and tone are appropriate. Makes specific references to text that enhance understanding and presentation of literary element. Well-organized flow. Attempts to involve all participants by inviting questions and comments. Presents engaging and meaningful activity to illustrate chosen literary element.
Good	Presentation is clear and easy to follow. Language and tone are generally appropriate. Makes specific references to text to present a literary element. Evident organizational flow. Attempts to involve participants by inviting questions and comments. Presents thoughtful activity to illustrate selected literary element.
Satisfactory	Presentation is generally clear, although some parts may be difficult to hear or understand. Language and tone may be inappropriately informal at times. Seldom makes specific references to text to present a literary element. Uneven organizational flow. Attempts, inconsistently, to involve participants by inviting questions and comments. Activity not always clearly related to literary element.
Incomplete/Unsatisfactory	Presentation is difficult to understand. Language may be inappropriate. Generally fails to make specific references to text and involve others in discussion. Activity to develop understanding not attempted or unclear.

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