Appendix D: Evaluation Example

Sample 4: English 12

Topic: Poetry

Comprehend and Respond (Strategies and Skills)

It is expected that students will:

• describe and apply a variety of literary devices and techniques to create particular effects, including figurative language, symbolism, parody, and irony

It is expected that students will:

• paraphrase the main ideas, events, or themes in a variety of sophisticated literary, technical, and informational communications
• develop coherent and plausible interpretations of sophisticated or abstract materials
• interpret ambiguities in written, oral, or visual works and support their interpretation with evidence from that work

It is expected that students will:

• make connections between their own values, beliefs, and cultures and those reflected in literature and mass media
• support a position, interpretation, or response by citing specific details, features, and information from what they have read, viewed, or heard
• demonstrate an appreciation of the power and beauty of language, past and present

It is expected that students will:

• evaluate the conventions of language used in a variety of literary and non-literary forms

It is expected that students will:

• monitor their own spelling, grammar, mechanics, and syntax using strategies and techniques including the use of electronic technology

• demonstrate pride and satisfaction in using language to create and express thoughts, ideas, and feelings in a variety of written, oral, visual, and electronic forms
• create presentations in forms that are appropriate to a variety of subjects, audiences, and purposes, including informing, persuading, and entertaining

The teacher and students designed a unit that explored the language, meaning, and form of poetry. Evaluation was based on:

• a poetry anthology
• central word connections
• a theme collage
• a three-colour cluster
• an oral interpretation of a poem

• To begin the unit, students generated as many definitions and descriptions of poetry as they could. Next they generated questions about those aspects of poetry they found perplexing or confusing. The teacher then presented an overview of the unit.
• Students decided that they would read poems aloud daily in class. Before each reading of a poem, the teacher led a pre-reading activity designed to teach students about poetic form and terminology and to help them approach the work with greater confidence, insight, and enjoyment. After reading each poem, students talked about it as a class and later wrote in their literature response journals.
• Students, as a class, decided that they also wanted to work in groups of two or three to prepare an oral interpretation of a selected poem. The class first read a few poems aloud, and then discussed what an effective oral interpretation of a poem looked like and sounded like. From these ideas, students generated evaluation criteria for their oral interpretations.
• The teacher asked the class to do central word connections in their response journals. Students first wrote down the central or most significant word in a poem and outlined it. From that outlined word they drew lines connecting the central word to other words and phrases in the poem. On each connecting line they briefly described why the chosen word or phrase was connected to the central word. After making as many connections as possible, they wrote a rationale statement explaining why they chose the central word.
• The class also practised doing a theme collage and a three-colour cluster together. For the theme collage, students selected and arranged various images that clearly and thoughtfully represented the theme of the poem. To provide support for the represented interpretation, they chose key words and phrases from the poem to appear within the images. As a final component, students wrote a theme statement for the poem and creatively included it in the collage.
• For the three-colour cluster, the teacher and class read a poem and then chose three key concepts from it. For each concept, they decided on a representative colour. In the middle of the page, they wrote the title of the poem and, radiating out from the title, clustered ideas for each of the three concepts using the appropriate colour. Wherever possible, they also made connections among the three concepts.
• To bring all their learning experiences together, students as a class decided that instead of an end-of-unit poetry test, they would each put together a poetry anthology that included the following:
  • six to eight selected poems representing the various poetic forms studied
  • literature response journal entries for the selected poems, using suggested formats such as central word connections, theme collage, and three-colour cluster
  • lyrics from a favourite song with an explanation of why the song is poetic
  • three poems written by the student that employ the poetic forms and figurative language studied
  • a cover and organizational format that heighten enjoyment and understanding of the whole anthology
• The class used a reading and writing workshop approach to put together the poetry anthologies. When completed, the students read and reviewed each other's work.

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.

Poetry Anthology

• reasons for including selected poems are personal (make connections to own values, beliefs, cultures), logical, insightful, and clearly explained
• required poetic forms are accurately designated for selected poems
• response journal entries include details from poems to illustrate depth of insight and interpretation
• response journal entries include central word connections, theme collages, and three-colour clusters that reflect appropriate criteria
• student's poems employ the poetic forms and figurative language studied
• explanation of why chosen song lyrics are poetic; uses poetic terms and concepts accurately, and is clear and logical
• presentation is logically organized and visually appealing; heightens enjoyment and understanding of anthology as a whole
• title and cover represent tone and theme of anthology

• central word in poem clearly selected and connected to other words, phrases, or lines in poem
• clearly explains connections between central word and other segments of poem
• rationale statement for central word insightfully and convincingly explains why word was chosen and demonstrates understanding of poem's theme
• makes appropriate number of connections to demonstrate understanding of poem

• choice and arrangement of visual images clearly, creatively, and thoughtfully represent poem's theme
• key words and phrases from poem appear within collage's images to provide detailed support for represented interpretation
• statement of poem's theme is concise and convincing
• invites engagement

• thought-provoking
• selected colours connect with poem's intent
• connects words and phrases from text with personal interpretation and understanding of poetic devices
• clearly demonstrates connections among ideas and shows consideration of multiple interpretations

• clear pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume effectively demonstrate interpretation of poem
• polished presentation indicates confidence, knowledge, and preparation
• attention to special effects, body language, and content demonstrate insightful interpretation
• aware of audience appeal and effect

Central Word Connections; Theme Collage; Three-Colour Cluster

Teachers and students assigned a rating to each criteria associated with the response formats.

Oral Interpretation of a Poem

The teacher used a rating scale to evaluate each student's oral interpretation.

Rating	Criteria
Outstanding	all criteria fully demonstrated at an outstanding level
Very Good	all criteria demonstrated at a very good level
Good	most criteria demonstrated at a good level
Satisfactory	most criteria demonstrated at a satisfactory level
Minimal	some criteria demonstrated at a satisfactory level
Not Evident	most criteria not demonstrated at a satisfactory level
Comments:

Central Word Connections	Rating
central word in poem clearly selected and connected to other words, phrases, or lines in poem	4     3     2     1
clearly explains connections between central word and other segments of poem	4     3     2     1
rationale statement for central word insightfully and convincingly explains why word was chosen and demonstrates understanding of poem's theme	4     3     2     1
makes appropriate number of connections to demonstrate understanding of poem	4     3     2     1
Theme Collage	Rating
choice and arrangement of visual images clearly, creatively, and thoughtfully represent poem's theme	4     3     2     1
key words and phrases from poem appear within collage's images to provide detailed support for represented interpretation	4     3     2     1
statement of poem's theme is concise and convincing	4     3     2     1
invites engagement	4     3     2     1
Three-Colour Cluster	Rating
thought-provoking	4     3     2     1
selected colours connect with poem's intent	4     3     2     1
connects words and phrases from text with personal interpretation and understanding of poetic devices	4     3     2     1
clearly demonstrates connections among ideas and shows consideration of multiple interpretations	4     3     2     1
Key: 4­strong 3­competent 2­minimal 1­not evident

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Maintained by: English Language Arts Coordinator

Revised: January 25, 1999

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Oral Interpretation of a Poem	Rating	Criteria
Excellent	creative and clear pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume effectively demonstrate interpretation of poem engaging and polished presentation indicates strong level of confidence, knowledge, and preparation detailed attention to special effects, body language, and content demonstrate innovative and insightful interpretation keen awareness of audience appeal and effect
Very Good	clear pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume effectively demonstrate interpretation of poem interesting and smooth presentation indicates confidence, knowledge, and preparation careful attention to special effects, body language, and content demonstrate insightful interpretation aware of audience appeal and effect
Good	pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume generally demonstrate interpretation of poem usually smooth presentation indicates confidence, knowledge, and preparation attention to special effects, body language, and content demonstrate an inconsistent interpretation usually aware of audience appeal and effect
Satisfactory	pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume sometimes demonstrate interpretation of poem inconsistent presentation indicates need to work more on confidence, knowledge, and preparation use of special effects, body language, and content demonstrate an incomplete interpretation limited awareness of audience appeal and effect
Minimally Acceptable	often unclear and ineffective use of pronunciation, pacing, tone, and volume to demonstrate interpretation of poem presentation often indicates lack of preparation very limited use of special effects, body language, and content generally unaware of audience appeal and effect
In Progress/Failure	incomplete/unsatisfactory interpretation and presentation