Desired Results From Unit Plan

What my students should know from the water cycle unit:

After completing my unit plan about the water cycle for 5th grade, I would like my students to be able to define and give examples for, precipitation, evaporation, and condensation. My students should also be able to draw pictures and know the flow/path of the water cycle. 

Lesson Plans

 

Examples From Class

I have never formally did a lesson plan assignment beforehand so I was a little nervous going into it. When approaching this assignment I wasn't really sure what to do and how to do it. After hearing Angela's and Ali's lesson plans, I feel more comfortable with what I am doing. I really appreciate people (like these ladies) who are willing to go first and get feedback, so the rest of the class can learn from what they did/didn't do. Thank you guys for doing such great examples so I can feel better about what I am doing!!

Formative Assessments vs. Performance Tasks

 

Formative Assessments

A formative assessments is something the teacher does throughout the lesson to make sure their students are understanding the concepts. After gathering this data through small checkpoints, the teacher can then go back and change the lesson plans. If half your students still aren't understanding an idea, then you should probably spend one more day on it to try and get more understanding from your students. 

Performance Tasks

A performance task is task or test the students do at the very end of a unit to show their understanding of what was being taught. This only happens once throughout a unit to ensure that the student fully understands. This one is always a tricky one to be able to identify. The task doesn't always have to be "performed" and that's what throws some people off when identifying this task. 

Think of formative assessments as the quizzes you do throughout the lessons and the performance tasks as the test you do at the very end of the unit. 

Formative Assessment Example:

"Class if you understand how to properly use a microscope, give me thumbs up. If you are unsure, put your thumb in the middle, and if you need some more practice, thumbs down."

Performance Tasks Example:

"Okay for your final task, I want you to properly use this microscope to find a single cell organism. Once you find it, keep it there, and I will be by to check."