2. Table of Contents
• Slide 3-Overview
• Slide 5-Document Types Included
• Slide 6-Timeline for Collection
• Slide 7-Description and Rationale for Assessments
• Slide 8-Aligning Assessments within the Unit
• Slide 11-Portfolio Assessment Description
• Slide 12-Portfolio Rationale
• Slide 13-Documentation Portfolio
• Slide 14-Action Plan
3. Overview
The purpose of this portfolio is to inform and assess students on the topic of trees before, during, and
after the lesson. This will be achieved through the use of a multitude of formative and summative
assessments. We will use:
• A KWL Chart to document the students' background knowledge
• Formative assessments during the lessons to modify teaching and learning activities to improve
the learning process
• Summative assessments after the activities to gain insight into the students' comprehension and
attainment
The lesson will be broken up into these main activities/assessments:
• Read-aloud of A Tree is Nice by Janet Udry (Formative Assessment)
• KWL Chart (Formative/Background Knowledge Assessment)
• A basic lesson on trees/tree vocabulary (Formative/Summative Assessment)
o Students will learn about the parts of a tree, roots, trunk, branches and leaves and what they do for the tree.
o Students will keep a log of all tree related vocabulary words
• Walking Neighborhood Trip w/ Learning Log writing activity (Formative assessment)
o Students will take a guided neighborhood walk and pick a leaf from their favorite tree
o Complete a journal log entry about the shapes of leaves & types of trees they see
• Seeds Learning Log (Summative Assessment)
o Students will plant seeds and keep a journal of the progress
• Descriptive Writing Activity with Found Leaf (Summative Assessment)
o Students will identify their favorite tree after reading texts and the field trip
o Have each student draw a picture of that tree and write two sentences on why it is their favorite and collect those for a book
• Reading/fluency practice test: Joyce Kilmer's Tree (Summative assessment)
• Tree Vocab Bingo (Formative Assessment)
• Complete All About Trees book (Summative Assessment)
o Summative assessment, "putting it all together" to show what the student has learned throughout the unit
4. Overview, pt. II
The lesson will be broken up into these main activities/assessments:
• Read-aloud of A Tree is Nice by Janet Udry (Formative Assessment)
• KWL Chart (Formative/Background Knowledge Assessment)
• A basic lesson on trees/tree vocabulary (Formative/Summative Assessment)
o Students will learn about the parts of a tree, roots, trunk, branches and leaves and what they do
for the tree.
o Students will keep a log of all tree related vocabulary words
• Walking Neighborhood Trip w/ Learning Log writing activity (Formative assessment)
o Students will take a guided neighborhood walk and pick a leaf from their favorite tree
o Complete a journal log entry about the shapes of leaves & types of trees they see
• Seeds Learning Log (Summative Assessment)
o Students will plant seeds and keep a journal of the progress
• Descriptive Writing Activity with Found Leaf (Summative Assessment)
o Students will identify their favorite tree after reading texts and the field trip
o Have each student draw a picture of that tree and write two sentences on why it is their favorite
and collect those for a book
• Reading/fluency practice test: Joyce Kilmer's Tree (Summative assessment)
• Tree Vocab Bingo (Formative Assessment)
• Complete All About Trees book (Summative Assessment)
o Summative assessment, "putting it all together" to show what the student has learned throughout
the unit
5. Types of Documents In Unit
Projects
Interactive writing
Vocabulary Bingo
Object and word sorts
Learning Logs
Field Trips
Literacy strategies and skills
Word wall/vocabulary book
Read aloud
Graphic Organizers
6. Timeline for Collection of
Assignments
• KWL Chart - due week 1
• Parts of a tree-due end of week 1
• Life cycle of tree- due beginning of week 2
• Neighborhood walking field trip writing learning log- due
end of week 2
• Leaf writing/descriptive activity- due at end of week 2
• Reading practice/fluency test: Joyce Kilmer’s Tree-
beginning of week 3
• Tree vocabulary book-on going due during week 3
• Tree Vocabulary Bingo game- due last day of week 3
• Seeds learning log- on going and due at end of unit
week 4
7. Description and Rationale of
Assignments
• KWL chart will be used to activate background knowledge and a gauge for
the teacher to check the students knowledge of the topic.
• Writing activities are used to document their learning of the content and
confusions the students has. Writing activities can be easily adjusted to
each student`s ability in the differentiated classroom. The writing activities
that we are using include learning logs, project on trees, tree vocabulary
book, leaf and field trip descriptive writing activity. Each of these writing
assignments will be modified for students if needed, by requiring less
writing, partner work, and small groups.
• Reading/ fluency practice and test introduces students to important words
that they will come across in the unit and place them into their unit
vocabulary book. It also allows for integrated mini literacy lessons to teach
strategies and skills necessary for all content subjects.
• Vocabulary Bingo game will be used to assess student knowledge of key
words in unit.
8. Aligning Assessment Within the Unit
Introductory Activities: Assessing prior
knowledge and setting the tone for instruction
is important in any unit.
• KWL Chart
• Walking field trip--teacher student interaction
will provide information on students' familiarity
with trees
• Read alouds: A Tree is Nice by Janice May
Urdy and Tree by Joyce Kilmer. Reading allows
for text-to self and text-to-text connections that
the teacher can use as a formative assessment
9. Aligning Assessment Within the
Unit
Formative assessment within the Tree Unit:
• Parts of a tree activity will allow teacher to
assess the student's familiarity with vocabulary
• Learning Log entry will allow teacher to assess
prior knowledge of trees and information
gathered about trees from the neighborhood
walking field trip
• Vocabulary Bingo will assess student
knowledge of tree part vocabulary after some
time in the unit and before the end of the unit
10. Aligning Assignments Within the Unit
Summative assignments will allow the teacher
to determine whether standards have been
met in the various content areas and collect
information about what has been learned
through the unit:
• Descriptive writing leaf assignment
• Fluency check using Leaf by Joyce Kilmer
• Completed Tree Vocabulary Book
• Completed Seeds Learning Log
• Completed 'All About Trees' book
• Final 'Parts of a Tree' construction activity
11. Portfolio Assessment
For the teacher, all work from the unit will be
collected in a documentation portfolio. This will
be a file folder made specifically for the tree unit,
and will include learning logs, student completed
work and student work in progress, functioning
like a working portfolio for students.
Students will keep all work in this folder, keeping track of
assignments within the unit using a printed handout list
glued to the front. This will help them take responsibility
for their progress in the unit.
12. Rationale for Working Portfolio
The documentation portfolio method will allow
teachers to sit with a student at the end of the
unit and discuss what has been learned, what
progress has been made, what standards
have been met and then go on to choose
individual works to be put in a student
showcase portfolio of the year's best work.
13. Assessment of Documentation
Portfolio
The teacher will sit with the student during a 5-
10 minute conference one-on-one. The
teacher will have prepared an overall
checklist of assignments with their
accompanying standards covered
underneath in a column, along with the
numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. The level 1
corresponds to exceeding, 2 to meeting, 3 to
almost meeting and 4 to far below meeting.
The student and teacher will be able to
evaluate progress and student needs during
14. Action Plan for Use with
Overall Portfolio Assessment
For students scoring 1:
The teacher will consider these students to be working on an exemplary level, far exceeding expectations, and at times pushing the envelope
into exceptionality. Students in this category are turning all activities/assignments in either early or on time. These students will be
pushed and challenged with extension activities that may be done for fun or for extra credit. Students scoring a 1 will also serve as
teacher assistants and classroom aids in reviewing the work of struggling learners.
For students scoring 2:
These students are completing their tasks on an above-average level. They show great promise, but may need a little bit of extra pushing to
overcome obstacles keeping them from scoring a 1, yet also need extra attention to make sure that they do not fall into the 3 category.
Students in this category turn all assignments in on time. These students will be asked to share their work with the rest of the class, and
will also be tapped to help below-average learners achieve their goals.
For students scoring 3:
Students scoring a 3 are considered working at the bare-minimum level. They are doing just enough work to get by, and turning most
assignments in on time. These students will be given slight modifications to their typical assignments, with great attention being
committed to seeing the outcomes of those modifications. For students still performing below expectations after modified assignments, a
second follow-up interview/conference will be scheduled, possibly with the parents.
For students scoring 4:
These students are performing at a poor and below-average level. Assignments are rarely turned in on time, are late, or are done incorrectly
with disregard for quality and direction. These students are either struggling with the assignments and directions, or are not working up to
expectation. The first step will be to assign a peer to help the struggling student with the assignments as-is. Next would be to modify the
assignments if the student is truly struggling. Special exceptions and time extensions will be made available. If the student continues to
perform at this level, a second conference including their parents will be scheduled to discuss an individual action plan.
