This document discusses formative assessments and provides examples of different types of formative assessments that teachers can use in the classroom. It defines formative assessments as tools used by teachers to provide feedback to students and guide instruction, as opposed to summative assessments which are used to assign grades. It then provides over 30 specific examples of formative assessment strategies that teachers can implement, such as exit slips, think-pair-shares, drawing diagrams, and student self-assessments. The purpose of formative assessments is to check student understanding on a daily basis and allow teachers to adjust their instruction accordingly.

1. Formative Assessments
What are They & How to Use Them
by Jenny Glaser

2. What is a Formative Assessment?
A formative assessment or assignment is a tool
teachers use to give feedback to students and/or
guide their instruction.
It is not included in a student grade, nor should it be
used to judge a teacher’s performance. Both of
these would be considered summative assessments.

3. Example of Formative vs. Summative

4. Using Formative Assessments
● These are quick 3-5 minute daily strategies that
can be used at any time during instruction to
check for understanding.
● These strategies also send a message to students-be
the best learner you can be because you may
be asked to demonstrate your learning during
class.

5. Using Formative Assessments
● It is critical that the teacher assess students on a
daily basis (move around the room & listen to
what students are saying when they talk with
partners, collect & read their summaries, etc.).
● Everyday we, teachers, must ask: “Did the
students learn the essential understandings from
the lesson?”

6. Using Formative Assessments
● By using the assessments, the teacher must use
the information to alter instruction and provide
feedback.
● Formative assessments are also a great way to
add closure to your lessons as well as using them
to check for understanding.

7. Using Formative Assessments
● These strategies are not mine, they have been created and
used by many.
● You can search and find more online.
● I compiled this list for you to have as a quick reference with a
plethora of ideas for your lesson plans.
● Some of these assessments will work better for some subjects
than others.

8. Tips for Formative Assessments
#1. Have paper readily available so students don’t
waste time getting it out.
#2. Keep a box which contains a dice, a deck of
playing cards, pens, index cards, or anything else
you may need.

9. Examples of Formative
Assessments

10. Postcard
Have students write a postcard as a historical figure
to another historical figure discussing and
describing a historical event.

11. 3x Summarization
To check understanding, ask kids to write three different
summaries:
One- in 10-15 words
One- 30-50 words
One- 75-100 words
The different lengths require different attention to details.
Compare/Contrast with peers/look at teacher model (via
document camera).

12. Draw Two Names
You have one minute to think about how you might
summarize today’s lesson.
Two names will then be drawn and those two people
will stand and each give a thirty second summary of
the key points of the lesson.

13. Chapter Skim
Skim over pages ______________ in your textbook
that you have already read.
You will have two minutes to skim.
You now have thirty seconds to tell your partner
some key ideas from the book. Then your partner
does the same.

14. It Never Happened
Pretend that ___________ had never happened or
___________ had never been born. How would
things be different?
Discuss this with your partner.

15. 3 Things
List 3 things that a fellow student might
misunderstand about the topic.

16. Three Minute Writing
You have three minutes to write everything you
learned today. Don’t worry about the organization-just
write for three minutes about what you learned.

17. Venn Diagram
Have students compare and contrast a topic using a
Venn Diagram.

18. Visualize (Be the Illustrator)
Read a page of a story not allowing students to see
the illustration. Have each student create a
visualization (illustration) for that page.

19. Mental Geo Maps
● It is helpful to see “maps” in your mind’s eye.
● Try to picture the following (continent, country,
state) ____________ in your mind.
● Now draw a picture of it. The picture won’t be
perfect, but should give a general idea of the
geographical region.

20. Newspaper Headline
Create a newspaper headline that may have been
written for the topic we are studying. Capture the
main idea of the event.

21. Thought Bubble
Draw a thought bubble and write in the thoughts of
_______________. Be sure include key historical
thoughts (history), or events from the story (ELA).

22. Mini-whiteboards
Each student, or groups of students, has a mini-whiteboard.
As they work through problems, they
can share them either with you as a class, or you can
walk around the classroom and see their work.

23. Back-to-Back Boards
You and your partner each get a mini-white board and stand back-to-back.
The teacher asks a question and you each answer on the board.
When the teacher says “turn around” you show each other your answers and
discuss.

24. Check for Transfer
Check to make sure your students are able to
transfer a concept from one domain to another. This
could take a variety of forms. For example, can
they identify the climax in a short story., a novel, a
movie, and an advertisement?

25. Doodle It
Have students draw what they understand, instead of
writing it.

26. Exit Slip
You hand out a short quiz or a few simple questions or problems, and students
give them to you as they leave your class. You can even ask something similar
to chart below.
3 Things I learned today...
2 Things I found interesting...
1 Question I still have...

27. Google Forms
“Comments/questions/suggestions about the
lesson?” Students who normally would not
participate in class will participate virtually. Plus
you earn tech points. :)

28. Clickers/Poll Anywhere
Give each student a student response system (or
clicker) or use a service like Socrative teacher, Poll
Anywhere, or Google Docs and ask questions
during class, and have students respond individually
or in groups to the questions. Plus you earn tech
points. :)

29. Use Google Docs
Have students do their writing in Google Docs.
Either you observe their writing, or a peer does, and
gives live feedback while they are writing.
Feedback should not be “oops you made a mistake”,
but “oh that’s interesting, what make you add that?”

30. Learning Outcome
Write today’s learning outcome (or target).
Below make a face (see below) that shows how
your are doing so far with the learning outcome.

31. Metacognition
Metacognition allows for the students to process what they did in class and
why it was done. At the end of class, have student complete a table similar to
the one below. Collect and provide feedback.
What did we do? Why did we do it? What did I learn today?
How can I apply it? What questions do I still have about it?

32. Note-Taking Specialist
Switch notes with your partner
Look at your partner’s notes and enhance his/her
notes by underlining key terms/ideas, drawing
symbols for key ideas, adding in any important
notes that are missing, asking questions about key
ideas.

33. Trio Rap
Your trio should create a rap or a song that includes
three main ideas from the lesson.
If you’d like to use the melody of a common song,
you may.
Perform your rap/song for another trio.

34. Create a Video
Students create short videos or screencasts where
they explain their reasoning. you can then watch
what they create and see what they are able to
explain, what they omit, and what they may not
understand. Plus, you get tech points. :)

35. Talk to Each Other
Have students discuss with each other how they
would accomplish a particular task, explain a
specific idea, or talk about some knowledge they
have gained. Your job as the teacher is to walk
around the room and listen in on the student
conversations.

36. Rotate Groups
Have students work in stations, and rotate through
the stations. In small groups, supervise an activity
(or a discussion) and assess students in the small
groups, and provide everyone in the group with
feedback relevant to the discussion.

37. Jigsaw Groups
Groups work on different sections of a text and
become experts on the section. Then restructure the
groups so each new group has a member that read a
different section of the text. Each expert will share
their work with the rest of the students.

38. Self-Assessment
After the students have finished a writing
assignment, let them evaluate themselves using the
same matrix you do. Discuss their self evaluation.

39. Interactive Notebooks or Journals
Students have a 3 ring binder or composition book
where they keep all their writing, informal and final
drafts. The teacher periodically reviews select
writing and has a discussion of strengths and
weaknesses. For other subjects, you could place
rules, procedures, notes, examples, foldables, etc.