Assessed Samples of Student Work

5th grade science ecosystem projectsBy: Kelley Parsons

The Project In our 5th grade classroom the district was working

on re-designing the science program. At the school I was at the students science scores have been consecutively low. In our class we were making sure our lessons were molded around the Montana State Standards, not the textbook. It was a lot of work to create this curriculum from often times scratch, but the students understandings and excitement proved rewarding.

These samples provided are from a final project we completed after a unit on ecosystems. This was a large project created in place of a formal test. The students enjoyed the project and the results were truly amazing. A project is a challenge to create clear expectations for, and to consistently assess all students. This is why I have chosen samples from this project to reflect my understanding of assessment.

Starting the ProjectTo start our project I handed out guidelines to the

students. I provided the students with three pieces of paper. The first page was the assignment. I told them to take it home and show it to their parents. The second page was a check list for students to check off as they completed parts of their project. The third page was a drafting ideas page.

The drafting ideas page was a graphic organizer to help students when they researched. If the students filled out everything on the drafting ideas page then they would have all the information they needed to start their project. This also provided me with the opportunity to check off students drafting page to decide who was ready to start on the poster or diorama part of the assignment. I did not formally grade the drafting page. If they were finished they could go on to another task. If they were not, or their were many errors I worked with the students to complete the page.

FIRST PAGE This is the page that I read with students and sent home with them on the first day

SECOND PAGECheck list

THIRD PAGE

This page was a pass fail assessment type. If the students were not done with this, or if the information was inaccurate I could see where they needed assistance. I could also provide ideas. Once the students completed this they would move on to creating posters, and essay questions.

Assessment of “Drafting”

An example of a student that completed the drafting was a group doing an ocean ecosystem. The had answered all the blanks of the drafting accurately. They included over four populations, and correctly drafted the food chain in their ecosystem. The part that most students struggled with was a symbiotic relationship. This group found this relationship between a whale and barnacles by researching the topic online. They stated the correct relationship and they were able to move on.

An example of a group that needed extra help was one that did a Montana ecosystem. The accurately stated four populations, and their food chain. The area they struggled with was the symbiotic relationship. The did not plan their ecosystem with populations that had a symbiotic relationship and they wrote down, “Deer eating elk sedge,” as a parasite symbiotic relationship. I worked with this group and we added a tick population to their ecosystem. This gave me the opportunity to tell them that was a herbivore producer relationship, and it dealt with interdependence not symbiosis.

THE RUBRIC I handed this out the second day of our assignment, read it aloud, and told students I would use this to grade their projects.

PROJECTS AND ASSESSED SCORES

The Final Outcome

PROJECT 1

These two girls decided to do a project of an ecosystem in Queensland because they both liked Koala Bears.

PROJECT 1

Written response

Project 1 Assessment

These two students received a score of 33/44 giving them an 83% on the overall project. The overall poster was great, and the questions were answered neatly, but they forgot to answer question 6. They also did not show a full understanding of a niche. They stated one, but not others in their community.. They showed a good understanding of interdependence, ecosystem, and environment.

83%= B

PROJECT 2These students did their project on an Antarctic ecosystem.

PROJECT 2Written response

Project 2 Assessment

100% = A+These students showed an outstanding

understanding of the concepts. They received a 40/40 or a 100%. The answers were neatly typed, well organized, and thoughtful. They show their understanding of ecosystem by typing up living an non living things in their ecosystem.

They also gave great examples of a niche, and symbiosis. Throughout the project these were the most difficult for students to explain in their written responses. The poster was also neatly done, and well organized.

PROJECT 3This is boy did his an Alaskan Ecosystem. There are also some other ecosystem projects displayed

PROJECT 3Written response

Project 3 Assessment

90%= A-This student received a score of 36/40 or

a 90%. The project was well organized and neatly done. He also did a fantastic job restating his answers. I liked that it was typed up. He missed a couple points by adding in the wrong vocabulary word. For example he wrote ecosystem instead of environment. He also lost two points on diversity. He shows some understanding of diversity, but it is not articulated well. Overall he shows great understanding of our science concepts, and it really reflects in his responses.

PROJECT 4These two boys chose an Antarctic ocean ecosystem.

PROJECT 4Written response

Project 4 Assessment

110%= A+These two boys received a 44/40 or a

110% on their project. The students were told they could receive up to four extra credit points for doing a diorama. These students made their arctic sea creatures with play dough. Then they painted them. They spent a lot of time in their answers and on the appearance of the project. Many students enjoyed this aspect of the assignment, but for those that were not artistic, a poster was required.

There answers were thoughtful and organized. They researched their topics. The response shows a strong understanding of difficult concepts such as niche and symbiosis.