Mod 5 Discussion: Formal and Informal Assessments

There are several formative assessments used in my kindergarten classroom. One strategy I like to use in the morning time to help students reflect on previous learning are sentence stems combined with think aloud. I write an incomplete sentence on the board and students must converse amongst themselves the specific topic from a book that we are current reading that week. Students are also able to relay what they mean in their journals by drawing a picture to express their ideas. One formative assessment that is mentioned that I believe I could use more often in the kindergarten classroom are total (active) response signals. I have used them as a quick check for understanding. I think creativity is key when using it with younger students. They love to move around and creating an activity where they can collaborate and compare their ideas.