A recent assessment that I have given was for students to do a mini-summary worksheet after reading a graphic novel as a formative assessment practice activity for the photosynthesis and cellular respiration lesson. For this assignment, students have to complete a reading, which in this case is a Max Axiom graphic novel about photosynthesis, which I have made available for students in both English and Spanish. They then have to complete a mini-summary worksheet, where they write the main idea of the reading, four supporting details, and a small sketch to summarize the reading.
Insert photo of assessment here.
This assignment was primarily graded based on completion. I did not need to give feedback to students unless I noticed that they were way off on their main idea or supporting details, which I did not really observe in any of the ones that were turned in. If I had received any that missed the mark completely, I would have a conference with the student one-on-one, which is a classroom structure that we do. My goal for the assignment is to strengthen the ideas around photosynthesis, primarily the reactants and products of this biological process. So if I needed to conference with some of the students, I would skim over the graphic novel with the students and ask leading questions about what photosynthesis is, where it happens, how it starts, and how it ends. The students would then have the opportunity to re-write their mini-summary. Because the assignment is only worth one point, I would be sure to emphasize that this is to help them on their final summative assessment, where they are allowed to use their notes.