Sew and sing: June 2014

Jamendo: Copyright free music for your projects. Make your projects legal with Creative Commons Music.
Listentoyoutube: Download the music of any youtube video (illegal, I am afraid, yet useful when connectivity problems are at stake)

Avaluar per aprendre

1.-Avaluar per aprendre

http://en.calameo.com/read/000559919f04724fb7c96

2-Avaluació

https://sites.google.com/site/avaluacioalumnat/

3-Rúbriques i Portfolis

https://sites.google.com/site/avaluemavalueuavaluen/enllacos

4-Com fer un portfoli

https://sites.google.com/site/crm1314cookingbook/home

Writing Rubric

ESL Writing 001

CATEGORY	4 - Very Good	3 - Good	2 - Needs Improvement	1 - Unsatisfactory	Points
Sentences & Paragraphs	Sentences and paragraphs are complete, well-constructed and of varied structure.	All sentences are complete and well-constructed (no fragments, no run-ons). Paragraphing is generally done well.	Most sentences are complete and well-constructed. Paragraphing needs some work.	Many sentence fragments or run-on sentences OR paragraphing needs lots of work.
Grammar & spelling	Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling	Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organziation could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Length	The letter is 10 or more sentences.	The letter is 8-9 sentences.	The letter is 5-7 sentences.	The letter is less than 5 sentences.
Capitalization and Punctuation	Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.	Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Evaluation of peer's oral presentation

EVALUATION OF PEERS' ORAL PRESENTATION

1- Watch your PEERS' presentation and answer the following questions.

PRESENTER NAME & TOPIC: EVALUATOR:		MARK
Presentation 10%	Do they use any resources: slides, video, images, sound, real material...? Are the resources focused on the topic? Do the resources support their oral explanation? Is the timing between 5-10 minutes per person?
Body language & eye contact 10%	Are they often looking at the audience ? Are they reading occasionally from their notes ? Are they doing any gestures/movement to hold the attention of their audience?
Structure 10%	Do they introduce the topic to get the audience attention? Do they organize their ideas in subtopics and order of importance? Do they repeat/ask for/discuss the key ideas in the conclusion to help understanding/remembering?
Content 40%	Do they present new information to the audience? Is the information detailed and extensive? Do they give/show examples? Is the overall message clear?
Language 20%	Is the grammar correct? (word order, past tenses...) Is the vocabulary rich and varied? (synonyms, expressions, topic-related) Do they use sentence connectors? (and, but, moreover, also, furthermore, although, however…) Do they use fillers? (well, you know, for example, one second, repeating a word…)
Pronunciation & Intonation 10%	Is the pronunciation comprehensible? Do they change their tone of voice or use a monotone tone all the time? Do they speak in a fluid continuum or with breaks and interruptions?
Evaluation	You are your teacher! :-) FINAL MARK:	/100

2- Think& tell :-) : What have they done well ? What do they need to improve?

Assessment

Designing our project assessment

As a summary we can say that in order to design an effective evaluation we need to answer these three questions:

Evaluation
What to assess	Unit objectives by means of assessment criteria
When to assess	At the beginning – initial evaluation Meanwhile – formative evaluation At the end – summative evaluation
How to assess	Several assessment instruments

Here follows a list of criteria to assess the assessment in a unit or project. A totally effective, reliable, valid and with a positive washback effect in the student learning process will fulfill all the requirements.

Assessment Content
The assessment reflects the unit objectives
Actions / Tasks (know how to do it) rather than knowledge (know) are assessed.
Oral and written comprehension and expresion are assessed.
Class and assessment activities are integrated (positive backwash).
Ativities on English use –grammar and vocabulary- are contextualized.
Assessment Instruments
There are initial, formative and summative assessment activities.
There are informal, formal and self-assessment activities.
Authentic tasks that could be carried out in the real world (out of the classroom) are used in the project.
Assessment is based on more than one sort of evidence. It is not based on just one instrument.
Assessment characteristics
It promotes reflection, self-esteem and responsibility.
It provides a global vision of the students’ progress.
It is an integral assessment system (formative + summative; students + teachers).
It is an evidence repository that is used to discuss the students’ progress with their parents, other teachers and the students themselves, enhancing its formative component.
Assessment is practical and flexible.
Assessment criteria
Assessment criteria are clear and explicit.
Students know assessment criteria beforehand.
If there is an exam, this includes formats which students are familiar with. The criteria –time, use of dictionaries, number of times of the listening text, etc.- are public and are written down. Marking criteria are also included.
All the assessment instruments correspond to one or several assessment criteria and to one or several objectives and they are clear.

Digital stories

1. Start with an Idea

All stories begin with an idea, and digital stories are no different. This idea could be the topic of a lesson, a chapter heading in a textbook, or a question asked in class. Digital stories might be fiction or non-fiction. Once you or your student have an idea, make it concrete: write a proposal, craft a paragraph, draw a mind-map, or use any other pre-writing tool.

I once had 5th graders write their proposal on National Parks as a paragraph. The topic sentence was the park that they picked and its location. Then, they had to include three interesting facts about the park. Finally. the conclusion sentence had to explain why they picked that park or were excited to study it. In the process, we not only wrote the proposal but also improved our paragraph writing. One student commented, “I think I finally have this paragraph thing down.”

Resources

2. Research/Explore/Learn

Whether writing a fiction or nonfiction digital story, students need to research, explore or learn about the topic in order to create a base of information on which the story will be built. During this process, students learn both about validating information and information bias as they delve deeper into a topic.

At this stage, organization is very important. I often use mind-mapping to help students keep track of information. Outlines, index cards, and online note-taking tools all work as well. If students can organize their information digitally, then it makes the next steps much easier.

Resources

BibMe

3. Write/Script

When you are trying to write, there is nothing worse than a blank sheet of paper. That’s why I strongly encourage the 2 pre-writing steps above. If students have a proposal, with a little bit of editing, it can become the introduction. If students research and explored a topic well, the body of the script should fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces are already there, students just need to make them fit.

This is also the time where literary decisions come into play. Ask students to determine whether they will use first, second or third person. Challenge them to expand word choices. Give them an opportunity to break out a dictionary or thesaurus. I once worked with high school social studies teachers who had the students write a full essay or research paper before turning it into a script. They told me that when they were done with the project, the students should be “experts” on the topic. It depends all on your goal and your students.

Resources

4. Storyboard/Plan

Good stories start with a good script, but they don’t end there. This is where we transition into visual media literacies. George Lucas once said, “If people aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?” Storyboarding is the first step towards understanding sound and images. It is the plan or blueprint that will guide decision making about images, video and sound. Simple storyboards will just have room for images/video and the script. More advanced ones might even include room for transitions, and background music.

Resources

5. Gather and Create Images, Audio and Video

This is the “stuff” that makes magic happen and writing come alive. Using their storyboard as a guide, students will gather – or create – images, audio and video. Everything they choose will impact and set the tone for their digital story. Introduce concepts such as visual hierarchy, tone, and illustration. This is also a great time to talk about Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Students should use this time to record themselves reading their scripts. I have often noticed that students rewrite their scripts as they record. Through this step in the process, they become acutely aware of mistakes and poor word choices.

Resources

6. Put It All Together

This is where the magic happens – where students discover if their storyboard needs tweaking and if they have enough “stuff” to create their masterpiece. You will see students revisit and revise their storyboard. I love this stage. This is usually when students are so engrossed in their work that they don’t leave when the bell rings, or they come back at lunch or after-school to work on the project. They will find ways to push the technology and tools beyond your expectations – blending images, creating unique transitions between video clips, incorporating music or sound effects. I also use this stage to provide students with a rubric so they understand what is necessary for a completed project as well as how to push themselves beyond the expectations.

Resources

Rubrics

7. Share

Sharing online has become deeply embedded in our culture, so as educators, we might as well embrace it. Review your school or district’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and then look for a way to share your students’ stories with a broader audience. Knowing that other people might see their work often raises student motivation to make it the best possible work that they can do.

Resources

8. Reflection and Feedback

Too often in education, we do not teach or allow time for reflection and feedback. What did I learn? What do I know about myself that I did not know before? How can I do better next time?

Students need to be taught how to reflect on their own work and give feedback to others that is both constructive and valuable. Blogs, wikis discussion boards, and student response systems or polling tools can all be used to help students at this stage.

Resources

Beyond Traditional Assessment

Schools across the country are embracing digital storytelling as an amazing tool for students to communicate their personal understanding of a topic. Digital stories create a bridge across content areas and provide opportunities for students to break free from print literacies to add deeper dimension to their work. It is critical that schools embraces digital storytelling and video creation as skills our students must learn in order to successfully communicate in the 21st century. This is a “Gutenberg” moment where communication and storytelling have changed so drastically that it “shakes-up” our cultural, social, and academic norms. Digital stories provide us with information that knowledge has been shared and understood. They allow us to ask our students: ”What is the story? What is your story.”