A Story of Units - Assessment
Sequence of Sessions
Overarching Objectives of this May 2013 Network Team Institute
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Participants will understand the focus of each module presented, the instructional path, and the student outcomes; and be ready to teach
and/or prepare their colleagues to teach these modules.
Participants will examine the K–5 progressions documents and the sequence of standards foundational to developing an understanding of
Number and Operations in Base Ten, thereby enabling participants to enact cross-grade coherence of NBT development in the classroom
and to train their colleagues to do the same.
Participants will understand the purpose and implementation of Fluency, Worksheets, Student Debriefs, Exit Tickets, Application
Problems and Conceptual Development within A Story of Units. They will be prepared to use these components as tools through which to
meet the needs of diverse learners.
Participants will examine formal and informal assessment within the Modules and develop an understanding of how to use the data
generated to make instructional decisions.
High-Level Purpose of this Session
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Understand and implement formal and informal assessments and the Understand the assessment cycle in preparation for in- depth study
and practice with formal and informal assessments
Examine use of informal assessment during lesson components including Fluency, the Application Problem, Concept Development, and
Student Debrief in order to support implementation of A Story of Units and making instructional decisions based upon data.
Examine use of formal assessments including Mid-Module and End-of-Module Assessment Tasks to support implementation of A Story of
Units and making instructional decisions based upon data.
Related Learning Experiences
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This session was preceded by a Curriculum Overview Session that reviewed the importance of the Standards, Progressions and
Instructional Shifts, the coherence of the curriculum and described how A Story of Unit was developed.
After this there will be a session on how to implement Module 1 for each grade level K, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Key Points
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Our response to informal and formal assessment is the heart and soul, bread and butter of our teaching.
It also tells us much about how we work within the curriculum.
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this
session?
Participants will understand :
 The use of informal assessment during lesson components
including Fluency, the Application Problem, Concept
Development, and Student Debrief in order to build teacher
knowledge and the use of data to make instructional decisions.
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The use of formal assessments including Mid-Module and Endof-Module Assessment Tasks and their rubrics in order to build
teacher knowledge and the use of data to make instructional
decisions
The instructional decisions that can be generated from the
assessments in order to build teacher knowledge.
How will we know that they are able to do this?
Participants will be able to:
 Articulate the Assessment Cycle
 Describe the various informal and formal assessments found
within A Story of Units
 Articulate the decisions that can be made from the use of the
informal and formal assessment data for daily instruction
Session Overview 10:45-12:00
Section
Time
Introduction
10:4510:54
Review the Cycle of
Assess, Analyze, Plan,
Teach
10:5410:58
10:5811:17
Consider Informal
Assessment with the
Lesson Components
Overview
 Frame session, referencing
workshop agenda.
 Introduce objectives and
sequence for this session.
 Complete an informal
assessment
Prepared Resources
Facilitator Preparation
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Session PowerPoint
Informal assessment
 Review Assessment Cycle
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Session PowerPoint
 Discuss informal assessments
 Complete an exit ticket
 Participate in the debrief by
examining the data and
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Informal assessment
Session PowerPoint
•
Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
Select informal assessment
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Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
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Review selected informal
assessment
Review session notes and
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Examine Formal
Assessments: Midand End-of-Module
Test
11:1712:00
instructional decisions that can
be made
 Examine formal assessments
 Complete end-of-module
assessment
 Discuss results
 Key points
 Discuss takeaways
PowerPoint presentation
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End-of-module assessment
Review selected end-of-module
assessment
Session Roadmap
Section: Introduction
Time: 10:45-10:54
[ 9 minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
• Participate in an exit ticket exercise either as a “student” or as a
• Session PowerPoint
monitor in order to build teacher knowledge and generate data
• Pre-selected “Exit Ticket”
for later use in the session.
• Collect data from the debrief to use later in the session
• Review session objectives and agenda to frame the session for
participants.
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
30 sec.
Slide 1
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
Whole
Group
1 min.
Slide 2
Note to Facilitator: Be prepared to do a an example problem similar to the
one on the slide that indicates how students learn units.
1 minute is allotted for this slide.
Do the unit form fluency
Administer the unit form fluency drill
2 frogs
2 centimeters
2 triangles
2 sevens
2 hundreds
2 tenths
2 fourths
3 min.
Slide 3
3 minutes is allotted for this slide.
As monitors circulate, they make notes as to what they are hearing as people
do the exit ticket. This “informal” feedback plus the actual results will be
analyzed to make instructional decisions prior to administering the end of
module assessment later in the session.
Task for monitors:
Notice questions causing the most difficulty. Pass a summation of the analysis
to session leader by simply passing all the exit tickets with one copy on top
with a quick needs analysis.
4 min.
Slide 4
4 minutes is allotted for this slide.
As monitors circulate, they make notes as to what they are hearing as people
do the exit ticket. This “informal” feedback plus the actual results will be
tallied to make instructional decisions prior to administering the end of
module assessment later in the session.
Task for monitors:
Notice questions causing the most difficulty. Sort the tickets into three groups
by Lessons 3, 4, and 5. Pass a summation of the analysis to session leader by
simply passing all the exit tickets with one copy on top with a quick needs
analysis.
1 min.
Slide 5
1 minute is allotted for this slide.
Our objective for this session is to _______
Section: Review the Cycle of Assess, Analyze, Plan, Teach
Time: 10:54-10:58
[4] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
Session PowerPoint
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Time
Examine the Assessment Cycle in order to build teacher knowledge
Discuss how to use it in order to support effective implementation of A
Story of Units
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
30 sec.
Slide 6
Assessment is part of the cycle of instruction and is an important part of the
teaching/learning cycle. Understanding and using the cycle is important for
effectively implementing the curriculum.
4 min.
Slide 7
3 minutes is allotted for this slide.
1 minute teacher discussion in pairs
• Assess: Exit Tickets, Mid and End of Module Assessments, Cross Modular
Assessment
• Analyze: Mid and End of Module: School Structures for Rubric Scoring,
Data Systems including Item Analyses, Identification of Grade Level Trends,
Standards Based Trends, Individual Teacher’s Strengths and Weaknesses
• Plan: Remedial days, small group instruction, need for application
problems or fluency practice to “patch holes” and address conceptual
gaps. Might also include professional development, lesson study, peer
coaching, expert coaching, inter-classroom visitations, and collaboration
with school sites having success in current area of weakness. Decisions can
be made based on the feedback for alternate structures: team teaching,
departmentalizing, etc.
• Teach: Plan is implemented and…
• Assessed…. And the cycle repeats.
Whole
Group
Section: Consider Informal Assessment within the Lesson Time: 10:58-11:17
Components
[ 19 minutes] In this section, you will…
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•
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Examine informal assessments found in the lesson components in
order to build teacher knowledge
Participate in an informal assessment exercise to build teacher
knowledge
Review how to the data from the informal assessments to adjust
instruction immediately in order to support effective
implementation of A Story of Units.
Materials used include:
•
•
•
Session PowerPoint
Dry erase Boards
Pre-selected “Unit Form”
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
1 min.
Slide 8
Informal assessments are found in many of the lesson components and allow the
teacher to know how students are progressing and to make immediate
instructional decisions.
2 min.
Slide 9
2 minutes are allotted for this slide.
• Exit ticket data is immediately taken into consideration for the next day’s
fluency component.
• That might mean selecting a different activity or adjusting the sequence
detailed within the curriculum
• 4 x 2 bananas
• 4x2=8
• 4 x 2 bananas = 8 bananas
GROUP
Have teachers discuss their learning for 1 minute.
• Be alert to maintaining forward momentum and acknowledging success
and improvement in very specific ways.
3 min.
Slide 10
3 minutes are allotted for this slide.
• The delivery of application problems may be adjusted to meet the needs
of the students in a given classroom.
• The content may be adjusted most obviously by changing the numbers.
• Be alert to the pitfalls of creating problems “at the board.”
• Give teachers 1 minute to break it down and 1 minute to stretch it out.
• 96 hundredth grams
2 min.
Slide 11
2 minutes are allotted for this slide.
• The vignettes are not meant to be rigid dictates but rather thoughtful
examples of sequences of instruction.
• Circulate as students work on problem sets independently.
• Be alert to the importance of momentum, while sensitive to the depth of
the “holes.”
2 min.
Slide 12
2 minutes are allotted for this slide.
• Circulate, observe, and listen as students during both phases of the error
correction process.
• Question with those observations in mind.
• Be alert to the ways in which today’s objectives strengthen yesterday’s.
• (Elicit from students that the digits in a product can be found through
whole number multiplication. The actual product can be deduced
through estimation based logic and/or composing smaller units into larger
units.)
1 min.
Slide 13
1 minute is allotted for this slide.
•After the third bullet, review the analysis from the Exit Tickets
administered at the beginning of the session.
•Based on the analysis and having planned, time to teach during fluency
the following day.
3 min
Slide 14
3 minutes are allotted for this slide.
Do the expanded form fluency
Administer the expanded form fluency drill
4 min
Slide 15
4 minutes are allotted for this slide.
Do the unit form conversion fluency.
1 min.
Slide 16
Take a minute and think about what we have just discussed. Then turn to your
table partner and share your takeaways.
Section: Examine Formal Assessments: Mid- and End-ofModule Test
Time: 11:17-12:00
[43 minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
•
•
•
•
Review the Assess, Analyze, Plan, Teach cycle to confirm the
knowledge base for the participants.
Complete an end-of-module assessment and analyze it according
to the cycle in order to familiarize the participants with the
component.
Review key points to ensure acquisition of needed knowledge
Discuss takeaways to confirm knowledge base.
•
•
Session PowerPoint
End-of0Module Assessment
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
1 min.
Slide 17
1 minute is allotted for this slide.
Let’s take a minute and review the assessment cycle so can examine how formal
assessments fit into this.
Whole
group
2 min.
Slide 18
2 minutes is allotted for this slide.
•Assess: Mid and End of Module Assessments, Cross Modular Assessment
•Analyze: Mid and End of Module: School Structures for Rubric Scoring,
Data Systems including Item Analyses, Identification of Grade Level
Trends, Standards Based Trends, Individual Teacher’s Strengths and
Weaknesses
•Plan: Remedial days, small group instruction, need for application
problems or fluency practice to “patch holes” and address conceptual
gaps. Might also include professional development, lesson study, peer
coaching, expert coaching, inter-classroom visitations, and
collaboration with school sites having success in current area of
weakness. Decisions can be made based on the feedback for alternate
structures: team teaching, departmentalizing, etc.
•Teach: Plan is implemented and…
•Assessed…. And the cycle repeats.
1 min.
Slide 19
1 minute is allotted for this slide.
• Summative of student learning outcomes for a given module to the point
of administration
• Typically one class period in length with one full day for responding to the
•
10 min.
Slide 20
data instructionally.
New to the students and not preceded by analogous problems
10 minutes are allotted for this slide.
12 min.
Slide 21
12 minutes is allotted for this slide.
•What did the assessment show you about your mathematical content
knowledge?
•Use the rubric to analyze your work and at least two student work
samples.
•What standards from prior grades lead to success with this assessment?
•In what ways is mastery of this content foundational for work later in
Grade 5 and in middle/high school?
3 min.
Slide 22
3 minutes is allotted for this slide.
4 min.
Slide 23
4 minutes is allotted for this slide.
5 min.
Slide 24
5 minute is allotted for this slide.
Unit conversion
Expanded form
1 min.
Slide 25
Let’s review key points of this session:
Our response to informal and formal assessment is the heart and soul, bread and
butter of our teaching.
It also tells us much about how we work within the curriculum.
4 min.
Slide 26
As we end this session, take a moment to reflect, either privately or with your
colleagues, on these next steps:
• How can you transfer what you know about __________and its key
components to next steps in the planning process?
• What is your plan for sharing with the administrators/teachers at
your school(s)/districts(s)?
• What is your plan for redelivery of this session?
Use the following icons in the script to indicate different learning modes.
Video
Reflect on a prompt
Turnkey Materials Provided
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PPT
Facilitators Guide
Handouts
Additional Suggested Resources
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Progressions documents
How to Teach A Story of Units
Active learning
Turn and talk