ABSTRACT
Assessment is a critical aspect of rigorous language arts and social studies classrooms. This chapter looks at the aspects of effective formative and summative assessments. Dr. Gregory Firm, a former school superintendent, uses the term “informative assessment” because formative assessments are used to inform the teacher and the student of mastery and progress. An important formative assessment tool for teachers is the use of observations. Observations can be planned, or they can be spontaneous. In interviews and conferences, the teacher meets with students to assess understanding of content, either before a lesson to gauge base knowledge or during a lesson for ongoing assessment. After reading a scene from a fractured fairy tale, allow students to freeze various scenes from the play by becoming the characters. In a social studies lesson, students could freeze important scenes from a event in history.
