Tools for Use in the Formative Assessment Process – English Language Arts

Formative Assessments for Grades K-5

	Grade	Title
NEW	1	Sending Feelings Your Way: Greeting Card Project
NEW	2	Comparing Characters’ Responses to Events
NEW	3	“What Was Project Mercury?” and “Who was Alan Shepard?”
NEW	3	MRS. MACK by Patricia Polacco
	3	Literacy - Investigating Sharks
	3	CACTUS JAM by Ruth J. Luhrs
NEW	4	WALK TWO MOONS by Sharon Creech
	4	Paired excerpts from “Yang the Eldest and His Odd Jobs” and “Out of the Dust”
	4	Basic Archaeology - "What’s a Dig?" and "What’s a Midden?" by David White
NEW	5	The Princess and the Pea
NEW	5	The Drive-In Movies
NEW	5	Bubblology
	5	“Looking for Lunar Ice” by Mary Kay Carson
	5	"Who was Marco Polo?" by Joan Holub and "The Adventure of Marco Polo" by Russell Freedman
	5	THE SUMMER OF THE SWANS by Betsy Byars

Formative Assessments for Grades 6-8

	Grade	Title
NEW	6	Funeral
NEW	6	Writing My Own Myth
NEW	6	“The History of Earth Day” by Amanda Davis, “Earth Day” by Claudia Atticot and Alexandra Manning, and a video from NBC News
NEW	6	Excerpts from COUNTING ON GRACE by Elizabeth Winthrop and IQBAL by Francesco D’Adamo
	6	Literary Nonfiction—“The Making of a Scientist” by Richard Feynman
NEW	7	"Blizzard
NEW	7	"From The Wave" by Thom Gunn
NEW	7	“High Schools Starting Later to Help Sleepy Teens,” by Michelle Trudeau and “High schools will keep starting too early. Here’s why.” by Dan Weissmann
	7	Nature by Design by Bruce Brooks
	7	The Omnivore’s Dilemma – The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan
NEW	8	DANCE MAMA DANCE
NEW	8	'1984' by George Orwell
NEW	8	“In our digital world, are young people losing their ability to read emotions?” by Stuart Wolpert and “Study: Kids can learn as much from ‘Sesame Street’ as from preschool” by Jim Tankersley
	8	THE OPEN BOAT by Stephen Crane

Formative Assessments for Grades 9-12

	Grade	Title
NEW	9	BURNING A BOOK
	9	Mini-assessment for The Manhattan Project Text Set
	9	“Departure” by Sherwood Anderson
NEW	9-10	Speeches - Argument and Methods
	9-10	Literacy - The Power of New Media
NEW	9-12	Watchdog Reporter
NEW	10	SYMPATHY
NEW	10	"Nowhere to Go"
NEW	11	HOME BURIAL
NEW	11	“Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard (Literary Nonfiction Mini-Assessment)
NEW	11	"Luck" by Mark Twain
	11	Inaugural Address, 1801 by Thomas Jefferson
	11	"Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?" by Susan B. Anthony
NEW	12	We Grow Accustomed to the Dark
NEW	12	Evaluating Gender Equality in Today’s Society: A Critical View