At my high school, we're required to give written and spoken performance finals in addition to our objective multiple-choice finals. I'm a huge advocate for authentic assessment and have never loved the idea of kids recording into a void on what they call 'mind-control devices' (the language lab). I think the lab absolutely has its place, but when it comes to spoken assessment, I want them to have interaction, encouragement, be able to ask questions, and show off to whatever extent they can. I also want it to be fluid, low-pressure, fun, and forgiving - and most of all, authentic.
Three of my awesome students created my first semester performance final for Latin II this year. They set up the plot of a murder mystery. We spent an afternoon on this, the four of us, and made enough character summaries - fifteen of whom were central to the plot, and the rest of whom were simply filler/effluvia - for everyone in each class, and made sure we repeated information across several characters. We included some contradictory information, some odd incriminating-sounding information, and (my favorite part) created a tape outline of a dead guy on my floor. We created props, like pictures and love letters and text messages.
Each student got a chart that they filled in - who said what about whom, what their thoughts were, what they believed - as they talked to each other person. They were required to ask for names, where the other person was, what they thought of Iosephus (the dead guy). Then, they had to use evidence provided by other characters to ask at least one other in-depth question (like: Anna said that you don't like Iosephus. Did you fight with him?) and record all of the above on their papers.
The next day, they took their 'case notes' and created a 'case file' - pictures, their proof, any evidence they were given (copies of the love letter Iosephus' girlfriend wrote him, a photograph, Iosephus' cell phone), what various people said, and what they believed.
This was their performance final. Can you ask and answer questions? Can you use the present and past tense in varying persons? Can you take in surprising information and respond to it?
We did a similar thing this semester. We spent time talking about values and bartering and worth and types of numbers (Latin has so many numbers) and price, comparisons of varying types, contrafactual clauses. So pairs set up a shopping center. They had two days to prep - create whatever they wanted to sell, create a sign with prices, make whatever it was they needed, rehearse conversation with each other, practice questions, practice with me, create their ledger that they used to keep track of sales, whatever they needed.
On the day of, for half the class period one partner sold while the other one shopped (I created and gave them money). Then, at the halfway point, they switched who was doing what. I went around to each shop and had an individual conversation with the shopkeep (as well as eavesdropped on conversations they were having with others, in case the conversation with me was less authentic due to the pressure of assessment), and graded them based on this, their ledger, and the other elements of their shops.
We did a plus/delta session, and the students made it clear that not only did they enjoy the assessment, but that they felt it represented well what they were able to do, since they weren't asked to speak on a particular topic. That is to say, rather than dictating what they had to talk about, it widened the playing field to what can you talk about?
Comments