Weather Second Grade Virginia Standards of Learning 2.6 Assessment Creation Project 1 Amanda Eclipse Overview and Description of Course The goal of Virginia s science standards is for the students to develop a broad range of science skills in order to understand the natural worlds. These skills include observing and recording data and detailed descriptions, drawing conclusions, and recognizing interesting and unusual phenomena. In addition, students will learn to apply these scientific concepts, tools and skills to their everyday experiences and language. Weather is a part of the natural world that impacts our lives and drives our decisions in even the smallest aspects. Students will learn how to collect weather data and interpret that data scientifically in such a way that it will positively affect day to day choices. The weather unit is developed from the Virginia Standards of Learning Strand 2.6. This standard encompasses all of the knowledge and skills students need to understand the basics and beyond of weather. SOL 2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns of weather. Key concepts include a) temperature, wind, precipitation, drought, flood, and storms; and b) the uses and importance of measuring and recording weather data. The strand reinforces concepts of the sun, heat, light, precipitation, and its affect on living things learning in K.8, 1.6, and 1.7. The weather unit in second grade delves deeper into weather patterns and data collection skills. The intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of Standard 2.6 address these concepts in greater detail. Observe and describe types of precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice (sleet and hail). Observe and describe precipitation in terms of evaporation and condensation of water. Observe and record daily weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or snowy. Describe weather in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation. Measure and record weather data, using weather instruments, including a thermometer, rain gauge, and weather vane (standard English and metric measures). Record and interpret daily temperature, using a graph with numbered axes. Observe and describe seasonal weather patterns and local variations. Identify common types of storms. Examples include hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and thunderstorms. Compare and contrast droughts and floods. Evaluate the influence of daily weather conditions on personal activities and dress.
2 These ILOs have been arranged into a Table of Specifications, which allows the teacher to view the breakdown of the unit into the content and skills that must be taught. The table enables the teacher to view the content across all of Bloom s taxonomy levels of cognitive thinking and ensure students are achieving at they level expected of them. The assessment and additional activities and materials are aligned with the SOL strand 2.6 (and strand 2.1) as well as the curriculum guide created by Newport News Public Schools and implemented at Greenwood Elementary School. All of the ILOs are addressed in the culminating assessment. The assessment includes select- and supply-response questions. However, students must acquire scientific habits of mind and inquiry skills through hands-on activities and self-discovery. Students are required to observe, record, collect, and interpret data, which is not possible on a pencil-and-paper test. Thus, students will conduct labs, investigations, and work with the tools used to measure weather. Students will keep a classroom weather log and graph the data to make comparisons. They will also make decisions based on their own experiences in various temperatures, weather forecasts, and precipitation on what to wear, what activities to take part in, and how to live in their world. Other activities include a deeper look into the water cycle through teacher demonstrations and cooperative learning group experiments and explorations. Classroom Characteristics The second grade class at Greenwood Elementary is composed of 18 students, 12 girls and 6 boys. The students are of varying ability, strategies, ethnicity, and class background in a Title I school. Most of the students in the class have the ability to read by themselves but the instructions allow for some questions on the test to be read aloud or clarified. However, the students at this point in the year are preparing to take the SOL without too much help. The test is designed to check the student s understanding of science and its content rather than readability. No students in the class are special education. Purpose of Assessment and Results The curriculum and district have their own end-of-the-unit assessment that is given to each grade level. It is at the discrepancy of the teacher to fix some parts of the test but the majority of the test must contain the objectives the district sets up for success. However, my assessment is aligned well with the SOL just as the
district does with their tests. Thus, my test will be used as the culminating summative assessment for the 3 weather unit. The length of the test is not a problem for the students at this point in the year. They are accustomed to taking tests that are between 10-20 questions. Many of the questions on their assessments (including the quarterly) are modeled after previously released SOL questions.
Design Elements Intended Learning Outcome: Underline the content and circle the word(s) that provides an indication of cognitive level(s) The student will observe and describe types of precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice (sleet and hail). The student will observe and describe precipitation in terms of evaporation and condensation of water. The student will observe and record daily weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or snowy. The student will describe weather in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation. The student will measure and record weather data, using weather instruments, including a thermometer, rain gauge, and weather vane (standard English and metric measures). The student will record and interpret daily temperatures using a graph with numbered axes. Content: List the explicit, implied, and conditional content Explicit types of precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice (sleet and hail) Implied weather, precipitation, temperature Conditional none Explicit precipitation Implied precipitation, water cycle Conditional in terms of precipitation and evaporation Explicit weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or snowy Implied weather, temperature Conditional none Explicit weather Implied weather, temperature, wind, precipitation Conditional in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation Explicit weather data Implied how to use weather instruments, ways to record data, English measurement system, metric measurement system Conditional using weather instruments, including a thermometer, rain gauge, and weather vane (standard English and metric measures) Explicit daily temperatures Implied thermometer use, Fahrenheit, Celsius, understanding graphs, ordered numerals Conditional using a graph with numbered axes 4 Cognitive Level on Bloom s Taxonomy: Provide the cognitive level(s) in terms of Bloom s Taxonomy Application and Analysis Application and Analysis Application Knowledge and Comprehension Application Application and Analysis
The student will observe and describe seasonal weather patterns and local variations. Explicit seasonal weather patterns and local variations Implied knowledge about seasons and weather, definition of variations and local Comprehension and Application 5 The student will identify common types of storms. Examples include hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and thunderstorms. Conditional none Explicit common types of storms Implied storm knowledge, knows what storms look like Comprehension The student will compare and contrast droughts and floods. Conditional none Explicit droughts and floods Implied how to compare and contrast, droughts, floods, weather Analysis The student will evaluate the influence of daily weather conditions on personal activities and dress. Conditional none Explicit the influence of daily weather conditions Implied daily weather Evaluation Conditional on personal activities and dress
Table of Specifications 6 Content Types of precipitation, including rain, snow, and ice (sleet and hail) Knowledg e Comprehe nsion Applicatio n Observe Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Describe Precipitation in terms of evaporation and condensation of water Observe Describe Weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, windy, rainy, or snowy Observe; Record Weather in terms of temperature, wind, and precipitation Describe Weather data using weather instruments including a thermometer, rain gauge, and weather vane (standard English and metric measures) Daily temperature using a graph with numbered axes. Measure; Record Record Interpret Seasonal weather patterns and local variations Describe Observe Common types of storms including hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and thunderstorms Identify Droughts and floods Compare and Contrast
The influence of daily weather conditions on personal activities and dress Evaluate 7
Validity 8 The assessment has construct validity, or face validity, because the questions support the content and the objectives of the Virginia SOL on Weather for second grade. The questions on the assessment are all related to weather and look like they address the essential skills and knowledge. Each question also has a place on the table of specifications based on their cognitive level of thinking and the content. Thus, the test has content validity. The assessment exhibits criterion validity. There are some SOL questions and on the test. In addition, it tests the same content found in the released third grade SOL tests and the test created by the Newport News school district. My assessment should accurately reflect how the students will perform on the weather test items in the SOL test. Rationale of Assessment Items The assessment contains 12 questions total. Ten of the test items are select response; six questions are multiple choice and four questions are matching. The remaining two questions are supply response, one short answer and one graph. The students are capable of completing the test in a class period or less as they have had tests of similar length and difficulty. One of the test items (Question 10) is taken from a Spring 2007 Third Grade Science SOL (Form S0117, CORE 1, Question 30). I created all other questions. The four matching questions deal with identification of storms using pictures and are thus appropriate. The graph supply response question requires the student to use graphing skills and create a new product using data that was given. The short answer supply response requires students to evaluate the data given and provide reasoning for the answer in their own words. The second graders in my classroom learn the paragraph form toward the end of the year and work on perfecting the paragraph. Therefore, an essay would be unfair to give. They know how to write a complete sentence and relate their ideas effective so the short answer method was the best choice. Reliability The assessment has been verified and altered for threats to reliability. The test items were reviewed and compared to the ILOs to ensure that there were a sufficient number of questions that aligned with the content. The test items are derived from facts and the content rather than opinion of the test maker. A rubric was created for all supply response to keep graders from intentionally or unintentionally passing judgment on the answers.
The question that asks students to explain what they would wear outside relies on the temperature of the 9 thermometer and not the seasons or descriptors. The rubric for Question 3 follows a checklist format and assigns a one-point value to each aspect of the question. The question asks two questions and required the student to give four correct answers. The first question asks the student to name a precipitation type and the second to name three cold weather items. The answers will vary but the teacher can check with each student to clear up any confusion on what constitutes a cold weather item during the weather unit and after the test during review. The checklist makes sure that extra points are not given and extra points taken away if a student writes more or less than another. Each point is equal in worth because the question is simple and clear in its expectations and one answer is not harder than another. The rubric for Question 12 follows a checklist format and assigns a point value for each correct step the student takes in creating a line graph using the data given in the question. The question is simple and looks to see if the student can apply their knowledge of graphs and data. The checklist follows the steps the students take to create the graph is very straightforward in its point system. As the students plot each data point, their chances for a greater score increases. The rubric takes into account the weight of what the question is asking for. The data points are worth less than the line itself which gives students a chance to earn points for what they know about how the information is shown on a line graph which is through the data points and the culminating line that runs through each to show change over time. Because the item is broken down in the rubric with each discreet step separated and assigned a point value, I have ensure that there will be no bias in the scoring. In terms of the item itself, I have made sure to use language that has been used in class. As well, I have also made the question about a second grade classroom and used realistic temperatures that could have happened over the period of a week where the students were in school (January). There is nothing in the question that will bring in systematic error. Efforts will be made in the classroom to show how the low temperature feels for those students who are not familiar with cold weather. Each test item has been reviewed to makes sure that a student cannot use another question to answer or it choose it based on luck. All efforts will be made to guarantee that the testing area is free
10 of distractions and does not alter the test results. The test will be read aloud because the test is assessing content and not readability. In addition, the room will remain quiet and no one will be allowed to enter that is not normally in the classroom at this time. Scoring and Grading Procedures The test contains 12 questions and worth a total of 16 points. Each of the select response questions is worth one point. The short answer question is worth four points and the graphing question is worth two points. Only one question was pulled from an outside source while all of the others were created to align with the SOL strand and its content. The following are the rubrics for the supply response items: Rubric for Question 3 Checklist: One point will be given for each correct answer to the questions. precipitation snow or hail (1 pts.) cold weather item cold weather item cold weather item The criteria for cold weather item is flexible. Rubric for Question 12 Checklist: One point is given for a data point denoting each correct temperature above the corresponding day of the week. Monday at 32 F (0.2 pts.) Tuesday at 34 F (0.2 pts.) Wednesday at 29 F (0.2 pts.) Thursday at 28 F (0.2 pts.) Friday at 35 F (0.2 pts.) One point is given for a line connecting each data point on the graph. Continuous line connects data points (1 pts.) The graders will look through each test twice and cover the names of the students so that student knowledge does not influence the grading process. I will pay particular attention to what students have gotten wrong in the select response items. If there are a large number of students who have gotten the question wrong, I will review the wording and structure of the question and the lesson plans for the unit to make sure that the error was not because of teacher error. If the error is detected, I will opt to throw the question out of grading and review it in class so that students understand the concept or objective. To ensure intra-rater reliability, I will
11 look through the tests and go through the item a second time during a different time of the day and on another day to ensure that outside influences did not affect the grading of the test item. To ensure inter-rater reliability, I will have another teacher look at the test and see if she graded these supply-response items the same way I did.