RATIONALE - Formative Assessment Tool Assignment

GRAMMAR QUIZ
English 1 - SDAIE, 9th grade

According to the California Ninth and Tenth Grade Language Arts Standards for Written

and Oral English Language Conventions 1.1-1.3, students must demonstrate a command of

standard English grammar. Similar objectives also appear in the California English Language

Development standards under Writing Conventions, Clusters 1ES, 2ES, and 3. However, the 9th-

grade grammar and writing text adopted by Menlo-Atherton High School uses academic

language sufficiently difficult as to be inaccessible to the students in this class, 14 freshmen

designated as “FBB,” Far Below Basic. Therefore, I am teaching 10-15 minutes of grammar

daily using a 6th grade workbook from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, Monterey, CA (2002).

Each mini-unit covers one grammatical rule and contains three practice pages. I copy the pages

from the workbook and white-out the “Grade 6” footer on each page before I photocopy and

staple them into a “grammar packet.” I want to avoid any negative affective filter that the 9th-

graders might experience from the realization that their grammar instruction is appropriate for

6th-graders.

Limiting grammar time to 15 minutes a day or less, it takes 5-6 instructional days to

complete one grammar mini-unit. On Day 1, I explain the concept and give examples drawn

from their current reading unit. The students and I jointly complete the first three examples on

the first practice page. Then, students complete items 4-10 for homework. On Days 2 and 3, we

review the homework and go on to the second and third practice pages, respectively. On Day 4,

after homework review, students take a practice quiz. I review the practice quiz and determine

whether to re-teach any concepts. Based on that decision, a real quiz follows on either Day 5 or

Day 6.

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 The Quiz in this assignment is the Unit 1 practice quiz on the four kinds of sentences

(declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory) and their ending punctuation. Two

copies of the quiz appear at the end of this rationale: a blank copy and a copy with correct

answers. Here is the Table of Specifications for the quiz:

Standards Objectives - Matching Fill in Write in end Write complete

SWBAT: the punctuation sentences with
Blanks marks end punctuation
ELA 1.1: Identify Identify each of the A1, A2,
and correctly use four sentences types A3, A4
main clauses. by description
ELD 1ES: Use
correct mechanics
and sentence
structure.
Identify and label an C1, C2,
unpunctuated sentence C3, C4
as one of the four
sentence types
Compose correct D1, D2, D3, D4
sentences of each
of the four types
ELA 1.1: Identify Write in the end B1, B2,
and correctly use punctuation for B3
mechanics of each of the four
punctuation. sentence types
ELD 2ES, 3: Revise
and edit writing for
proper use of
punctuation.
Write in the correct C1, C2, C3,
end punctuation for C4
unpunctuated
sentences
Write correct end D1, D2, D3, D4
punctuation for self-
composed sentences

After students complete the practice quiz, I can assess how well they:

 match the names and descriptions of the four kinds of sentences

 form periods, question marks, and exclamation points
 identify which kinds of sentences each end punctuation mark is used for
 build meaning from unpunctuated sentences
 label each kind of sentence by name
 compose, write, and punctuate each kind of sentence
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 The grammatical names of the four kinds of sentences appear in the first section of the

practice quiz, so that the students can refer to them throughout. This helps them succeed in

correctly completing the rest of the quiz. If they have to produce the names themselves and

consequently make mistakes at the outset, it is more difficult for them to correctly complete the

rest of the quiz. It is more important for them to recognize and understand what the names mean

than for them to come up with the names themselves.

This is a 50-point quiz. For each section of the quiz, I indicate the number of points per

answer and the total number of possible points for the section. For sections A and B, the correct

answer yields the full number of points. For section C, students earn two points for each correct

punctuation mark and two points for each correct sentence name. On fill-in-the-blank items in B

and C, no points are deducted for misspelling the sentence names. Missing answers are scored as

zero.

Each of the Section D sentences is worth four points: two for composing the indicated

kind of sentence, and two for writing and placing the correct end punctuation. There are no

deductions for errors in grammar or spelling, as long as the syntax conforms to the correct

sentence type. If students fail to write about space or astronauts, one point is deducted per

sentence.

If the above scoring guidelines are followed, scoring reliability is high. The consistency

across different types of tasks is also strong, because each section focuses on the four kinds of

sentences. The tasks and the point value for each are clearly defined. However, temporary

conditions can vary considerably, especially the amount of noise or number of other distractions

during a quiz administration period. Additionally, students frequently complain or show signs of

being tired or feeling unwell, and they take the quiz anyway. Thus, standardization is not a

strong point of this formative assessment.

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 The quiz is practical for the teacher to develop, photocopy, and administer. It is

inexpensive to produce and duplicate. It is also practical for the students to take during a portion

of a normal class period.

The quiz closely matches what is taught during classroom instruction using the grammar

packet. The format of the quiz also matches its purpose. In these respects, validity is good.

However, because of the low reading level and lack of focused attention of the part of some

students, the directions may be too difficult to follow.

Because the quiz is quick to grade, I can return it to the students the following day.

Optionally, students can grade each others’ quizzes, which helps reinforce correct answers.

Students receive their graded quizzes to use for class discussion and to review in preparation for

the real quiz they take during the following class period. In deciding whether to use further

instructional time to help students master the material, I generally use a threshold of half the

class: if half the class or more displays lack of mastery in a section, I review the problematic

concepts with the entire class. Students are directed to correct their mistakes and take notes on

the quiz paper itself. Their homework is to review their grammar packet and practice quiz for

the next day’s real quiz.

Students are responding well to the routine of daily grammar instruction and practice.

They participate actively and succeed in filling out their grammar packets. The majority fails to

do their homework, but complete it during class time. The next step for me as their teacher is to

point out how these rules affect in their own writing. This is I will do in each writing assignment

connected with their reading selection units.

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Name: ______________________________________ English 1
Date:_____________________
Grammar Packet 1: Practice Quiz

Rule #1: There are four kinds of sentences. Each requires a specific ending
punctuation.

A. (2 points each, 8 points total) Next to each kind of sentence, write the number of the correct
description:

________ Declarative 1. Shows strong feeling or emotion

________ Interrogative 2. Commands, orders, or requests someone to do something

________ Imperative 3. Makes a statement or tells a fact

________ Exclamatory 4. Asks a question

B. (2 points each, 10 points total) Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

1. A question mark (?) is used at the end of which kind of sentence? ______________________

2. A period (.) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?

______________________ and _____________________

3. A exclamation point (!) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?

______________________ and _____________________

C. (4 points each, 16 points total) Add the correct end punctuation to each sentence. In the
blank, write which kind of sentence it is.

1. Did you know that Sally Ride was the first U.S. woman in space _______________________

2. She made two trips on the Space Shuttle Challenger _______________________

3. Read about Sally Ride on the NASA web site _______________________

4. Astronauts are amazing _______________________

D. (4 points each, 16 points total) Write four sentences about space or astronauts. Use correct
end punctuation:

1. Declarative: ___________________________________________________________________

2. Interrogative: __________________________________________________________________

3. Imperative: ___________________________________________________________________

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4. Exclamatory: __________________________________________________________________
Name: _ANSWER KEY______________________ English 1
Date:_____________________
Grammar Packet 1: Practice Quiz

Rule #1: There are four kinds of sentences. Each requires a specific ending
punctuation.

A. (2 points each, 8 points total) Next to each kind of sentence, write the number of the correct
description:

____3___ Declarative 1. Shows strong feeling or emotion

____4___ Interrogative 2. Commands, orders, or requests someone to do something

____2___ Imperative 3. Makes a statement or tells a fact

____1___ Exclamatory 4. Asks a question

B. (2 points each, 10 points total) Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

1. A question mark (?) is used at the end of which kind of sentence? ___Interrogative__________

2. A period (.) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?

___________Declarative___________ and _________Imperative____________

3. A exclamation point (!) is used at the end of which two kinds of sentences?

_______Exclamatory_______________ and _________Imperative____________

C. (4 points each, 16 points total) Add the correct end punctuation to each sentence. In the
blank, write which kind of sentence it is.

1. Did you know that Sally Ride was the first U.S. woman in space? _____ Interrogative_____

2. She made two trips on the Space Shuttle Challenger. _______ Declarative______

3. Read about Sally Ride on the NASA web site. _ _____Imperative________

4. Astronauts are amazing! _______ Exclamatory_____

D. (4 points each, 16 points total) Write four sentences about space or astronauts. Use correct
end punctuation:

1. Declarative: ____Sally Ride studied math, physics, and English at Stanford University.____

2. Interrogative: ___How many space shuttle launches have taken place?___________________

3. Imperative: _____Look on the web to find pictures of the Earth taken from space.________
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4. Exclamatory: ____How beautiful the Earth looks from space!___________________

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