How might we take action to deepen learning and empower students? What if we focus on the five key strategies we studied in Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for F-12 Classrooms by Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy?The 5th grade team invited me to co-labor with them to help our young learners deepen their understanding of reader’s response journals. As a team, they are focused on implementing and deepening their understanding of these five strategies:

• Clarify, share, and understand learning intentions and success criteria
• Engineer effective discussions, tasks, and activities that elicit evidence of learning
• Provide feedback that moves learning forward
• Activate students as learning resources for one another
• Activate students as owners of their own learning

On Thursday, they facilitated a lesson on making thinking visible and introduced the following to our young learners.

On Friday, I facilitated a lesson on using the above to improve and strengthen reader’s response journal entries.

What if we design a lesson to orchestrate productive discussion, critique the reasoning of others, grow as readers and writers, and deepen understanding through reflection?

Slide deck:

Wiliam, Dylan; Leahy, Siobhan. Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for F-12 Classrooms. (Kindle Locations 493-494). Learning Sciences International. Kindle Edition.