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Multiple choice, short answer, or essay? Traditionally, those have been the most common assessment options used at the completion of a novel unit. Although these types of tests can provide feedback on how much a child recalls about a novel, alternative forms of assessments can determine what a child understands, applies, evaluates, and synthesizes.
Throughout a novel unit, teachers delve into all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, as well as the various multiple intelligences and learning styles. Higher-level questioning, graphic organizers, discussion groups, and literature centers are used to provide opportunities for critical thinking. If students are provided with differentiation throughout the unit, why not provide differentiation in the way the novel is assessed?
Offering a choice and/or varying the form of assessment allows students the chance to create true representation of their understanding of the novel. If a group of fourth graders read "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl, the teacher could provide them with several choices to assess their understanding of the story. Students could create a newspaper or magazine article about James' exploration while on the giant piece of fruit. Another form of assessment could be to create a collage that represents James from the point of view of one of the main characters. Students could design a graphic organizer that compares James, or one of the situations in the story to something that the students have personally experienced, a topic in history, or a current event.
Alternative testing opens the door to taking assessment beyond recall. Teachers will be able to determine the depth of understanding by how the student connects the text to him or herself, other texts, or the world. Alternative assessments take testing to the highest level, and provide the most valuable feedback.
Alternative Assessment Lesson Plans For Novels:
Henry Huggins: After reading Henry Huggins, students will be given a variety of assessment choices, including creating advertisements, designing an aquarium, and creating a collage. This lesson plan is a great example of how to use alternative assessments. It includes several options that accommodate different learning modalities. It also shows a perfect balance between traditional assessments and performance assessments.
Charlotte's Web: At the close of the lesson, students will create a poster that includes pictures and sentences that demonstrate how the book relates to their everyday lives. Assessing students on how they connect to the text to themselves provides an in-depth look at how well the students understood and internalized what was read. This lesson also offers a follow-up activity to the assessment. Students would write a story called Supername based on the experiences that were included in the poster.
Analyze a Character: After reading a novel, students create a life-size model of a character and include descriptive information about the character's traits. This lesson could be done with any novel. It also can be done with grade levels from 3 and up. This is a great way to assess whether students can identify character traits.
Literature E-Circles: Teachers collaborate with other schools to read Holes and hold online literature circles for cross-school discussions. The students in this lesson are assessed on the discussion based on the Socratic Seminar model. This lesson not only offers an alternative assessment, but also incorporates technology into the entire unit and the culminating activity.
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