Performance Assessments

I am a big believer in giving students various ways to apply what they are learning. Several times a year I plan a performance assessment for them and we invite our parents to come watch them display what they have learned. Our big exhibit of the year we call Character Court. After studying fairy tales, the students wrote a debate that 2 characters would have. We brought ethics into the discussion because they were arguing about who was right and who was wrong in the situation. For example, Mama Bear told Goldilocks she was wrong for eating their porridge and Goldilocks replied "but I was hungry". They painted their own backdrops (some of them ended up very abstract :). The parents helped design the costumes and we held a big performance in the gym where everyone could walk around and see their hard work pay off.

Not only are they applying their knowledge in a different way, but they are also getting an experience with speaking publicly. Some of them started off saying their lines to their shoes, but ended up projecting them very nicely by the end-their confidence grew. 

Here is one example:

Backdrop for the Egyptian Cinderella

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Snow White